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An-Naml (The Ant)

Verse 20of 93

وَتَفَقَّدَ ٱلطَّيْرَ فَقَالَ مَا لِىَ لَآ أَرَى ٱلْهُدْهُدَ أَمْ كَانَ مِنَ ٱلْغَآئِبِينَ﴿٢٠

Translation (Sahih International)

And he took attendance of the birds and said, "Why do I not see the hoopoe - or is he among the absent?

Word-by-word meaning

وَتَفَقَّدَwatafaqqadaAnd he inspected
ٱلطَّيْرَl-ṭayrathe birds
فَقَالَfaqālaand said
مَاWhy
لِىَliyaWhy
لَآnot
أَرَىarāI see
ٱلْهُدْهُدَl-hud'hudathe hoopoe
أَمْamor
كَانَkānais he
مِنَminafrom
ٱلْغَآئِبِينَl-ghāibīnathe absent

Commentary (Tafsir Ibn Kathir)

The Absence of the HoopoeMujahid, Sa`id bin Jubayr and others narrated from Ibn `Abbas and others that the hoopoe was an expert who used to show Sulayman where water was if he was out in open land and needed water. The hoopoe would look for water for him in the various strata of the earth, just as a man looks at things on the surface of the earth, and he would know just how far below the surface the water was.

Source: Tafsir Ibn Kathir — abridged excerpt

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