Science in the Glorious Quran: The Hoopoe
“وَتَفَقَّدَ الطَّيْرَ فَقَالَ مَا لِيَ لَا أَرَى الْهُدْهُدَ أَمْ كَانَ مِنَ الْغَائِبِينَ. لَأُعَذِّبَنَّهُ عَذَابًا شَدِيدًا أَوْ لَأَذْبَحَنَّهُ أَوْ لَيَأْتِيَنِّي بِسُلْطَانٍ مُّبِينٍ. فَمَكَثَ غَيْرَ بَعِيدٍ فَقَالَ أَحَطتُ بِمَا لَمْ تُحِطْ بِهِ وَجِئْتُكَ مِن سَبَإٍ بِنَبَإٍ يَقِينٍ. إِنِّي وَجَدتُّ امْرَأَةً تَمْلِكُهُمْ وَأُوتِيَتْ مِن كُلِّ شَيْءٍ … . وَجَدتُّهَا وَقَوْمَهَا يَسْجُدُونَ لِلشَّمْسِ مِن دُونِ اللَّهِ …. قَالَ سَنَنظُرُ أَصَدَقْتَ أَمْ كُنتَ مِنَ الْكَاذِبِينَ. اذْهَب بِّكِتَابِي هَٰذَا فَأَلْقِهْ إِلَيْهِمْ ثُمَّ تَوَلَّ عَنْهُمْ فَانظُرْ مَاذَا يَرْجِعُونَ” (النمل:20-28).
“Then he inspected the birds, and said, ‘Why do I not see the hoopoe? Or is he among the absentees? I will punish him most severely, or slay him unless he gives me a valid excuse’. But he did not stay away for long. He said, ‘I have learnt something you did not know. I have come to you from Sheba, with reliable information. I found a woman ruling over them, and she was given everything… I found her and her people worshiping the sun, instead of God’… He [Solomon] said, ‘We will see, whether you have spoken the truth, or whether you are a liar. Go with this letter of mine, and deliver it to them; then withdraw from them.’” (Qur’an, 27:20-28)
Solomon was a prophet of God, who was given the ability to recruit different animals and birds for his service. The above verses tell the story of Solomon with the hoopoe who went to Sheba and returned to Solomon with some news. Why did God choose hoopoes, as stated in the Holy Qur’an, to travel between Yemen and Jerusalem, considering that the distance between them is about 2,300 Km?
Hoopoes are a remarkable bird species, with distinctive crowns of feathers. They are widespread in Europe, Asia, North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Madagascar. Hoopoes are migratory birds. Therefore, God created it in such a way that it can travel for long distances. Therefore, hoopoes are capable of travelling between Yemen and Jerusalem.
The reaction of people to the hoopoe is controversial. Though the hoopoe was considered a sacred bird in Ancient Egypt, and a symbol of virtue in Persia, it is one of the detestable animals in the Torah (Leviticus, 11:13–19). It was also related to the underworld across Europe and was believed to be a harbinger of war and death. Therefore, because Solomon did not know how the Queen of Sheba would react to the hoopoe, he asked him just to deliver his letter and withdraw.
Hoopoes are characterized by their feather crowns.
They feed on insects and they nest in holes in trees or walls
Hoopoes are migratory birds. Therefore, they can fly for long distances. They are low fliers with an erratic flight pattern and irregular wing beats, however, if being preyed upon, they fly very high to escape