I am a female bee. I am a creature of Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala, your Rabb and my Rabb. You should not be surprised or wonder, I am here because I just wanted to tell you about my social life, so that you could understand the importance of small animals like me.
You know! There are at least 20,000 species of bees. The best known and most carefully studied is my nation, the honey bee. This is because you, human, like the honey. It is generally known that honey is a fundamental food source for the human body, whereas only a few people are aware of the extraordinary features of its producer, the honeybee. There are prehistoric cave paintings, 8,000 to 15,000 years old, which depict people robbing bee hives. Beekeeping seems to have begun in ancient Egypt, perhaps 2400 BC. It flourished as an industry throughout Europe and the Mediterranean.
Allah is the One Who has created the heavens, the earth, and human kind. The upper realm of His creation, is the heavens, and the lower realm, is the earth, and everything in them. They have been created for a true purpose, not in vain, so that He may requite those who do evil with that which they have done by punishing them in Hell, and reward those who do good, with what is the best, i.e. Paradise.
May be you're wondering, why Allah created me? Well, we, the Bees, are created to worship Allah, same as you. There is none to be worshipped besides Him, the One, the Unique, the Lone, the Self-Sufficient. Worship is Allah’s right, and that worship should be directed to Him alone, not to any of the idols which do not create, but are rather themselves created. Thus He says,
So, the way we worship Allah in a form of a certain task. I know for sure my task, because since I was born, Allah inspired me, and to all of the Bee nation. Allah revealed,أَفَمَنْ يَخْلُقُ كَمَنْ لا يَخْلُقُ أَفَلا تَذَكَّرُونَ"Then is He who creates like one who does not create? So will you not be reminded?" - [QS.16:17]
So, since I was born, I live my life by Allah's guidance, without it, the bees can not organize their habitation and to produce honey. You'll never see me building my habitation except in places that Allah has shown me. Most of my habitations are in mountains and hills, in trees and in people's dwellings, never anywhere else; the place I mentioned first is the place most frequently used, trees are next in frequency, and people's dwelling come last. These last are the smallest in size, while in mountains and trees our hives are enormous; and huge amounts of honey are collected from us.وَأَوْحَى رَبُّكَ إِلَى النَّحْلِ أَنِ اتَّخِذِي مِنَ الْجِبَالِ بُيُوتًا وَمِنَ الشَّجَرِ وَمِمَّا يَعْرِشُونَ"And your Rabb inspired to the bee, "Take for yourself among the mountains, houses, and among the trees and [in] that which they construct." - [QS.16:68]
And Allah also revealed,
Let me tell you about my social life. But first, you have to know that my ancestor appeared about 100 million years ago, coinciding with the appearance of the first true flowering plants. In Rabb’s beautiful system, the flowers and the bees are dependent on each other. The color and smell of the flower is not for human, although you can and should enjoy it. It’s to attract me and my friends, the Bees, to insure the flower’s survival. And if the flower didn’t produce nectar and pollen, we wouldn’t survive.ثُمَّ كُلِي مِنْ كُلِّ الثَّمَرَاتِ فَاسْلُكِي سُبُلَ رَبِّكِ ذُلُلا يَخْرُجُ مِنْ بُطُونِهَا شَرَابٌ مُخْتَلِفٌ أَلْوَانُهُ فِيهِ شِفَاءٌ لِلنَّاسِ إِنَّ فِي ذَلِكَ لآيَةً لِقَوْمٍ يَتَفَكَّرُونَ"Then eat from all the fruits and follow the ways of your Rabb laid down [for you]." There emerges from their bellies a drink, varying in colors, in which there is healing for people. Indeed in that is a sign for a people who give thought." - [QS.16:69]
So, let's go to the hive. By shaping small beeswax, the bees construct a hive where 30.000 to 80.000 bees can live and work together. To have that many creatures in such a small space, there must be great organization. The bees within the hive understand their role and perform their jobs without complaint or confusion. We know certainly our task, the purpose of the Bee nation created. It’s Rabb's inspiration why we build the hives, to eat from the fruits, and to create the honey. It’s all Rabb's inspiration and overall design on why the Bees were created.
An amazing fact about my nation is that we have a queen, without whom we do not fly about, do not work, and do not suck. Within a honey bee hive, there are three types of bees, queen, worker and drone. There is a single queen bee. Her only job is to lay eggs. She lacks the glands to make wax and the tongue to gather nectar. She is fed, groomed, and defended to the death. She has no maternal instinct, she only lays the eggs, they’re cared for by the workers.
We obey our queen, give heed to her, and work upon her commands. The queen has the right of directing, ordering and forbidding us. We are her subjects, obedient to her, and abiding by her pleasure. She directs us in the way a king directs his subjects. As we enter our home, the queen stands at the door, not letting any bee shove another or precede it in passing in. We pass in one by one, without crowding, colliding or clustering; she organize our entering in the same way as a leader does when his troops arrive at a narrow passage where there is no room for more than one at a time.
In observing my nation management of affairs, good policy, guidance, unity of intent, organization, handling of our rule, and the assigning of each individual's work, you would have no end of wonder! It will be plain to you that it is not on our own that bees can accomplish those acts, or achieve control and most perfectly. If you observe the worker bee, you will see that they are among the weakest of Rabb's creatures, utterly ignorant about their own affairs, and the least capable of going about their interest, to say nothing about the amazing achievements they perform.
One puzzling fact about us is that we never have two queens at one habitation, commanding the same group. If two groups are formed commanded by two leaders, one of the two is killed and cut into pieces, and we agree on giving our loyalty to one queen, without showing hostility among ourselves, or trying to cause injury to one another. We unite as one group having one army.
A bewildering thing about my nation, something that most humans do not realize or notice, is the way the bee reproduces, whether we are by way of delivery or by transformation. Very few people imagine how it happens or get to know it! Indeed, we reproduce by neither of the above two methods, but by the most mind-boggling method! As I go to the meadows it picks nectar, the purest stuff on leaves, petals, flowers, grass, etc.; I sucks it, and this forms the essence of honey. Then I press the condensed bits of that stuff on the face of a leaf, and sticks it on my leg, forming it in the shape of a lentil; then I fill with it the empty hexagons made of honey.
Later on, the queen makes a round beginning with her habitation, breathes in it, and goes on to the other habitations and breathes in all of them. From this, life emerges in them by the will of Rabb, and so they come out as flying creatures by the will of Rabb. This is a curious miracle and a sign that few get to know; it takes place by Divine inspiration, which guided us and taught us management, travelling, living, constructing and production.
And how about the honey that we produced? A variety of honey is so white that you see the reflection of your face in it better than you see it in the mirror, it is the choicest honey that is known to mankind, the purest and most delicious. Its taste was indeed the most deliriously sweet. Other varieties are red, green, pink, black, tan and many other hues in between, with flavours that vary with the variety of the sucking plants and the original substance of it.
Honey is a constituent of most medicines, in such a degree that the ancients did not know sugar, nor is it even mentioned in their books. What they used with their medicines was honey, and that is what you see mentioned in their books. Indeed it is more beneficial than sugar, more effective and more purifying of humours, more ameliorating and alleviating and supplying with resistance to injury. It is more strengthening for the stomach, raising of spirits, lifting of the soul, enhancing the catalytic medicines and assisting in tracing ailments in the furthest reaches of the body.
If the world were without sugar, it would not be missed, while if honey were lacking, there would be a great demand for it. Some towns have so taken to using sugar that they have given up honey, and they prefer the taste of sugar to that of honey; they find the former less sharp and intense than the latter. They do not realize that the honey's benefit lies in its very sharpness and intensity. If somebody finds it not fit for his body, he is recommended to soften the honey's sharpness with other foods, and in this way it will be more beneficial than sugar.
Do you know how important a food source the honey, offered to mankind by Rabb, by means of a tiny animal like me? Honey is composed of sugars like glucose and fructose and minerals like magnesium, potassium, calcium, sodium chlorine, sulfur, iron and phosphate. It includes B1, B2, C, B6, B5 and B3 vitamins changing according to the qualities of nectar and pollen sources. Besides; copper, iodine, iron and zinc exist in it in small quantities. Also, several kinds of hormones are also present in its content.
Nowadays, apiculture and bee products has become a new branch of research in countries advanced in science. There are other benefits of honey, such as, it is easily digested by the most sensitive stomachs despite its high acid concentration, because the sugar molecules in the honey can convert into other types of sugar, the honey. It also helps kidneys and intestines to function better.
Another quality of the honey is that, when it is compared with the same amount of sugar, it gives 40% less calories to the body. Although it gives great energy to the body, it does not add on weight. When accompanied by mild water, honey fuses into the bloodstream in 7 minutes. The free sugar molecules in it make the brain function easier.
Honey provides an important part of the energy needed by the body for blood formation. In addition, it helps cleaning the blood. It has some positive effects in regulating the blood circulation and facilitating it. Also, it functions as an important protection against capillary problems and arteriosclerosis.
Honey does not accommodate bacteria. This bacteria killing property of the honey is named as the "inhibition effect". The experiments conducted on honey resolve that, its bacteria killing property increases twice when diluted with water. It is very interesting to note that the newborns in the bee colony are nourished with diluted honey by the bees responsible of their supervision, as if they know this feature of the honey.
Royal jelly is a substance produced by worker bees inside the beehive. Inside this nutritious substance, there exist sugar, proteins, fats and many vitamins. It is used in problems which occur as a result of tissue deficiency or body frailty.
Finally, from Abu Sa`id al-Khudri, that a man came to the Prophet (ﷺ) and said, "My brother has some Abdominal trouble." The Prophet (ﷺ) said to him "Let him drink honey." The man came for the second time and the Prophet (ﷺ) said to him, 'Let him drink honey." He came for the third time and the Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Let him drink honey." He returned again and said, "I have done that ' The Prophet (ﷺ) then said, "Allah has said the truth, but your brother's `Abdomen has told a lie. Let him drink honey." So he made him drink honey and he was cured. - [Sahih al-Bukhari]
From Ibn Abbas, radhiyallahu 'anhu, the Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Healing is in three things: A gulp of honey, cupping, and branding with fire (cauterizing)." But I forbid my followers to use (cauterization) branding with fire." - [Sahih al-Bukhari]
I am grateful for all the blessings that Allah granted for us and the many kinds of things that He has done for us. And if you should count the favors of Allah, you could not enumerate them. The camels, cattles, sheep, and goats, the “eight pairs”, are the blessing in His creation of An‘am. The blessings include the benefits derived from their wool and hair, from which clothes and furnishings are made, from their milk which is drunk, and their young which are eaten. Their beauty is a kind of adornment when they are brought back from the pasture in the evening. This is a reference to how their flanks become fat, their udders fill with milk and their humps become bigger. They carry the heavy burdens that humans cannot move or carry by themselves, in journeys for Hajj, ‘Umrah, military campaigns, and journeys for the purpose of trading, and so on. Human use these animals for all kinds of purposes, for riding and for carrying loads. It Allah is the One Who has subjugated the An'am (cattle) for you. And Allah also has created horses, mules and donkeys for you to ride, and as an adornment. This is the main purpose for which these animals were created.
O my brothers and sisters, as I mentioned earlier, that we, the Bees, our way of life, is based on the guidance of Allah, which He inspired us. Without divine guidance in our lives, we will not be able to produce honey that benefits us and other creatures. By following divine guidance, we don't need to waste energy to make rules between us and also don't need to argue with each other about what's wrong and what's right, like humans do if they make their own rules. Without following divine guidance, we are only small creatures that have no meaning.
In addition to creating camels to drive, Allah also created horses and donkeys, which may be used for the purpose of physical journeys. Likewise, there is a moral, religious routes that people may follow. Often in the Qur’an, there is a shift from physical or tangible things to beneficial spiritual and religious matters. People always try to reach wich one the best way to follow, and the true way is up to Allah. It is up to Allah to clarify, to explain the guidance and misguidance. And Allah know best."
Reference :وَعَلَى اللَّهِ قَصْدُ السَّبِيلِ وَمِنْهَا جَائِرٌ وَلَوْ شَاءَ لَهَدَاكُمْ أَجْمَعِينَ"And upon Allah is the direction of the [right] way, and among the various paths are those deviating. And if He willed, He could have guided you all." - [QS.16:9]"
- Syaikh Safiurrahman Al-Mubarakpuri, Tafsir Ibn Kathir (Abridged) Volume V, Darussalam
- Anas Abdul-Hameed Al-Qoz, Men and The Universe - Reflections of Ibn Al-Qayyem, Darussalam
