The bee in the Qur`an

Surah An-Nahl, Science, and the Bee: A Divine Design

Surah An-Nahl (The Bee) — verse 68 — says:

"And your Lord inspired the bee, saying: Build your homes in the mountains, in the trees and in what people construct." Qur`an (16:68)

Interestingly, the surah is number 16, and the female bee — the one that builds, produces honey, and is essential for the hive — has 16 chromosomes. The male bee (drone), which hatches from an unfertilized egg, has only 8 chromosomes.

In Arabic grammar, the verbs in this verse ("build your homes") are in the feminine form, reflecting that the bees addressed are females — long before modern biology confirmed the central role of female bees in hive structure and honey production.

This subtle harmony between revelation and biology, between divine wording and genetic truth, leaves a powerful impression: the Quran speaks with a precision that continues to resonate even in the age of molecular science.