Ayah
Word by Word
ثُمَّ
Then
كُلِي
eat
مِن
from
كُلِّ
all
ٱلثَّمَرَٰتِ
the fruits
فَٱسۡلُكِي
and follow
سُبُلَ
(the) ways
رَبِّكِ
(of) your Lord
ذُلُلٗاۚ
made smooth
يَخۡرُجُ
Comes forth
مِنۢ
from
بُطُونِهَا
their bellies
شَرَابٞ
a drink
مُّخۡتَلِفٌ
(of) varying
أَلۡوَٰنُهُۥ
colors
فِيهِ
in it
شِفَآءٞ
(is) a healing
لِّلنَّاسِۚ
for the mankind
إِنَّ
Indeed
فِي
in
ذَٰلِكَ
that
لَأٓيَةٗ
(is) surely a Sign
لِّقَوۡمٖ
for a people
يَتَفَكَّرُونَ
who reflect
ثُمَّ
Then
كُلِي
eat
مِن
from
كُلِّ
all
ٱلثَّمَرَٰتِ
the fruits
فَٱسۡلُكِي
and follow
سُبُلَ
(the) ways
رَبِّكِ
(of) your Lord
ذُلُلٗاۚ
made smooth
يَخۡرُجُ
Comes forth
مِنۢ
from
بُطُونِهَا
their bellies
شَرَابٞ
a drink
مُّخۡتَلِفٌ
(of) varying
أَلۡوَٰنُهُۥ
colors
فِيهِ
in it
شِفَآءٞ
(is) a healing
لِّلنَّاسِۚ
for the mankind
إِنَّ
Indeed
فِي
in
ذَٰلِكَ
that
لَأٓيَةٗ
(is) surely a Sign
لِّقَوۡمٖ
for a people
يَتَفَكَّرُونَ
who reflect
Translation
Then to eat of all the produce (of the earth), and find with skill the spacious paths of its Lord: there issues from within their bodies a drink of varying colours, wherein is healing for men: verily in this is a Sign for those who give thought.
Tafsir
Then eat from every [kind of] fruit, and follow, enter, the ways of your Lord, [follow] His paths in seeking pastures, [ways] made easily accessible' (dhululan is the plural of dhalool, and is a circumstantial qualifier referring to al-subul, 'the ways', in other words, [those paths] disposed for you, such that they pose no difficulty for you, even if it should be rough [terrain], and [such that] you would not lose your way when returning therefrom, even if it be far away; it [dhululan] is also said to be [a circumstantial qualifier] referring to the person of [the pronominal suffix of] fa'slukee, 'you follow', meaning [in this case] [follow those paths] in compliance with what is required of you). There comes forth from their bellies a drink, namely, honey, of diverse hues, wherein is a cure for mankind, from [all] ailments; it is also said [that it means that it is a cure only] for some [ailments], as indicated by the indefinite [noun] shifaa'un, 'a cure'; or [that it is a cure] for all [ailments] when supplemented with some other [remedy]; or without these [other remedies] but with the resolve (niyya) [to get better]. The Prophet may peace and salutation be upon him used to prescribe it for anyone suffering from stomach pains, as reported by the two Shaykhs [Bukhaaree and Muslim]. Surely in that there is a sign for a people who reflect, upon God's handiwork, exalted be He.
"In the Bee and its Honey there is Blessing and a Lesson
Allah says,
وَأَوۡحَى رَبُّكَ إِلَى النَّحۡلِ أَنِ اتَّخِذِي مِنَ الۡجِبَالِ بُيُوتًا وَمِنَ الشَّجَرِ وَمِمَّا يَعۡرِشُونَ
ثُمَّ كُلِي مِن كُلِّ الثَّمَرَاتِ
And your Lord inspired the bee, saying:""Take you habitations in the mountains and in the trees and in what they (humans) erect. Then, eat of all fruits,
What is meant by inspiration here is guidance.
The bee is guided to make its home in the mountains, in trees and in structures erected by man.
The bee's home is a solid structure, with its hexagonal shapes and interlocking forms there is no looseness in its combs. Then Allah decrees that the bee will have permission to eat from all fruits and to follow the ways which Allah has made easy for it, wherever it wants to go in the vast spaces of the wilderness, valleys and high mountains. Then each bee comes back to its hive without swerving to the right or left, it comes straight back to its home where its offspring and honey are. It makes wax from its wings, and regurgitates honey from its mouth, and lays eggs from its rear, then the next morning it goes out to the fields again.
فَاسۡلُكِي سُبُلَ رَبِّكِ ذُلُلً
and follow the routes of your Lord made easy (for you),
Qatadah and Abdur-Rahman bin Zayd bin Aslam said:
""This means, in an obedient way,""
understanding it to be a description of the route of migration.
Ibn Zayd said that this is like the Ayah:
وَذَلَّلۡنَـهَا لَهُمۡ فَمِنۡهَا رَكُوبُهُمۡ وَمِنۡهَا يَأۡكُلُونَ
And We have subdued them for them so that some they may ride and some they may eat. (36:72)
He said:
""Do you not see that they move the bees' home from one land to another, and the bees follow them!""
The first opinion is clearly the more likely, as it describes the routes that the bees follow, i.e., `follow these routes as they are easy for you.'
This was stated by Mujahid.
Ibn Jarir said that both opinions are correct.
يَخۡرُجُ مِن بُطُونِهَا شَرَابٌ مُّخۡتَلِفٌ أَلۡوَانُهُ فِيهِ شِفَاء لِلنَّاسِ
There comes forth from their bellies, a drink of varying colors, wherein is healing for men.
meaning, honey, that is white, yellow, red, or of other good colors, depending on the different things that the bees eat.
فِيهِ شِفَاء لِلنَّاسِ
in which there is a cure for men.
meaning there is a cure in honey for diseases that people suffer from.
Some of those who spoke about the study of Prophetic medicine said that;
if (Allah) had said, `in which there is the cure for men', then it would be the remedy for all diseases,
but He said, `in which there is a cure for men', meaning that it is the right treatment for every ""cold"" disease, because it is ""hot"", and a disease should be treated with its opposite.
Al-Bukhari and Muslim recorded in their Sahihs from Qatadah from Abu Al-Mutawakkil Ali bin Dawud An-Naji from Abu Sa`id Al-Khudri that;
a man came to the Messenger of Allah and said, ""My brother is suffering from diarrhea.""
He said,
اسۡقِهِ عَسَلً
(Give him honey to drink).
The man went and gave him honey, then he came back and said, ""O Messenger of Allah! I gave him honey to drink, and he only got worse.""
The Prophet said,
اذۡهَبۡ فَاسۡقِهِ عَسَلً
Go and give him honey to drink.
So he went and gave him honey, then he came back and said, ""O Messenger of Allah! it only made him worse.""
The Prophet said,
صَدَقَ اللهُ وَكَذَبَ بَطۡنُ أَخِيكَ اذۡهَبۡ فَاسۡقِهِ عَسَلً
Allah speaks the truth and your brother's stomach is lying. Go and give him honey to drink.
So he went and gave him honey, and he recovered.""
It is reported in the Two Sahihs from A'ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, that the Messenger of Allah used to like sweet things and honey.
This is the wording of Al-Bukhari, who also reported in his Sahih from Ibn Abbas that the Messenger of Allah said:
الشِّفَاءُ فِي ثَلَثَةٍ
فِي شَرۡطَةِ مِحۡجَمٍ
أَوۡ شَرۡبَةِ عَسَلٍ
أَوۡ كَيَّةٍ بِنَارٍ
وَأَنۡهَى أُمَّتِي عَنِ الۡكَي
Healing is to be found in three things:
the cut made by the cupper, or
drinking honey, or
in branding with fire (cauterizing),
but I have forbidden my Ummah to use branding.
إِنَّ فِي ذَلِكَ لايَةً لِّقَوۡمٍ يَتَفَكَّرُونَ
There is indeed a sign in that for people who reflect.
meaning in the fact that Allah inspires this weak little creature to travel through the vast fields and feed from every kind of fruit, then gather it for wax and honey, which are some of the best things, in this is a sign for people who think about the might and power of the bee's Creator Who causes all of this to happen.
From this they learn that He is the Initiator, the All-Powerful, the All-Wise, the All-Knowing, the Most Generous, the Most Merciful."
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