(34:19) But they said: 'Lord, make the stages of our journeys longer.' *32 They wronged their own selves so We reduced them to bygone tales, and utterly tore them to pieces. *33 Verily there are Signs in this for everyone who is steadfast and thankful. *34

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*32) They may not have prayed thus in so many words. As a matter of fact, whoever is ungrateful to Allah for His blessings, oils Allah, as if to say that he is not worthy of those blessings. Likewise, the nation which abuses the bounties of AIlah, in fact, prays to Him, as if to say, "Our Lord, withdraw Your blessings from us: we are not worthy of these ." Moreover, the words in the Text also seem to suggest that the Sabaeans perhaps regarded their large population as a calamity for themselves, and they also wanted like the other foolish people that their population should fall.
*33) That is, "The people of Saba were so dispersed in alI directions that their dispersion became proverbial. Even today when the Arabs have to mention the complate Dispersion of any people they refer to the people of Saba as an example. When AIlah caused His blessings to be withdrawn from them, the different tribes of the Sabaeans started leaving their homes and migrating an other parts of Arabia. The Banu Ghassan went to settle in Jordan and Syria, the Aus and Khazraj in Yathrib, and the Khuza`ah in Tihamah near Jeddah. The Azd left for 'Uman and the Bani Lakhm and Judham and Kindah were also forced to give up their homes for other places. Thus, the "Sabaeans" ceased to exist as a nation and became a mere legend. "
*34) In this context the "patient and grateful person" implies every such person (or persons) who dces not lose his balance after he has received blessings from Allah, nor exults at prosperity, nor becomes heedless of God Who has blessed him with these. Such a person can learn great lessons from the history of those people who adopted the way of disobedience after attaining opportunities for progress and prosperity and ultimately met with their doom.