سُوْرَةُ النَّحْلِ
Surah An-Nahl (16) — Ayah 68
وَأَوْحَىٰ رَبُّكَ إِلَى ٱلنَّحْلِ أَنِ ٱتَّخِذِى مِنَ ٱلْجِبَالِ بُيُوتًا وَمِنَ ٱلشَّجَرِ وَمِمَّا يَعْرِشُونَ ﴿68﴾
Translation by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan & Dr. Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali
And your Lord inspired the bees, saying: "Take you habitations in the mountains and in the trees and in what they erect.
Word by Word — Arabic, Transliteration & Meaning
وَأَوْحَىٰ
wa-awḥā
And inspired
رَبُّكَ
rabbuka
your Lord
إِلَى
ilā
to
ٱلنَّحْلِ
l-naḥli
the bee
أَنِ
ani
[that]
ٱتَّخِذِى
ittakhidhī
Take
مِنَ
mina
among
ٱلْجِبَالِ
l-jibāli
the mountains
بُيُوتًۭا
buyūtan
houses
وَمِنَ
wamina
and among
ٱلشَّجَرِ
l-shajari
the trees
وَمِمَّا
wamimmā
and in what
يَعْرِشُونَ
yaʿrishūna
they construct
Tafsir Taiseer ul-Quran — Maulana Abdul Rahman Kilani
Tafsir Taiseer ul-Quran (Facilitation of the Quran) is a comprehensive Quran commentary by Maulana Abdul Rahman Kilani, a renowned Salafi (Ahl al-Hadith) scholar from Pakistan. Known for his eloquent and accessible writing style, Kilani authored this tafsir with a focus on clarity — making Quranic meanings understandable to the common reader. The tafsir provides detailed historical context for verses related to battles and expeditions, and firmly refutes modernist ideologies using strong scriptural evidence. It is widely regarded as an invaluable resource for understanding the Quran and countering deviant interpretations. The tafsir is originally written in Urdu, translated to English by tohed.com.
And your Lord inspired the bee [65], saying: "Make your homes in the mountains, in the trees, and in the vines (of grapes, etc.) [66]."
[65] Nahl refers to the honeybee, which is larger than the common fly, i.e., dhubab, and the name of this surah, ﴿النحل﴾, is due to this association, as only in this surah is the honeybee mentioned. The meaning of revelation to this bee is the natural indication or instruction that Allah Almighty has placed in the instinct of every living being, just as a newborn child immediately turns to its mother’s breasts to obtain nourishment, even though at that time it does not understand anything.
[66] It is the effect of this same natural revelation that the bee builds such a hive or its home for itself that astonishes humans when they see it, and it seems as if some expert engineer has designed it. Every cell of this hive is hexagonal, that is, six-sided, and all its sides are of equal length, and they are connected or joined together in such a way that there is no room left for any empty space. In these cells, the bees store honey, and on the outer cells, there are guard bees that do not allow foreign bees or insects to enter these cells.
[65] Nahl refers to the honeybee, which is larger than the common fly, i.e., dhubab, and the name of this surah, ﴿النحل﴾, is due to this association, as only in this surah is the honeybee mentioned. The meaning of revelation to this bee is the natural indication or instruction that Allah Almighty has placed in the instinct of every living being, just as a newborn child immediately turns to its mother’s breasts to obtain nourishment, even though at that time it does not understand anything.
[66] It is the effect of this same natural revelation that the bee builds such a hive or its home for itself that astonishes humans when they see it, and it seems as if some expert engineer has designed it. Every cell of this hive is hexagonal, that is, six-sided, and all its sides are of equal length, and they are connected or joined together in such a way that there is no room left for any empty space. In these cells, the bees store honey, and on the outer cells, there are guard bees that do not allow foreign bees or insects to enter these cells.
