[1] French scholar Victor Guérin associated Sha'ab with Saab, a place mentioned by 1st-century Jewish historian Josephus.

In the 14th century, the tax income from the village was given to the wakf of the madrasah and mausoleum of the Shafi'i Manjaq in Egypt.

[6] In 1596, the village appeared in Ottoman tax registers as being in the Nahiya of Acre, part of Safad Sanjak, with a population of 102 households and 37 bachelors, all Muslims.

The villagers paid a fixed tax rate of 33,3% on wheat, barley, fruit trees, "goats and bees", in addition to "occasional revenues"; a total of 14,354 akçe.

[16] During the 1936 revolt in Palestine, the British Army attacked Sha'ab, demolishing 190 houses in the village.

A day prior to the demolition of the homes, the army rounded up around 200 of its adult male residents and led them to a valley outside the village.

As they were being lined up, a rebel fighter positioned on a nearby hill began yelling and firing into the air, confusing the soldiers and causing Sha'ab's detained men to disperse chaotically.

[23] The village was the headquarters and hometown of Abu Is'af, who led Arab resistance groups during the war and was viewed as a hero.

[24] Many of the original residents settled in nearby Arab villages, predominantly in Majd al-Krum and Sakhnin while refugees from al-Birwa, al-Damun and Mi'ar relocated to Sha'ab after the war.

In 1933 it was inspected by Na'im Makhouly from the Palestine Antiquities Museum, who found that the mosque dated from the time of Zahir al-Umar.

Pictures from the time show two arcades: one had four arches connected with the side wall, with two columns in the centre.