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Link: https://www.youtube.com/live/f-Jc52IrKzM?si=LDxB9lzUDQmPGVQS

The biggest blessings in life can be the smallest ones — those we hardly notice, tend to forget, overlook or ignore. We move through the world perpetually chasing after wealth, power and success, searching for stability, validation and comfort; oftentimes disregarding Allah’s infinitesimal bounties surrounding us.

وَإِن تَعُدُّوا۟ نِعْمَةَ ٱللَّهِ لَا تُحْصُوهَآ

If you tried to count Allah’s blessings, you would never be able to number them. (16:18)

The Miracle of the Bee

In a dedicated chapter in the Qur’an titled ‘The Bee’ (Surah al-Nahl), Allah ﷻ further magnifies the relationships of blessings through the lens of a bee by illustrating everything that goes into making His one tiny creation an outstanding example for human beings. In these inspiring verses, the bee emerges not as an insignificant winged insect, but as a miraculous creature to be admired. 

وَأَوْحَىٰ رَبُّكَ إِلَى النَّحْلِ أَنِ اتَّخِذِي مِنَ الْجِبَالِ بُيُوتًا وَمِنَ الشَّجَرِ وَمِمَّا يَعْرِشُونَ ‎﴿٦٨﴾‏ ثُمَّ كُلِي مِن كُلِّ الثَّمَرَاتِ فَاسْلُكِي سُبُلَ رَبِّكِ ذُلُلًا ۚ يَخْرُجُ مِن بُطُونِهَا شَرَابٌ مُّخْتَلِفٌ أَلْوَانُهُ فِيهِ شِفَاءٌ لِّلنَّاسِ ۗ إِنَّ فِي ذَٰلِكَ لَآيَةً لِّقَوْمٍ يَتَفَكَّرُونَ ‎﴿٦٩﴾

And your Lord inspired the bees: “Make ˹your˺ homes in the mountains, the trees, and in what people construct, and feed from ˹the flower of˺ any fruit ˹you please˺ and follow the ways your Lord has made easy for you.” From their bellies comes forth liquid of varying colors, in which there is healing for people. Surely in this is a sign for those who reflect. (16:68-69)

No other creature in the animal kingdom is mentioned quite like the bee is highlighted in the Qur’an. Allah ﷻ used the word أَوْحَىٰ. وحي refers to divine revelation and this is the same word He uses for His prophets. Meaning, Allah ﷻ Himself divinely inspired and commanded the bee all this knowledge of performing these tasks.

Another miracle is the reference Allah ﷻ made to the bee that produces the honey in the hive; it points to a single female bee. Allah ﷻ communicates directly with the female bee and instructs it, as it is responsible for the majority of tasks which include building, cleaning and maintaining the hive, gathering pollen and nectar, as well as defending the colony.

The هَا in بُطُونِهَا denotes an individual female bee, and by using the plural noun, Allah ﷻ clearly indicates that it has more than one stomach. While these insights to the dual-nature of the bee’s stomach; one to digest food, and the other to store nectar, were only discovered in the 17th century by scientists, the Book of Allah has presented us with this fact over 1,400 years ago.

Never Too Small to Make a Big Difference

It is hardly a coincidence that Allah ﷻ mentions the bee after mentioning His countless blessings. Clearly, there are underlying lessons even in nature’s minuscule miracle, that we can extract and deeply reflect on. To further elucidate the point, we highlight six outstanding qualities of the bee that we can emulate in our own lives.

1. Have a hidden secret

Upon collecting nectar from the flowers, the bee takes flight amongst the kingdom of birds. And unbeknownst to the far more superior flocks that belittle it, it unassumingly hides its greatest, most precious substance in its special sac (honey stomach).

In navigating our own journey as believers on this vast earth, while others may look down on us outwardly, we carry something far more valuable within ourselves — our iman (faith). And the most precious secret each one of us possesses, is the one that is hidden between us and Allah.

This analogy echoes the sentiments of Ali ibn Abi Talib RA who used to say that the believers should live like the bees amongst the birds. He underlined, “None of the birds recognize the bees because of their small size and weakness. They would not treat them this way if they realized that these very small bees can carry honey which is very valuable in their stomachs.”

2. Ensure every pursuit is Halal

The Prophet ﷺ also compared a believer to a bee, emphasizing their commendable qualities and actions. He said:

"تَنْقُصْ وَالَّذِي نَفْسُ مُحَمَّدٍ بِيَدِهِ إِنَّ مَثَلَ الْمُؤْمِنِ لَكَمَثَلِ النَّحْلَةِ أَكَلَتْ طَيِّبًا وَوَضَعَتْ طَيِّبًا وَوَقَعَتْ فَلَمْ تُكْسَرْ وَلَمْ تَفْسُدْ"

By the One in whose hand is the soul of Muhammad, the parable of the believer is that of a bee. It consumes and produces what is wholesome. It falls down, yet it never breaks or spoils.” (Musnad Ahmad)

The bee is careful to only consume from food sources which are pure and wholesome, and it pursues its sustenance in the purest manner. Just like the bee, the believer’s pursuit of what is good and beneficial should encompass both their actions as well as their sustenance. Hence, whenever we seek rizq (provision), we should be conscious of Allah ﷻ and be graceful in our earnings; knowing He has decreed what is rightfully ours in our lifespan.

The Prophet ﷺ said:

‏ "‏ أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَأَجْمِلُوا فِي الطَّلَبِ فَإِنَّ نَفْسًا لَنْ تَمُوتَ حَتَّى تَسْتَوْفِيَ رِزْقَهَا وَإِنْ أَبْطَأَ عَنْهَا فَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَأَجْمِلُوا فِي الطَّلَبِ خُذُوا مَا حَلَّ وَدَعُوا مَا حَرُمَ ‏"‏ ‏.‏

"O people, fear Allah and be moderate in seeking a living, for no soul will die until it has received all its provision, even if it is slow in coming. So, fear Allah and be moderate in seeking provision; take that which is permissible and leave that which is forbidden. " (Sunan Ibn Majah)

3. Give and spread goodness

Whenever the bee approaches a flower, it hovers just above it without landing on it and destroying it. In fact, it spreads more goodness by facilitating the flower in pollination, helping it to reproduce and grow.

Likewise, the believer should be gentle in their dealings with Allah’s creation. It is ideal for the believer to create good experiences around people, without ever having to be a burden upon them, nor causing harm to them. Gentleness is amongst His beloved traits; a characteristic the Prophet ﷺ himself possessed, which made him beloved to all.

The Prophet ﷺ said:

"إِنَّ اللَّهَ رَفِيقٌ يُحِبُّ الرِّفْقَ وَيُعْطِي عَلَيْهِ مَا لاَ يُعْطِي عَلَى الْعُنْفِ "

"Allah is Gentle and loves gentleness, and He grants reward for it that He does not grant for harshness." (Sunan Ibn Majah)

The bee is also selfless, not selfish. It gives more than it takes. In our relationships, we must strive to be the one who gives more instead of takes more. And we should continuously give without expecting anything in return.

4. Live to benefit others

The bee has a short lifespan of at least five weeks. Despite this fact, it is able to get so much beneficial work done — it commits its entire lifetime working on the hive, foraging for food and gathering pollen.

The believer is placed on this earth to contribute to the world, and to live serving Allah’s cause. Our service to humanity is a part of our faith. This is why a believer’s life is meant to be lived in such a way that it benefits others.   Especially when Allah ﷻ has given us a longer lifespan of between sixty to seventy years of age, there is no excuse for us not to dedicate our entire lives being at the service of others.

The Prophet ﷺ said:

أَحَبُّ النَّاسِ إِلَى اللَّهِ أَنْفَعُهُمْ لِلنَّاسِ وَأَحَبُّ الأَعْمَالِ إِلَى اللَّهِ سُرُورٌ تُدْخِلُهُ عَلَى مُسْلِمٍ أَوْ تَكْشِفُ عَنْهُ كُرْبَةً أَوْ تَقْضِي عَنْهُ دِينًا أَوْ تَطْرُدُ عَنْهُ جُوعًا

“The most beloved people to Allah are those who are most beneficial to people. The most beloved deed to Allah is to make a Muslim happy, or remove one of his troubles, or forgive his debt, or feed his hunger.” (Al-Mu’jam al-Awsat lil-Tabarani)

5. Implement communal ethics

What is amazing about the bee is that not only is it an individually hard worker, but a socially disciplined team worker. The community works harmoniously in a highly organized structure, they live together in unity, and as a result are able to produce honey; a powerful source of healing for the world.

The bees teach the believers that communal strength is prevalent to sustain the ummah. This signifies that we should work collectively toward a common goal instead of competing with one another. There is no ‘I’ in the work of our Deen, but ‘We’ — and with the mutual support of one another, we will be able to make positive and sustainable changes within our communities, for the betterment of society.

The Prophet ﷺ said,

‏ "‏ إِنَّ الْمُؤْمِنَ لِلْمُؤْمِنِ كَالْبُنْيَانِ، يَشُدُّ بَعْضُهُ بَعْضًا ‏"‏‏.

"A faithful believer to a faithful believer is like the bricks of a wall, enforcing each other." While saying that the Prophet ﷺ clasped his hands, by interlacing his fingers.

If each believer crucially plays their role and cooperates seamlessly to accomplish tasks for the ummah in spite of any complexities, similarly as the bees, we will become a powerful source of mercy and healing for the world.

6. Learn to find positivity

When the bee travels for long distances from its hive in search of food, it is admirably able to find something sweet and beautiful even if it forages in the middle of a landfill. It then carries the goodness in itself and it provides so much goodness to others. In contrast, a fly looks for rot, then suckles on filth and sits on decay even if it lands in the middle of a blossoming garden.

The lesson here is that as believers, we want to embody the bee and not the fly. We first need to harbor goodness within ourselves, before becoming a source of ongoing goodness for others. No matter where we are in the world, as believers, we must focus on finding the good in people and the community, while ignoring any imperfections there might be because there is no perfectibility in human affairs.

Meanwhile, the believer should stay away from any form of negativity as this type of behavior is toxic, like the fly that only takes filth; it stuns the growth of the community. This is why the Prophet ﷺ likened the munafiq (hypocrite) to a fly — as they possess such evil tendencies that are harmful to the self and will ultimately cause moral ruin.

How humbling to think that animals as tiny as a bee, with their creaturely limitations, has allowed us to renew our hearts as believers and see our everyday realities on a larger scale. The more we ponder on Allah’s creation, the more we approach our life with gratitude and reverence to Allah ﷻ and develop a deeper appreciation toward His Supreme Majesty, His Absolute Might and His Infinite Wisdom in all His bounties and blessings.  

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