They went astray, and they dispersed. ذَهَبُوا أَيْدِي سَبا، وَتَفَرَّقُوا أَيْدِي سَبا‏.

hat is, they dispersed in a way that would prevent them from reuniting.
The Sheikh, the Imam, Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn Ahmad al-Wahidi informed us, the judge Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Ibrahim al-Farisi informed us, Abu Amr ibn Matar informed us, Abu Khalifah narrated to us, Abu Humam narrated to us, Ibrahim ibn Tahman narrated to us, on the authority of Abu Janab, on the authority of Yahya ibn Hani, on the authority of Farwah ibn Musayk, who said: I came to the Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him, and said: O Messenger of God, tell me about Saba, was he a man or a woman? He said: He was a man from the Arabs, who had ten children. Six of them went south, and four went north. As for those who went south, they were the Azd, Kindah, Madhhij, Ash'arun, and Anmar, among whom was Bajilah. As for those who went north, they were Amilah. And Ghassan, Lakhm, and Judham—these were the people upon whom the flood of 'Arim was sent. Water used to flow into the land of Saba' from Ash-Shihr and the valleys of Yemen. They built a dam between two mountains, holding back the water, and made three gates in that dam, one above the other. They would draw water from the top gate, then the second, and then the third, and their land became fertile and their wealth increased. But when they rejected their messenger, God sent rats that gnawed through the dam until it collapsed, and the water entered their gardens and flooded them. The flood also buried their houses. This is the meaning of God's words: {So We sent upon them the flood of 'Arim}. 'Arim is the plural of 'armah, which is a dam that holds back water. Ibn al-A'rabi said: 'Arim is a flood that cannot be contained.' Qatadah and Muqatil said: 'Arim is the name of the valley of Saba'. And Imam Ali ibn Ahmad informed us... Also, Abu Hassan al-Muzakki told us, Harun ibn Muhammad al-Astarabadi told us, Ishaq ibn Ahmad al-Khuza'i told us, Abu al-Walid al-Azraqi told us, my grandfather told us, Sa'id ibn Salim al-Qaddah told us, on the authority of Uthman ibn Saj, on the authority of al-Kalb, on the authority of Abu Salih, who said: Tarifah the soothsayer revealed to Amr ibn Amir, who is called Muzayqiya ibn Ma' al-Sama', and he is Amr ibn Amir ibn Haritha ibn Tha'laba ibn Imru' al-Qays ibn Mazin ibn al-Azd ibn al-Ghawth ibn Nabt ibn Malik ibn Zayd ibn Kahlan ibn Saba' ibn Yashjub ibn Ya'rub ibn Qahtan, that in her soothsaying she had seen that the dam of Ma'rib would be destroyed, and that the flood of al-'Arim would come and destroy the two gardens. So Amr ibn Amir sold his possessions, and he and his people traveled until they reached Mecca, and they stayed in Mecca and its surroundings, and they were afflicted with fever, and they were in a land that did not They knew what fever was, so they summoned Tarifah and complained to her of what had befallen them. She said to them, "I have been afflicted with what you complain of, and it is causing division among us." They said, "What do you command?" She said, "Whoever among you has a lofty ambition, a strong camel, and new provisions, let him go to the fortified palace of Oman." And so the Azd of Oman were born. Then she said, "Whoever among you has resilience and strength, and patience in the face of life's hardships, let him go to the Arak trees of the valley of Marr." And so the Khuza'ah were born. Then she said, "Whoever among you desires those who are firmly rooted in the mud, who provide sustenance in times of drought, let him go to Yathrib, the land of palm trees." And so the Aws and Khazraj were born. Then she said, "Whoever among you desires wine and leavened bread, kingship and leadership, and to wear brocade and silk, let him go to Busra and Ghuwayr, which are in the land of Sham." And so those who settled there were born. The Jafna clan
From Ghassan, then she said: Whoever among you desires fine clothes, noble horses, treasures of provisions, and spilled blood, let him go to the land of Iraq. Those who settled there were the Jadhima al-Abrash clan, those who were in Hira, and the Muharriq clan.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------The proverb "They went astray like the tribes of Saba" or "They scattered like the tribes of Saba" is used to describe those who dispersed and scattered in every direction after a period of unity, to the point that there is no hope of their reunion.

Its origin lies in the dispersal of the Sabaean tribes after the collapse of the Marib Dam and the subsequent Flood of Arim. It became a metaphor for any group that disperses and is scattered.
Some of the closest English proverbs and expressions to it are:
Scattered to the four winds."
This is the most common and closest equivalent.
"They went their separate ways."
"Scattered far and wide."
Broken up and dispersed."
Gone in all directions."
The best equivalent to the Arabic proverb, in terms of strength and prevalence, is:
Scattered to the four winds." It depicts a group that was united and then completely dispersed, just as the Arabs say: “They dispersed like the hands of Saba.”
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
أي تفرقوا تفرقاً لا اجتماع معه‏.‏
أخبرنا الشيخ الإمام أبو الحسن علي ابن أحمد الواحدي، أخبرنا الحاكم أبو بكر محمد بن إبراهيم الفارسي، أخبرنا أبو عمرو ابن مطر، حدثنا أبو خليفة، حدثنا أبو همام، حدثنا إبراهيم بن طهمان، عن أبي جناب، عن يحيى بن هاني، عن فروة بن مسيك، قال‏:‏ أتيتُ رسول اللّه صلى اللّه عليه وسلم فقلت‏:‏ يا رسول اللّه أخبرني عن سَبَأ أرجلٌ هو أم امرأة، فقال‏:‏ هو رجل من العرب، ولد عَشَرَةً، تَيَامَنَ منهم ستة، وتشاءَمَ منهم أربعة، فأما الذين تيامَنُوا فالأزد وكِنْدَة ومَذْحِج والأشعرون وأنمار منهم بجيلة، وأما الذين تشاءموا فعَامِلة وغَسَّان ولَخْم وجُذام، وهم الذين أرسل عليهم سَيْل العَرِم، وذلك أن الماء كان يأتي أرض سبأ من الشِّحْر وأودية اليمن، فرَدَمُوا رَدْما بين جبلين، وحبسوا الماء، وجعلوا في ذلك الردم ثلاثة أبواب بعضُها فوقَ بعض، فكانوا يسقون من الباب الأعلى، ثم من الثاني، ثم من الثالث، فأخْصَبُوا، وكثرت أموالهم، فلما كَذَّبوا رسولهم بعث اللّه جُرَذا نقبت ذلك الردمَ حتى انتقض، فدخل الماء جَنَّتَيْهم فغرقهما، ودفن السيلُ بيوتهم، فذلك قوله تعالى ‏{‏فأرسلنا عليهم سيل العرم‏ ‏ والعرم‏:‏ جمع عرمة، وهي السِّكْرُ الذي يحبس الماء، وقال ابن الأعرابي‏:‏ العَرِم السيلُ الذي لا يُطَاق، وقال قتادة ومقاتل‏:‏ العرم اسم وادي سبأ‏.‏
وأخبرنا الإمام على بن أحمد أيضاً، أخبرنا أبو حسان المزكى، أخبرنا هرون بن محمد الاستراباذي، أخبرنا إسحاق بن أحمد الخزاعي، أخبرنا أبو الوليد الأزرقي، حدثنا جدي، حدثنا سعيد بن سالم القَدَّاح عن عثمان بن ساج عن الكلب عن أبي صالح قال‏:‏ ألقت طريفة الكاهنة إلىعمرو بن عامر الذي يقال له مُزَيْقيا بن ماء السماء، وهو عمرو بن عامر بن حارثة بن ثعلبة بن امرئ القيس بن مازن بن الأزد بن الغَوْث ابن نَبْت بن مالك بن زيد بن كهلان بن سبأ ابن يَشْجُب بن يَعْرُب بن قَحْطان، وكانت قد رأت في كهانتها أن سَدَّ مأرب سَيَخْرب، وأنه سيأتي سيلُ العَرِم فيخرب الجنتين، فباع عمرو بن عامر أموالَه، وسار هو وقومُه حتى انتهوا إلى مكة فأقاموا بمكة وما حولها، فأصابتهم الحمىَّ، وكانوا ببلد لا يَدْرُون فيه ما الحمى، فَدَعَوْا طريفَةَ فشَكَوْا إليها الذي أصابهم، فقالت لهم‏:‏ قد أصابني الذي تَشْكُون، وهو مُفَرق بيننا، قالوا‏:‏ فماذا تأمرين‏؟‏ قالت‏:‏ من كان منكم ذا هَمٍّ بعيد، وجمل شديد، ومزاد جديد، فليلحق بقصر عمان المشيد، فكانت أزد عمان، ثم قالت‏:‏ من كان منكم ذا جلد وقسر، وصبر على أزمات الدهر، فغليه بالأراك من بطن مر، فكانت خزاعة، ثم قالت‏:‏ من كان منكم يريد الراسيات في الوَحْل، المُطْعمات في المَحْل، فليلحق بيثرب ذات النَّخْل، فكانت الأوس والخزرج، ثم قالت‏:‏ من كان منكم يريد الخمر والخمير، والملك والتأمير، ويلبس الديباج والحرير، فليلحق ببصرى وغوير، وهما من أرض الشأم، فكان الذين سكنوها آل جَفْنة
من غَسَّان، ثم قالت‏:‏ مَنْ كان ‏ منكم يريد الثياب الرقاق، والخيل العتاق، وكنوز الأرزاق، والدم المُهْراق، فليلحق بأرض العراق، فكان الذين سكنوها آل جَذيمة الأبرش ومن كان بالحِيرة وآل محرق‏.‏