The Flood of al-Arim (the Bursting of Maʾrib Dam)
سيل العرم
c. 450 CE
The great breach of the Maʾrib dam around 450–451 CE which the Quran recalls as Sayl al-Arim; in the sira’s account it ruins Yemen’s settled life and sends the Qahtani tribes scattering across the peninsula.
At a glance
- Era
- Pre-Islamic Arabia
- Region
- Arabia
- Review
- Draft Completeness 2/5 · Help complete it
In time
Overview
The bursting of the Marib dam around 450–451 CE, which the Qur'an mentions as the flood of al-Arim — an event that, in the sira's telling, ruined the settlement of Yemen and scattered the subtribes of Qahtan.
The story
After Yemen won its independence from the first Abyssinian occupation, breaches began appearing in the Marib dam, until the great flood the Qur'an calls the flood of al-Arim occurred in 450 or 451 CE — a major catastrophe that ruined the civilisation and scattered the peoples 1.
The Qur'an mentions it in Sura Saba (Saba 16 and what follows) 2. Some writers say of fixing those years that the disagreement over it is great among the historical sources 3.
For young visitors
Yemen had a great dam that held back water; when it broke, a huge flood ran and ruined the land, and many tribes emigrated from Yemen to the rest of the peninsula.
Connections
- Occurred at
- MaʾribThe Maʾrib Dam
- Part of
- Pre-Islamic Arabia
- Revealed in
- Qur'an 34:16
People and things also explored
The Maʾrib DamMaʾribThe Second Abyssinian Occupation of YemenThe Battle of Dhu QarThe Expulsion of Jurhum from MeccaThe Massacre of Najran (Ashab al-Ukhdud)Liberation and Persian Rule of YemenQusayy ibn Kilab Takes Mecca
Sources
- al-Raheeq al-Makhtum — Safi al-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri
- Tafhim al-Quran — Abu al-A'la al-Mawdudi
- Tarikh Ard al-Quran — Sulayman al-Nadwi
Cite this page
islam.museum contributors. “The Flood of al-Arim (the Bursting of Maʾrib Dam)”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/event/flood-of-al-aram/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Accessed 2026-10-12.