Surah An Nahl

The bee is seen as a symbol of the human soul, traveling through life collecting the "pollen of wisdom" from experiences, the bee's instinctive, purposeful actions teach that one should not overthink or second-guess every decision, but rather trust in the guidance provided by Allah and take the next step.

Similar to Surah An Ankabut, the Arabic text in Surah An Nahl uses feminine verbs for the bees, which, from a scientific perspective, aligns with the fact that the female bee is responsible for building and producing honey. The Surah, which is named "The Bee," is the 16th chapter, and after doing some research it is a known scientific fact that the female honeybee has 16 pairs of chromosomes (32 total), while the male bee has 16. The verse that specifically mentions the bees (16:68-69) is in some interpretations made up of 16 distinct Arabic words or 16 different Arabic letters.

Invite ˹all˺ to the Way of your Lord with wisdom and kind advice, and only debate with them in the best manner. Surely your Lord ˹alone˺ knows best who has strayed from His Way and who is ˹rightly˺ guided.

Surah An-Nahl verse 125 is one of the verses that is the main basis for the theory of Islamic da’wah. In general, this verse emphasises that da’wah should not be carried out with force or violence, but rather with a polite ethical, persuasive and argumentative approach. Thus, this verse functions as a universal guideline in building humanist preaching communication. Da’wah is meant to lead humanity from darkness into light, but provocative da’wah creates new darkness: the darkness of hatred, prejudice and division. It sacrifices the substance of profound and transformative truth for superficial and sensational impressions. Thus, it is not only un-Islamic but actively undermines the image and mission of Islam as a religion that brings peace and mercy to all beings. In his modern day, there seems to be the need for digital da’wah to be revised based on a solid foundation of Islamic communication ethics. Islamic communication ethics is not an abstract concept, but rather is derived directly from the primary texts of Islam. It is not necessary to go through which popular digital individuals tend to provoke and instil some sort of fear, it is apparent at who these just as they vocalise their message rather loudly.

The theme of nature is prevalent in this Surah for example:

At verse 16:10-16 the surah highlights rain as a source of life, producing water for drinking and nourishing crops, including olives, date palms, and grapes. It points to the, "varying colours," in nature as a sign for those who reflect.

At verse 16:68-69, the namesake of the surah, the bee, is highlighted as a, "masterpiece," of divine creation. The verses describe the bee being inspired to build homes in mountains, trees, and structures, and to produce honey, which is described as a, "cure for people," and a sign for those who think.

At verse 16:5-8, 16:66, cattle are presented as a primary blessing, providing warmth (wool/hides), food, and transport to distant places. The surah highlights the, "miraculous," production of, "pure milk," from within the bodies of animals, specifically, "between excretions and blood,".

At verse 16:12-15, the night, day, sun, moon, and stars are described as, "subjected by His command," for the benefit of humanity. The mountains are described as being, "firmly set," in the earth to prevent it from shaking, and rivers and roads are mentioned as, "landmarks," for guidance.

At verse16:14, the sea is described as being subjected to humanity for providing fresh meat (fish) and ornaments (like pearls). It also serves as a means for ships to sail, allowing humans to seek, "His bounty,".

Whoever does good, whether male or female, and is a believer, We will surely bless them with a good life, and We will certainly reward them according to the best of their deeds. (16:97)

This verse clearly states that anyone who performs righteous deeds regardless of your gender and is a believer, will be given a "good life" and a rewarding reward in the Hereafter. It solely emphasises that gender is irrelevant to one's spiritual standing; the determining factor is the quality of their actions and faith. This links to Jung's concept of individuation, you'll understand that the idea of being strictly in your "masculine" or in your "feminine" is a modern oversimplification. Jung argued that true psychological maturity comes from integrating both aspects - masculine and feminine into a balanced, unified self. Authenticity exists in the middle, not at the extremes. Much of what is currently markets as "femininity" - e.g. perfect curated matcha routines, is not an inherent expression of the feminine psyche. It is a modern, consumer-driven construct designed to prescribe how a person should present themselves . If you remove modern conveniences and trend and go back in time - before cosmetic industries ,social media and lifestyle branding how would femininity even be defined? Without these external markers, femininity would be rooted in character, resilience, intuition and lived responsibility rather than aesthetics and performative rituals. True individuals is not about confirming to a branded identity, it is about integrating all dimensions of the self and expressing them authentically, independent of trends...

And your Lord inspired the bees: “Make ˹your˺ homes in the mountains, the trees, and in what people construct (16:68)

The above states that the most productive individual is one who is grateful, acts with justice and excellence and whose life is dedicated to providing benefit and "healing" to others, just as the bee provides honey. In fact, Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) often drank honey mixed with water on an empty stomach to maintain health and advised it for stomach issues. It is a high-vibrational substance that can heighten consciousness bringing sweetness to life after all.

And indeed, for you in grazing livestock is a lesson. We give you drink from what is in their bellies - between excretion and blood - pure milk, palatable to drinkers.} (16:66)

Notice here how God let milk be so flawlessly pure and white amongst excretion and blood of the animal. The word in arabic used for the milk was "Khalesan", which means pure and it shares the same linguistic root as "Mukhlessan" which means sincere. We get so overwhelmed today with vulgarity and shamelessness everywhere we go, and sometimes its really out of our control like the workplace that perhaps has certain individuals that put us on edge, or things we do not like to see but we have to struggle through it in public places, or when our islamic practicing becomes a burden on our peers and family and it starts to get to us, or even the images and the newsfeeds that pop on our devices and shake our conviction and choices in lifestyle we make. We sometimes think the worlds too bad for me might as well just get by. You’ll see that by God willed that milk comes out with excretion and blood surrounding it. That’s to illustrate to you that if the world was ever too dark in terms of its immoralities and injustices and you are the one believer placed in the middle of all this; you best believe that this is your best opportunity to prove your "ikhlas', your sincerity, and you will have the full capability with Allah's will of coming out white as light, guiding yourself and others. The darkness was only made to test your purity. And if you were ever in doubt whether you can make it or not, well...just think about milk.

Part 2 will be coming up…