Land of the Two Gardens

The story of the two gardens can be found in Surat al-Qalam 17-34. The owners of the gardens did not want to share their harvest with the poor so they planned to harvest their fruits early so to finish early and not be seen by the poor who would beg from them some of the produce. The men planned and did not say Insha Allah (If Allah wills), so Allah sent upon the gardens some sort of fire and the whole area turned black and barren.

When the owners saw the garden in the morning you could imagine the shock and bewilderment of what they saw – their prosperous agricultural land had all turned into blackness. They knew immediately that they had done wrong (ayah 26 “We have gone astray”). They blamed each other and then realised their sins and understood this as a punishment from Allah the Most Powerful.

To this day the land Allah turned black is still black and nothing grows in the area except dry thorny grass. You can find the land of the two gardens a half hour drive northwest of Sana’a, Yemen.

The blackness is comprehensive, and some of the pieces even look like burnt branches. To look at you might think the ground covered with wood charcoal but they are rock and very hard rocks. When scraped on the ground or hit together they sound like terracotta fired clay.

The black patches are clear from a vantage point on a nearby hillside. The black patches extend the length of the valley. You can imagine how the gardens may have looked in a lush fertile valley, as there are many valleys like this in Yemen full of agriculture but for millennia this land has remained black and untenable as it was Allah who sent the fire and blackened the earth and it remains for us to observe and reflect upon as a lesson to take heed of Allah’s warnings to us to be thankful for His blessings upon us and on how to live successfully in this life and the next

This is Ali Muhammad ar-Raqi Primary school right in the middle of nowhere with a stretch of the black land in the background.

We walked up to this village which is the only village anywhere near the black lands. The villagers are privilege to a wide view of the land of the two gardens. The people we met were very welcoming and felt embarrassed that they only had bread and tea to share with us. We were all very happy with the hospitality and were welcomed into their home without any hesitation from them.

Surat al-Qalam 17-34
Indeed, We have tried them as We tried the companions of the garden, 
when they swore to cut its fruit in the [early] morning. Without making exception. 
So there came upon the garden an affliction from your Lord while they were asleep.
And it became as though reaped.
And they called one another at morning,
[Saying], "Go early to your crop if you would cut the fruit."
So they set out, while lowering their voices,
[Saying], "There will surely not enter it today upon you [any] poor person." 
And they went early in determination, [assuming themselves] able.
But when they saw it, they said, "Indeed, we are lost; Rather, we have been deprived."
The most moderate of them said, "Did I not say to you, 'Why do you not exalt [ Allah ]?' "
They said, "Exalted is our Lord! Indeed, we were wrongdoers."
Then they approached one another, blaming each other.
They said, "O woe to us; indeed we were transgressors. Perhaps our Lord will substitute for us [one] better than it. Indeed, we are toward our Lord desirous." Such is the punishment [of this world]. And the punishment of the Hereafter is greater, if they only knew. Indeed, for the righteous with their Lord are the Gardens of Pleasure.