The hoopoe of the ancient Egyptians and the hoopoe of Solomon, peace be upon him,
Al-Saffouri said in the book Nuzha al-Majalis when Suleiman sent the hoopoe to Bilqis with his message, the birds said to him.
How do you go alone? He said: Whoever was with him, in the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful, will not be harmed. So God placed the crown on his head until the Day of Resurrection, and it passed by 4000 fishermen who threw it at him, but nothing hit him.
For the Pharaohs, the hoopoe symbolizes insight because they noticed that it carries a crown above its head that distinguishes it from all other birds as if it were a crowned king among them. And because he can see the worms under the surface of the soil, they tied him to the eye of Horus, which sees beyond things. And when they saw him flying in the air as if he were swimming, unlike other birds, they took him as a symbol of the other world and painted, especially in the old state, the owner of the cemetery or his son holding a hoopoe in his hand as an expression of the world of spirits, evidence that he had just received a message from the other world, and that holding a hoopoe suggests the ability to Decode the message.
The question is why Solomon, peace be upon him, chose the hoopoe over all other birds? Why did he ask about him despite many birds and was assigned the task despite the presence of another type of bird suitable for the task, such as pigeons? He is known to carry and deliver messages.
This is because the hoopoe is characterized by sharp intelligence and evasiveness, and it flies alone and not in groups like pigeons. Therefore, it is more appropriate to carry the message from king to king and ensure confidentiality. In addition, he is good at concealment, and his unique flying method helps him in that, as he takes different positions to fly once up, then to the right and left, then down and so on, thus making it difficult to catch him.
In this, it is distinguished over the two large birds, the falcon and the peregrine falcon, and is superior to them due to its concealment and evasiveness, as well as its small size. Of course, due to their large size, they are not suitable for monitoring because the goal of the message is not only to deliver it, the task is the most difficult in it, so look, as the Qur’an said, so see what they return. And the two birds of their large size cannot be hidden, and it is easy to catch them.
As for the carrier, the pigeon undoubtedly has a navigational ability to know directions, but it does not have the property of evading or defending itself like the hoopoe if attacked. The hoopoe secretes an oily substance from the bottom of its tail with a foul smell that repels anyone who approaches it. In addition, pigeons cannot discover water sources, cannot tolerate hunger or thirst, and are weak in the face of the temptations of satisfying them, thus making them easier to catch.
Hence, choosing the hoopoe over all other animals and birds was consistent with the mission that required secrecy, concealment, and the ability to withstand difficulties in the long journey from Palestine to Yemen, which exceeds two thousand kilometres.
Al-Saffouri said in the book Nuzha al-Majalis when Suleiman sent the hoopoe to Bilqis with his message, the birds said to him.
How do you go alone? He said: Whoever was with him, in the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful, will not be harmed. So God placed the crown on his head until the Day of Resurrection, and it passed by 4000 fishermen who threw it at him, but nothing hit him.
For the Pharaohs, the hoopoe symbolizes insight because they noticed that it carries a crown above its head that distinguishes it from all other birds as if it were a crowned king among them. And because he can see the worms under the surface of the soil, they tied him to the eye of Horus, which sees beyond things. And when they saw him flying in the air as if he were swimming, unlike other birds, they took him as a symbol of the other world and painted, especially in the old state, the owner of the cemetery or his son holding a hoopoe in his hand as an expression of the world of spirits, evidence that he had just received a message from the other world, and that holding a hoopoe suggests the ability to Decode the message.
The question is why Solomon, peace be upon him, chose the hoopoe over all other birds? Why did he ask about him despite many birds and was assigned the task despite the presence of another type of bird suitable for the task, such as pigeons? He is known to carry and deliver messages.
This is because the hoopoe is characterized by sharp intelligence and evasiveness, and it flies alone and not in groups like pigeons. Therefore, it is more appropriate to carry the message from king to king and ensure confidentiality. In addition, he is good at concealment, and his unique flying method helps him in that, as he takes different positions to fly once up, then to the right and left, then down and so on, thus making it difficult to catch him.
In this, it is distinguished over the two large birds, the falcon and the peregrine falcon, and is superior to them due to its concealment and evasiveness, as well as its small size. Of course, due to their large size, they are not suitable for monitoring because the goal of the message is not only to deliver it, the task is the most difficult in it, so look, as the Qur’an said, so see what they return. And the two birds of their large size cannot be hidden, and it is easy to catch them.
As for the carrier, the pigeon undoubtedly has a navigational ability to know directions, but it does not have the property of evading or defending itself like the hoopoe if attacked. The hoopoe secretes an oily substance from the bottom of its tail with a foul smell that repels anyone who approaches it. In addition, pigeons cannot discover water sources, cannot tolerate hunger or thirst, and are weak in the face of the temptations of satisfying them, thus making them easier to catch.
Hence, choosing the hoopoe over all other animals and birds was consistent with the mission that required secrecy, concealment, and the ability to withstand difficulties in the long journey from Palestine to Yemen, which exceeds two thousand kilometres.
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