A small bird with news no one knew
وَتَفَقَّدَ ٱلطَّيْرَ فَقَالَ مَا لِىَ لَآ أَرَى ٱلْهُدْهُدَ أَمْ كَانَ مِنَ ٱلْغَآئِبِينَ ﴿٢٠﴾ لَأُعَذِّبَنَّهُۥ عَذَابًا شَدِيدًا أَوْ لَأَا۟ذْبَحَنَّهُۥٓ أَوْ لَيَأْتِيَنِّى بِسُلْطَٰنٍ مُّبِينٍ ﴿٢١﴾ فَمَكَثَ غَيْرَ بَعِيدٍ فَقَالَ أَحَطتُ بِمَا لَمْ تُحِطْ بِهِۦ وَجِئْتُكَ مِن سَبَإٍۭ بِنَبَإٍ يَقِينٍ ﴿٢٢﴾
Surah An-Naml · 27:20–22
Meaning (M. Pickthall, 1930): And he sought among the birds and said: How is it that I see not the hoopoe, or is he among the absent? I verily will punish him with hard punishment or I verily will slay him, or he verily shall bring me a plain excuse. But he was not long in coming, and he said: I have found out (a thing) that thou apprehendest not, and I come unto thee from Sheba with sure tidings.
The reflection
A small bird came back with news no one else knew.
In the chapter of the Ant, Solomon inspected the birds, and the hoopoe was missing.
Al-Sa'di writes: inspecting the birds shows care for small matters as well as great ones. And he did not swear to punish alone: he left room for a clear excuse, for an absence may have a reason. That is true fairness.
Then the hoopoe came and said: "I have found out (a thing) that thou apprehendest not". Knowledge can come from the smallest of creatures. And God knows best.
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Sources
- Ibn Kathir, Tafsir al-Qur'an al-'Azim
- al-Sa'di, Taysir al-Karim al-Rahman
- Quran text: Tanzil Project (tanzil.net)
- English meaning: M. Pickthall, The Meaning of the Glorious Koran (1930)
