An-Nahl (The Bee) Section 9 – Guidance From The Bounties Of God For Man
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The Guidance available for a seeker of knowledge
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God shows through the Bounties viz., the cattle, the fruits etc
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Reference to the Bee which has been inspired to act according to the Divine Plan
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Man created and reverted to the age of weakness and ignorance after once acquiring knowledge
An-Nahl (The Bee) Verses 66 – 70
وَإِنَّ لَكُمْ فِي الْأَنْعَامِ لَعِبْرَةً نُسْقِيكُمْ مِمَّا فِي بُطُونِهِ مِنْ بَيْنِ فَرْثٍ وَدَمٍ لَبَنًا خَالِصًا سَائِغًا لِلشَّارِبِينَ
And verily for you there in the cattle is a lesson; We give you to drink what is in their bellies, from betwixt the 1faeces and the blood, milk pure, easy and palatable for those who drink (it). (16:66)2
وَمِنْ ثَمَرَاتِ النَّخِيلِ وَالْأَعْنَابِ تَتَّخِذُونَ مِنْهُ سَكَرًا وَرِزْقًا حَسَنًا إِنَّ فِي ذَٰلِكَ لَآيَةً لِقَوْمٍ يَعْقِلُونَ
And of the fruits of the date-palms, and the grapes - obtain ye from them (drinks of) intoxication and goodly sustenance; Verily in this is a sign for people who understand. (16:67)
وَأَوْحَىٰ رَبُّكَ إِلَى النَّحْلِ أَنِ اتَّخِذِي مِنَ الْجِبَالِ بُيُوتًا وَمِنَ الشَّجَرِ وَمِمَّا يَعْرِشُونَ
And 3revealed thy Lord unto the bee saying: “Make thou hives in the mountains and in the trees and in what they (men) 4build,” (16:68)5
ثُمَّ كُلِي مِنْ كُلِّ الثَّمَرَاتِ فَاسْلُكِي سُبُلَ رَبِّكِ ذُلُلًا يَخْرُجُ مِنْ بُطُونِهَا شَرَابٌ مُخْتَلِفٌ أَلْوَانُهُ فِيهِ شِفَاءٌ لِلنَّاسِ إِنَّ فِي ذَٰلِكَ لَآيَةً لِقَوْمٍ يَتَفَكَّرُونَ
“Then eat thou of all the fruits and walk thou in the ways of thy Lord submissively.” There cometh out from within it a drink of divers colours, in it is healing for men; Verily in this is a sign for the people who reflect. (16:69)
وَاللَّهُ خَلَقَكُمْ ثُمَّ يَتَوَفَّاكُمْ وَمِنْكُمْ مَنْ يُرَدُّ إِلَىٰ أَرْذَلِ الْعُمُرِ لِكَيْ لَا يَعْلَمَ بَعْدَ عِلْمٍ شَيْئًا إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَلِيمٌ قَدِيرٌ
“And God hath created you, then He taketh you away, and of you is he who is reverted to the lowest state of the age, so that he knoweth not aught after (once) having knowledge: Verily God is All-Knowing, All-Powerful.” (16:70)
Commentary
Verse 66
It is a Divine Law working in nature that milk is sorted out of the food after the creation of blood and before the actual excretion of the bowels. The ‘Betwixt’ refers to the middle of the functioning of the process and does not refer to the quality concerned. (A.P.).
Verse 67
Some commentators thought that this passage was revealed before the prohibition of intoxicating liquor but the passage has nothing to do with the permissibility or the prohibition of liquor. It states the various usages of the product of the fruits. (A.P.).
Verse 68
‘Wahi’ mentioned here is not through the same source as it was effected for the revelation of the Holy Qur’an or conveying any matter from God to the Holy Prophet or any other apostles Here the ‘Wahi’ stands for the instinct endowed in the Bee. Instincts and inspirations are also a kind of ‘Wahi’ or a Divine Guidance. Even the inanimate objects are inspired with the Will of the Lord.6 The disciples of Jesus were inspired to believe in Jesus.7 The mother of Moses was also inspired to act in a particular way.8 It is clear that every one who gets such an inspiration or endowed with such special instinct is not also an apostle or a prophet from God.
The word ‘Wahi’ used here proves that ‘Wahi’ in its wider sense is applicable to any knowledge or action of a conscious being which is not obtained through experience. (A.P.).
