Essence of Islam

Honeybees- A Symbol Of Allah

Von Frish received a Nobel Prize in 1973 for his research on honeybees. Different scientists have been researching honey bees for a long time and have spent a lot of resources and effort on it. But, the Quran has mentioned honeybees for like 1400 years ago. There is a Surah in the Quran “Nahl” which means honey bee.

In this surah, there is Ayahs 68-69: “And your Lord inspired the bee: Set up hives in the mountains, and in the trees, and in what they construct”. “Then eat of all the fruits (and flowers), and go along the pathways of your Lord (for the making of honey), with precision. From their bellies emerges a fluid of diverse colors, containing healing for the people (honey syrup). Certainly, there is a sign (and a sign of Allah's might) for a society to think about”. If we think about these Ayahs, we realize that Quran has mentioned bee dance, hives, their process of making honey, honey bees gender, and the healing powers of honey in these Ayahs. 

The hives of honeybees is a unique thing because it taught us how to make luxurious and big houses in small places. These hives are a miracle of Allah because no other living being can create it with that precision. After it, the process of creating honey is discussed in this Ayah. A bee has multiple stomachs in which they store juices of fruits and flowers to make honey. Some of their stomachs make honey and some make royal jelly and other food for their kids. 

The next part of Ayah where pathways are discussed points toward honey bee dance. When the bee finds a new garden or plant for making honey, they come back and tell other honeybees about it. They use bee dance for this purpose. The speed of their dance, the direction of it, and other elements told other members where the new resource is present and how much time it would take them to reach there. Honey bee’s brain is more powerful than a computer. They can do ten trillion operations per second. So, researchers are still researching their dance and lifestyle.

The last part of Ayah discusses honey. You know each honey is different in color and texture. This different type of honey is coming out from one honey bee. So, this different type of honey is also a miracle of Allah. And, we all know the healing aspects of honey. So, I don’t need to delve deeper into it.

In the end of this video, I am going to tell you the most amazing aspect of the Quran. The Arabic words in surah Nahl ayah confirms that worker honey bees are females. They do the whole work of creating honey and do a bee dance for their members. They feed their youngsters and clean their hives. They have a queen honeybee to whom they report. Male drones are only for fertilization purposes. Scientists a few years ago believed that worker honeybees are males. The latest technology told them about the real gender of honey bees which Allah had told them 1400 years ago. So, this is all about honeybees.