THE FEMALE HONEYBEE’S ABDOMEN AND THE HEALING POWER OF HONEY

69- Then eat from all the fruits and flit about the spacious paths of your Lord. There issues from
within her abdomens a drink of varying colors, wherein is healing for the people. Verily in this is a
sign for those who understand.
16-The Honeybee, 69

The honeybee has a body that varies in length between 1cm and 3cm, and that is divided into
three parts: head, thorax and abdomen. The verse quoted above stresses that in the individual
female bee there are “abdomens,” which in Arabic is “butuniha,” the “ha” referring to a singular
female bee. If the plural of the word “abdomen” was meant to refer to the female bees, then the
plural female pronoun “hunna” would be attached to the verb “butuniha.” This makes clear the
segmented abdomen of the bee. Inside the abdomen there are two stomachs or crops. When
collecting the nectar from flowers, nectar is stored in this honey stomach for transport back to the
hive. At the rear of the honey stomach is a valve that prevents stored nectar from passing on into
the rear portion of the digestive system, except for the small amount needed by the bee to sustain
life. The hind portion of the bee’s body is the abdomen that is made up of segments in the form of
rings. The abdomen of the bee functions as a chemistry laboratory to produce honey.

The colors of honey vary as stated in the Quran. They change according to the climate, season
and weather conditions and the sources where nectar is obtained. The color of honey ranges
from dark brown to green, among which the light yellow is preferred. In the honey industry,
modern countries with developed techniques use a colorimeter to establish the exact description
of honey’s color.

THE HONEY DANCES OF BEES

At the beginning of the verse, reference is made to the collection of nectar. The female bees not
only produce honey, but also assume the duty of collecting the raw material from flowers to be
eventually transformed into honey. During this process of seeking the nectar, incredible
phenomena occur.

The bee that has located the spot where there is nectar to be collected returns to the hive to
inform her sisters about the location of flowers. The scout bees returning to the hive perform
circular dances or tail-wagging movements on the comb. These dances indicate not only that the
scouts have found nectar or pollen and that the other workers should go out and seek it, but they
are actually performing an amazing charade that conveys precise information to their sisters
about the direction and the distance of the location of a newfound source.

Sometimes a normal adult must attend a dance course for six weeks while a bee, whose lifetime
is but six weeks, is able to perform a dance for communication purposes. The bee’s calculation
on her way back to the hive is also of great interest. The bee makes her calculation according to
the position of the sun. The sun changes its locality one degree per four minutes. The bee that
has spotted the location of her food also calculates her return journey as directly and correctly as
possible in relation to the sun. She performs this without any error. All these calculations and
harmonious coexistence within the hive cannot possibly be explained by pure coincidence or after
a six-week-long training. So, all these are innate in her as an endowment of the Creator.

THE HEALING POWER OF HONEY

The verse speaks of the nutritive property of honey, a product of female bees. The regenerative
property of honey is confirmed by medical authorities. In addition to its rich vitamin content,
among its components are also such minerals such as calcium, potassium, magnesium, sodium,
phosphorus as well as such metals as copper, iodine, iron, zinc, and hormones.

Thanks to the easy convertibility of its sugar content, it is easily assimilated. Honey facilitates the
functioning of the brain, thanks to its other sugars. It contributes to the production of blood, to its
cleansing and proper circulation. Honey provides for the requirement necessary for proper
functioning of our physiology and also it is used externally in cosmetics and dermatology.

The fact that honey had healing properties was nothing new for communities all over the world.
Therefore, I am not claiming that this was not a generally acknowledged fact at the time of the
descent of the Quran. However there were also such superstitious beliefs as the healing effect of
a camel’s urine, which was later falsely attributed to the Prophet in hadith books. The Quran
never justifies any of such false ideas offered as elixirs. Had the Quran been a product of human
imagination, it might also have contained at least a residue of such false beliefs.

The distribution of work of bees in a hive and the multiple tasks performed by bees is too
complicated to explain within the scope of this book. The ventilation of the hive, regulating
humidity and temperature, keeping a perfect hygienic medium in the hive; guarding the hive,
discarding the unwanted foreign matter, dead bees, etc., secreting wax, propolis, all are amazing
tasks. How can a bee, whose lifetime is but six weeks, know and perform such grandiose artistry?
Without an intelligent Creator the fortuity of all these data is certainly unimaginable. Every inquirer
into the doings of a bee - to whose properties there are references in the Quran - will observe the
sublime artistry of God in the entity of an insect.

4- Also in your creation and spreading of the animals are signs for people of assured faith.
45-Kneeling, 4