فَمَكَثَ غَيْرَ بَعِيدٍ فَقَالَ أَحَطتُ بِمَا لَمْ تُحِطْ بِهِ وَجِئْتُكَ مِن سَبَإٍ بِنَبَإٍ يَقِينٍ

22. Before long, the hoopoe came up and said: "I have obtained (some important information) which you do not have, and have come to you from Sheba⁹ with reliable news."

9. Sheba (Saba') was the famous trading nation of southern Arabia, which ruled for almost 1,000 years from around 1100 bc to around 115 bc. Their capital was Ma'ārib, located 55 miles north-east of San‘ā, the present capital of Yemen. They controlled the trade between East Africa, India, the Far East and Arabia with Egypt, Syria, Greece, and Rome. In addition to this, they had an excellent irrigation system which dotted the length and breadth of the country with dams. Their land was unusually fertile and lush. These explain their affluence. Greek historians called them the richest nation of the world (al-Mawdūdī, 7: 151, note 29).