I was cleaning out an open shelf in the kitchen this morning when I saw a bee amongst the bottles. She was still alive and crawling but she couldn't fly; she must have been there a day or two at least. She looked dehydrated and a little lifeless, and she didn't buzz.
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| A picture of an Apis cerana taken in Segamat, Johor |
I often find stranded bees in the house, usually in the kitchen as they mostly come from the back where there are huge trees on which they normally make their hives. Usually they're from the Apis cerana species and so was this little one. And as always, I'd put a little honey in a spoon and place the bee in it for her to replenish her energy. She quickly rushed to it, and out of apparent hunger and thirst she dived right into the pool of honey and got her whole body drenched in the sticky fluid.
I had always wanted to capture the response of stranded bees when they are being offered honey, so I had my phone in my right hand taking a video while holding the spoon with my left. And in doing so, I wasn't quick enough to save the bee from drowning herself when she went for the honey.
The bee had quickly gone for the honey but in her haste, had plunged
right into the pool. She must have been extremely hungry and thirsty.
I quickly got her out of the sticky honey which by then had enveloped her whole body. I took her out from the spoon and laid her on a piece of tissue so it would absorb all the honey.
But I was too late...the little bee had stopped moving and was laying lifeless on the tissue. I was dumbstruck. I was supposed to save her not kill her. Oh no! What have I done??
I couldn't believe what had just happened. It happened so fast. I nudged her...and thankfully her legs moved. She's alive! She's still alive!! I had to do something...I HAD to save her. She is one of Allah's chosen creatures, so highly-regarded that one of the chapters in the glorious Quran is named after her.
Yes...that's it. In the Quran, Allah swt mentioned that He gives them the inspiration to build their hives, natural or man-made. They are given the command to produce honey by processing nectar in their stomachs, the end result being a precious substance that is medicine for humans. And so the bees obey the command of their Creator with utmost loyalty and subservience. With this in mind, I thought, surely this little bee will respond to His name.
So since it was the third day of Syawal, and I had the late Ustaz Asri's beautiful rendition of the Eid takbir at the top of my playlist, I turned on the video at Youtube.I played it on my handphone and placed it right beside her. Can you guess what happened?
Yes, she started to move; her legs uncurled and and she turned upwards. By the end of the takbir, she was standing upright on her legs. The video was six minutes. I played the takbir a second time. Watch the video below which says it all.
The bee started crawling around albeit a lit groggily, but she was definitely alive and well. I had thought I had lost her. But she revived and responded to the sounds of the glorifying of her Creator. I wish I had captured the moment on video, but couldn't as I was using the phone to play the takbir.
She crawled around looking a little desperate, even refusing the honey being offered to her. So I let her choose her own way and let her be. Next thing I knew, she had jumped to the floor and was crawling very quickly towards the door to the outside. She couldn't even manage to fly, yet she looked like she was in such a hurry, I can only guess that when she heard the name of her Lord, she remembered what the purpose of her existence was. She had a duty commanded by God Himself, and so she continued with her struggle and her journey to serve Him to the best of her ability. That is the sole purpose of her whole being.
The haunting and heart-wrenching but melodious takbir,
recited by Muslims on Eid-ul-fitr and Eid-ul-adha in which Allah swt is glorified. Praises only to Allah, for the miracle He showed me today.
Posted by Aniza Zain Ahmed for Bilut Valley Bee Farm.
19 July 2015 (3 Syawal 1436)
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