A068
Surah: 016 - Ayah: 068
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16:68
It is said in the Qur'an: "And (0 Prophet!) thy Lord inspired (awha) the bee, saying: make beehives in the hills and in the trees and in tall habitations which people make, then suck of all fruits, and follow the ways of thy Lord, made smooth (for thee)" (16:68-69). In these verses is contained the principle of interrelated wisdom and systematic ta'wil. The principle of systematic ta'wil is that its keys are in the blessed hand of the Imam of the time, who Is the mazhar (locus of manifestation) of the Divine light and the successor of the Prophet. Thus it is the Imam of the time who can permit someone to do ta'wil. In this case the origin and foundation of ta'wi1 or interrelated wisdom is based on spirituality and marifat, and the ultimate fountainhead of marifat lies where the three greatest treasures of God are working together. These treasures have many names and examples and In the above mentioned verses, their examples are the hills, trees and tall habitations and they are the light of Intellect, Olive Tree and the Divine Word (kalimah-1 bar!) respectively. The Olive Tree is in human form.
Q509 The four rivers of paradise are extolled in the wise Qur’an (47:15). Among them is the pure and clear river of honey. Physical honey is also praised medicinally. The Qur’an also mentions in (16:68-69) how the bee continues to receive innate guidance. Could you recommend a book of material science which provides important information about the bee and honey?
A509
- There is a Burushaski proverb which translates: “When the teeth were sound and healthy there was no bread, when the bread became available the teeth have disappeared!”
- Honey is a sweet and viscous liquid food produced in the honey sacs of various bees from the nectar of flowers. The nectar is ripened into honey by the inversion of the major portion of its sucrose sugar into the sugar’s levulose (fructose) and dextrose (glucose) and by the removal of excess moisture.
- For its annual consumption a middle sized beehive requires four tofive hundred pounds of honey.
- Bees have to make twenty thousand journeys to the fields andgardens to produce one pound of honey.
- For commercial production honey is acquired from apiaries. The colour and the fragrance of honey depend on the kind of flowers from which nectar is extracted.
Q510 With reference to (16:68-69), it is necessary to reflect on the wonders and marvels of the bee. Please tell us how we can do this?
A510
- It is said that the bee also produces wax in addition to honey.
- All honeybees are social insects and live together in nests or hives. There are three castes or classes: the workers, which are undeveloped females; queens, which are bigger than the workers; and males or drones, which are bigger than the workers and are present only in early summer.
- The workers and queens have stings, the drones are stingless. Both queens and workers lay eggs, but only the queens’ are fertilized with the drones’ sperm and develop into females. The eggs of the workers develop into males.
- Queens are not hatched as queens; they become so when fed royal jelly, a substance produced by the salivary glands of the workers. The eggs hatch in three days into larvae known as grubs. All the grubs are fed royal jelly at first, but only the future queens are continued on the diet. When fully grown the grubs transform into pupae. Queens emerge in 16 days, workers in three weeks and drones several days after the workers.
- After emerging the queens fight among themselves until only one remains in the hive. She then attacks the old queen, who leaves the nest with a swarm to form a new colony.
- Bees communicate with one another through signs and movements. For instance, if a bee returns to its hive and dances, it is a sign of discovering a new treasure of nectar.
This verse has been referred 3 times.