Named for the kingdom of Sheba and the story of its prosperous people whose disregard for gratitude led to the collapse of their famous dam and irrigation system. Paired with accounts of David and Solomon's God-given prosperity, the surah contrasts wise and ungrateful uses of power and wealth, aimed at a Meccan elite that Muhammad's followers saw as squandering their own advantages. Beyond Sheba's dam, the surah recounts how Solomon's death went unnoticed by the jinn working for him until his staff, which he'd been leaning on, was eaten through by termites and he collapsed — revealing that they had been laboring under a false belief in his supernatural oversight of them. It also briefly addresses a common Meccan objection — that if the message were true, wealth and status should have gone to its earliest, most sincere followers rather than remaining with the resistant, comfortable elite — answering that provision in this life isn't a reliable measure of who is actually favored.
A cautionary tale about ingratitude leading to a civilization's collapse — a message about the fragility of prosperity that ages well regardless of era. That detail about the jinn discovering Solomon's death only when his staff finally gave way is often cited as a memorable illustration of how assumptions can persist long after they've stopped being true, until circumstances force a reckoning. That answer, decoupling worldly provision from divine favor, is frequently cited in discussions pushing back against "prosperity" framings of faith that equate wealth directly with righteousness.