Monthly Renaissance
Renaissance
Islamic Journal·Pakistan
Articles
All ArticlesWritersTopics
Issues
All IssuesSpecial Issues
QueriesE-BooksSupport
Monthly Renaissance
Renaissance
Islamic Journal·Pakistan

A journal of Islamic research in continuous monthly circulation since 1991. Published by Al-Mawrid.

Read
ArticlesIssuesQueries
Browse
WritersTopicsE-Books
About
AboutTeamSupportContact
Monthly Renaissance
EST. 1991 · LAHORE
MADE WITH ♥ BY TABLETURNERR.COM
© 2026 AL-MAWRID
Archive/Vol. 11 · № 7/The Honey Bee and Divine Revelation
ARTICLE ID q472
In this issue
Betraying the Spirit of LawAbrogation and the Unalterable Word of GodScience as a Medium for the Propagation of IslamGender Perspective in the UN Document on the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing: An Analysis of Platform for ActionThe Gender of God

Reading
2 min · 350 words
Qur'an
— Qur'an —

The Honey Bee and Divine Revelation

DS
Dr. Shehzad Saleem
July 2001 · 2 min read

Is Wahī (Divine revelation) sent only to the Prophets by God Almighty? If so, then what does the following verse signify?

And your Lord has sent Wahī towards the honey bee... (16:68)

The word Wahī has a literal meaning and is also used as a term. It is used in the literal meaning (to put something in the mind) in the verse you have referred to. As a term, it is used in the Qur’ān at many instances as you very well know. When used as a term, it means religious guidance provided by the Almighty to His messengers.

So one must try to determine when a word is used literally and when it is used as a term. Such variation in usage is very customary for many other Arabic words as well. Take the case of the word Zakāh for example. As a term, it means a prescribed amount given in the way of Allah to obtain purity of heart and to obtain the blessings of Allah. Literally speaking, however, the word Zakāh, in Arabic, has two meanings: ‘purity’ and ‘growth’. The words ‘purify them’ in the first and ‘people who will increase their wealth’ in the second verse of the Qur’ān quoted below indicate these two meanings of the word:

Take alms from their wealth [O Prophet!] in order to cleanse them and purify them with it. (9:103)

And that which you give as loan on interest in order that it may increase on other people’s wealth has no increase with Allah; but that which you give as Zakāh, seeking Allah’s countenance, it is these people who will increase their wealth [in the Hereafter]. (30:39)

In other words, in these two verses, the word Zakāh is used in its two literal meanings and not used as a term.

So one must appreciate that all words that become terms are never stripped of their original literal meaning. The real thing is that one must be able to distinguish the difference in such usage. Consulting a good commentary or some scholar could always be of help on such occasions.

 


DS
Dr. Shehzad Saleem

View all articles →
— Related reading —

The Qur’an: A Dialogic Text

The meaning of the word Qur’an in Arabic is to read and to keep the things in a proper order (that is to make something cohesive and coherent like the pearls of a necklace). The Qur’an is the name of...

Ameen Fayyaz · 11 min

Qur’an Transmission through the Ages

The Qur’an was transmitted by the Companions to the next generation through their consensus (ijma‘) and perpetual concurrence (tawatur). Since then, this process has been continuing. Both these modes...

Dr. Shehzad Saleem · 30 min

Thinking Style of a Wise Person

Wisdom is the marvel and purpose of the soul: this is why it is its beginning and its end. The fields of knowledge which one acquires prior to attaining wisdom are just one of the means towards achiev...

Imam Hamiduddin Farahi · 20 min
Tools

Cite
Dr. Shehzad Saleem (2001). The Honey Bee and Divine Revelation. Monthly Renaissance, 11(7).