In Arabic, honeybee is called [Nahl]. Allah has revealed one Surah (chapter) in the Holy Quran, that has been named ‘Surah An-Nahl’. In this Surah, there is an account of the goodness of honey and honeybee, and its advantages and benefits, which are worth mentioning. In reality, the honeybees hold prominence among the list of the wonders of the universe. Some features of the honeybees are as follows:
1. The discipline and system of beehives is so organised as if it is the system of a well-established and advanced country. The whole system of these honeybees is flawless and orderly.
2. Thousands and hundreds of thousands of honeybees live in the way that they all believe in one king honey bee that is bigger in size than all other honeybees. All the honeybees travel and stay under his leadership. This king is called ‘Ya’soob’.
3. Ya’soob also works as a manager who gets work done by dividing and appointing jobs among individual honeybees. Therefore, some honeybees construct homes that are in the shape of holes. Honeybees construct these hexagonal holes with such beauty and uniformity that it seems as if a seasoned engineer has constructed it with the help of compass. All these holes have exactly the same identical shape, exactly same width, same length and exactly the same depth.
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As per command of Ya’soob, some honeybees perform the task of laying eggs and giving birth. Some prepare honey and some make wax. Some fetch water and some carryout security watch. It is impossible for any other fly to enter into their home.
5. These honeybees suck the nectar from fruits and flowers and hoard it in the honey store. In the search of fruits and flowers, they travel separately hundreds of miles into jungles and fields but they do not forget the location of their honeycombs. Furthermore, without any confusion or searching, they return straight back to their respective honeycombs after travelling hundreds of miles.
6. These honeybees prepare honey of different colours and flavours -sometimes red, sometimes white, sometimes black and sometimes yellow, sometimes thin and sometimes thick. This variation in the colour and flavour of honey is due to the diversity of different weathers and different types of fruits and flowers.
7. They build their beehives sometimes in trees, sometimes on mountains, sometimes in houses, sometimes within the holes of walls and sometimes inside the ground. Everywhere, their activities remain in progress systematically and with a very good discipline.
8. Ya’soob also inflicts appropriate punishments upon the disobedient and rebellious honeybees to such an extent that some of them are also ordered to be killed. He keeps everyone under his command and control. Not a single honeybee is allowed to sit over filth. If any of them does so, then their king Ya’soob punishes her severely and expels it from the honeycomb.
The Holy Quran has narrated about these honeybees in the following words:
And your Lord inspired the bee; that, ‘Make homes in the mountains, and in trees and in rooftops. Then eat from all kinds ojfruits, and walk the ways of your Lord which are soft and easy for you’ From their bellies comes a drink of various colours, in which is healing for the people; indeed in this is a sign to those who ponder.
[Kanz-ul-Iman (Translation of Quran)] (Part 14, Surah An-Nahl, Ayah 68-69)
1. The discipline and system of beehives is so organised as if it is the system of a well-established and advanced country. The whole system of these honeybees is flawless and orderly.
2. Thousands and hundreds of thousands of honeybees live in the way that they all believe in one king honey bee that is bigger in size than all other honeybees. All the honeybees travel and stay under his leadership. This king is called ‘Ya’soob’.
3. Ya’soob also works as a manager who gets work done by dividing and appointing jobs among individual honeybees. Therefore, some honeybees construct homes that are in the shape of holes. Honeybees construct these hexagonal holes with such beauty and uniformity that it seems as if a seasoned engineer has constructed it with the help of compass. All these holes have exactly the same identical shape, exactly same width, same length and exactly the same depth.
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5. These honeybees suck the nectar from fruits and flowers and hoard it in the honey store. In the search of fruits and flowers, they travel separately hundreds of miles into jungles and fields but they do not forget the location of their honeycombs. Furthermore, without any confusion or searching, they return straight back to their respective honeycombs after travelling hundreds of miles.
6. These honeybees prepare honey of different colours and flavours -sometimes red, sometimes white, sometimes black and sometimes yellow, sometimes thin and sometimes thick. This variation in the colour and flavour of honey is due to the diversity of different weathers and different types of fruits and flowers.
7. They build their beehives sometimes in trees, sometimes on mountains, sometimes in houses, sometimes within the holes of walls and sometimes inside the ground. Everywhere, their activities remain in progress systematically and with a very good discipline.
8. Ya’soob also inflicts appropriate punishments upon the disobedient and rebellious honeybees to such an extent that some of them are also ordered to be killed. He keeps everyone under his command and control. Not a single honeybee is allowed to sit over filth. If any of them does so, then their king Ya’soob punishes her severely and expels it from the honeycomb.
The Holy Quran has narrated about these honeybees in the following words:
And your Lord inspired the bee; that, ‘Make homes in the mountains, and in trees and in rooftops. Then eat from all kinds ojfruits, and walk the ways of your Lord which are soft and easy for you’ From their bellies comes a drink of various colours, in which is healing for the people; indeed in this is a sign to those who ponder.
[Kanz-ul-Iman (Translation of Quran)] (Part 14, Surah An-Nahl, Ayah 68-69)
Moral:
Allah has made honey a cure for all ailments. Therefore, some illnesses are cured merely just by honey, whereas some illnesses are treated by mixing honey with other medicines. The treatment of different diseases is carried out through different syrups, etc., but honey is used in all of them. Similarly, there is also usage of honey in lemonade drinks, which is very useful for stomach diseases. However, every Muslim should believe that honey holds cure because Allah says in the Holy Quran regarding honey
that: meaning ‘in which is healing for the people’.
(Part 14, Surah An-Nahl, Ayah 69)
