In the Islamic holy book, the Qur’an a chapter is dedicated to the bee, called An-Nahl. This literally translates to ‘The Bee’ & it describes the bee’s way of life, & how Muslims should be more like them.
For #WorldBeeDay we are celebrating the bee in Islam 🐝
A thread…
1/ Al Nahl, Chapter 16, 68-69, talks about a variety of topics, but Allah specifically chose the title The Bee to catch the attention of the readers. Bees are said to be Allah’s miracles; the way they function and how they behave, are to be held as an example #WorldBeeDay
2/ The significance of Al Nahl as Chapter 16 is important. The only verse in this chapter that mentions bees is made up of 16 words & 16 different Arabic letters. Coincidentally, female bees have 16 pairs of chromosomes, whereas males have 16 chromosomes #WorldBeeDay
3/ What is fascinating about the bees in the Qur’an is that it was written from a scientific standpoint where the colony, roles, and practices of bees are observed. These characteristics & traits were used as a figure of speech for the follower reading the Qur’an #WorldBeeDay
4/ A reason why an entire chapter in the Qur’an has been devoted to the bee is that Allah has enabled the honey bee to produce a substance within which there is a cure for all mankind. Honey 🍯
5/ In Surah Al Nahl, Allah is asks people to “give thought” to the attributes of the bees & embody these traits in their lives. Through their behaviour, we learn different things such as to gain knowledge & reflect, to care for our community & maintain good relations #WorldBeeDay
6/ In the scientific language all the honeybees belong to the genus Apis. The honeybee communicates with other honeybee using a dance language, which scientists have discovered to be very complicated and highly developed #WorldBeeDay
7/ Approximately a third of all the food we eat is due to pollination from the honeybee. Unfortunately, due to habitat loss, pollution, pesticides & disease, their numbers have been dwindling. Over the last decade, there has been a rise in colony collapse disorder #WorldBeeDay
8/ If bees disappeared from the surface of the Earth, humans would have 4 years left to live. The bee has officially been declared the most important animal on Earth by the Earthwatch Institute in 2017 #WorldBeeDay#savethebees
9/ Surah an-Nahl, 16. Pages from an early Ottoman Qur'an written in two different script styles, 16th century The right hand page starts with part of verse 110 from Surah an-Nahl (The Bee) and continues through to verse 122 on the left hand page #WorldBeeDay
10/ Since 2011 the East London Mosque @elondonmosque in England has been home to several beehives. Most of the hives are kept on the roof of the London Muslim Centre #WorldBeeDay
(Khalil and Salma inspecting a hive. Pic: Jessica Chia)
11/ This is a look around the observation hives at the East London Mosque @elondonmosque where you get a feel of beekeeping in the mosque.
13/ This mosque in Indonesia is well-known in the community as Sarang Lebah (Honeycomb) Mosque or An-Nahl Mosque, because honeycombs inspire most of the architectural elements used in this building including hexagon-shaped vent blocks, similar to those of honeycombs #WorldBeeDay
14/ The Al Nahl mosque promotes the pilgrims' essential concept, the world as a public and social entity, just like the bees, which are social creatures and hard workers, where no bees live alone. It aims to build a broader empathy for fellow human beings #WorldBeeDay
15/ Bees lives less than 40 days, visit at least 1000 flowers & produces less than a teaspoon of honey.
For us it is only a teaspoon of honey, but for the bee it is a lifetime of work
Mariam Astrulabi was a pioneering female Muslim scientist & astronomer, born in Syria during the 10th century. She is known for developing Astrolabes, an ancient astronomical computer for solving problems related to time & position of the sun & stars
A thread on Mariam Astrulabi
1/ Mariam al Astrulabi's remarkable contribution to the art of astrolabes has largely been ignored by the world. What she achieved in the 10th century consequently helped several generations of scientists to explore the concept of time and space.
Astrolabe @HSMOxford
@HSMOxford 2/ Astrolabes were beneficial in determining the position of the sun, moon, stars & the planets. They were used in astronomy, astrology & horoscopes. Muslims would specifically use it to find the Qibla, determine prayer times & the initial days of Ramadan and Eid
Did you know Mosque ceilings are designed to reflect the magnificence of the universe?
Here are spectacular details of 24 Mosque ceilings from around the world…
A thread…
1/ Jami Mosque, Andijan, Uzbekistan
The construction of the madrasah began in 1883 and lasted for 7 years. It has a gorgeous fretwork of wooden columns supporting a ceiling decorated with bright patterns made of a combination of geometrical ornaments & vegetal elements
Construction of the mosque started in 1603 and was finished in 1619. Built by the chief architect Mohammadreza Isfahani, during the reign of Shah Abbas I of Persia. Beautiful interior dome details
Ever wondered who paved the way for the age of algorithms?
It was a 9th-century Muslim genius, mathematician, geographer & astronomer, Abu Abdallah Muhammad ibn Musa Al-Khwarizmi - also known as the Father of Algebra
A thread on the incredible Muhammad ibn Musa Al-Khwarizmi…
1/ Even the term algorithm is Al-Khwarizmi translated into Latin!
The scientist and mathematician Muhammad ibn Musa Al-Khwarizmi lived from 780 to 850 AD in Persia and Iraq.
2/ Al-Khwarizmi's most significant contribution to mathematics was the development of algebra. His book, "Kitab al-Jabr wal-Muqabala" (The Compendious Book on Calculation by Completion and Balancing), introduced systematic methods for solving linear and quadratic equations.
Did you know that the Persian scholar of medicine, Ibn Sina (980-1037) suspected some diseases were spread by microorganisms.
To prevent human-to-human contamination, he came up with a method of isolating people for 40 days.
A thread on Ibn Sina & his impact on modern science…
1/ Ibn Sina, also known to the Latin West as Avicenna, was a Persian polymath and one of the most influential Islamic philosophers, physicians, and scientists of the medieval period. He was born in 980 CE in present-day Uzbekistan and passed away in 1037 CE in Iran.
2/ Ibn Sina's medical works had a profound impact on European medicine. His most renowned work in medicine is "The Canon of Medicine" (Al-Qanun fi al-Tibb), considered one of the most influential medical texts in history. It consists of five books & covers a range of medical topics
‘Traveling leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller’
- Ibn Battuta
The most famous explorer in the Muslim World, Ibn Battuta, travelled more than any other explorer in pre-modern history - around 117,000 km!
A thread on the 14th century explorer Ibn Battuta…
1/ Ibn Battuta was born in 1304 CE in Tangier, Morocco. His travelogue the Rihla is his most important work. His journeys in the Rihla lasted for a period of almost thirty years, covering nearly the whole of the known Islamic world & beyond.
2/ Ibn Battuta travelled more than any other explorer in pre-modern history, surpassing Zheng He with 50,000 km (31,000 mi) and Marco Polo with 24,000 km. His total distance travelled was approximately 117,000 km (73,000 mi) (15,000 mi).
Ismail al-Jazari, a Muslim inventor from the 12th century is known as the "father of robotics" due to his groundbreaking work in the field of automata, which are self-operating machines.
A thread on Ismail al-Jazari, engineering & robotics…
1/ While robotics is considered a relatively new field of science, with the public’s consensus that it is the creation of 20th-century scientists, it would be surprising to know that the field has its roots in the medieval era nearly a millennium ago, with Ismail Al Jazari
2/ Ismail Al Jazari gained fame for his extraordinary inventions, encompassing a wide spectrum of marvels. His repertoire included robots programmed to provide guests with towels, programmable on-off switches for fountains, automated mechanical clocks & much more!
A Candle Clock from a copy of al-Jazaris treatise on automata