People of Tubba
Nation of the Quran
People of Tubbaقوم تبع
Traditional date, disputedZafar, Yemen
Tubba was the title of the kings of Himyar in Yemen. The Quran asks the Makkans whether they are better than the people of Tubba, a strong nation destroyed for their crimes (44:37). Commentators say one Tubba visited Yathrib and Makkah and honoured the Kaaba.
What does the Quran say?
Are they better or the people of Tubba' and those before them? We destroyed them, [for] indeed, they were criminals.
Quran 44:37
How did they end?
They were destroyed for their crimes, though the Quran does not say how (44:37).
What do historians say?
Hundreds of Himyarite inscriptions from Zafar and across Yemen record kings who ruled from about 110 BCE to 525 CE. From around 380 CE they left the old gods for one God, whom they called Rahmanan.
The lesson
Power that once seemed permanent can vanish, as Himyar's did.
Who else is linked?
Everyone and everything in the timeline
People named in the Quran and the hadith, the Prophet's ﷺ family and Companions, scholars, rulers, the nations of the Quran, the world's empires and the places where it all happened. Where scholars differ, each entry says so.
Nations of the Quran
- People of Nuh
- Ad
- Thamud
- People of Lut
- Madyan
- Companions of the Thicket
- Companions of the Rass
- People of Tubba
- Saba (Sheba)
- Bani Israil
- People of Firaun
- People of Yunus
- The city of the Sleepers
- Companions of the Ditch
- Companions of the Elephant
- People of the Sabbath
- Yajuj and Majuj
- Quraysh
- Thaqif
- Hawazin
- Aws and Khazraj (the Ansar)
- The Romans (Rum)
- The Persians
- People of Ibrahim
- Jurhum
- People of Ilyas
- People of the Town (Ya-Sin)
- The Sabians
- The Magians (Majus)