Al-Qur'an Surah An-Naml Verse 20

Mufti Taqi Usmani

And (once) he (Sulaimān) checked the birds and said, “How is it with me that I do not see the hudhud (hoopoe)? Rather he has disappeared.

Dr. Mustafa Khattab, the Clear Quran

˹One day˺ he inspected the birds, and wondered, “Why is it that I cannot see the hoopoe? Or could he be absent?

Ruwwad Translation Center

Once he checked the birds, and said, “Why is it that I do not see the hoopoe – or is he among the absent?

A. J. Arberry

And he reviewed the birds; then he said, 'How is it with me, that I do not see the hoopoe? Or is he among the absent?

Abdul Haleem

Solomon inspected the birds and said, ‘Why do I not see the hoopoe? Is he absent?

Abdul Majid Daryabadi

And he sought after the birds and said: what aileth me that I see not the hoopoe; is he among the absentees?

Abdullah Yusuf Ali

And he took a muster of the Birds; and he said; "Why is it I see not the Hoopoe? Or is he among the absentees?

Abul Ala Maududi

(On another occasion) Solomon inspected the birds and said: "Why is it that I do not see the hoopoe? Is he among the absentees?

Ahmed Ali

When he reviewed the Tair, he said: "How is it I do not see Hud-hud? Is he absent?

Ahmed Raza Khan

And he surveyed the birds – he therefore said, “What is to me that I do not see the Hudhud (hoopoe), or is he really absent?”

Ali Quli Qarai

[One day] he reviewed the birds, and said, ‘Why do I not see the hoopoe? Or is he absent?’

Ali Ünal

(On another occasion) he inspected the birds and said: "How is it that I cannot see the hoopoe? Or is he among the absentees?

Amatul Rahman Omar

And (once) he reviewed the birds and the (cavalry of) swift running horses and said, `How is it that I do not see (my officer named) Hudhud? Is he deliberately absent?

English Literal

And he seeked/searched the bird/birds , so he said: "Why (it is) not for me, I do not see the hoopoe bird/clucking bird , or he was from the absent? I will torture him strong (severe) torture."

Faridul Haque

And he surveyed the birds – he therefore said, “What is to me that I do not see the Hudhud (hoopoe), or is he really absent?”

Hamid S. Aziz

And he (Solomon) smiled, laughing at her speech, and said, "O Lord! Excite (cause) me to be thankful for Thy favour, wherewith Thou hast favoured me and my parents, and to do righteousness which may please Thee; and include me by Thy Grace amongst Thy righteous servants!"

Hilali & Khan

He inspected the birds, and said: "What is the matter that I see not the hoopoe? Or is he among the absentees?

Maulana Mohammad Ali

Until when they came to the valley of the Naml, a Namlite said: O Naml, enter your houses, (lest) Solomon and his hosts crush you, while they know not.

Mohammad Habib Shakir

And he reviewed the birds, then said: How is it I see not the hoopoe or is it that he is of the absentees?

Mohammed Marmaduke William Pickthall

And he sought among the birds and said: How is it that I see not the hoopoe, or is he among the absent?

Muhammad Sarwar

(Solomon) inspected the birds and said, "How is it that I cannot see the hoopoe. Is he absent?

Qaribullah & Darwish

He reviewed the birds and said: 'Why is it that I do not see the hoopoe here? Or is he among the absent?

Safi-ur-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri

He inspected the birds, and said: "What is the matter that I see not the hoopoe Or is he among the absentees"

Wahiduddin Khan

Then Solomon inspected the birds, and said, "How is it that I do not see the hoopoe? Is he absent then?

Talal Itani

Then he inspected the birds, and said, “Why do I not see the hoopoe? Or is he among the absentees?

Tafsir jalalayn

And he reviewed the birds, to see the hoopoe -- which would locate water beneath the ground and indicate its location by pecking at it, whereupon the devils would extract it, for Solomon required it for when he prayed; but he could not see him -- then he said, `Why is it that I do not see the hoopoe?, in other words, is there something preventing me from seeing him? Or is he among the absent?, and so I cannot see him because he is absent?' And when he became certain [of the hoopoe's absence],

Tafseer Ibn Kathir

The Absence of the Hoopoe

Allah tells;

وَتَفَقَّدَ الطَّيْرَ

He inspected the birds,

Mujahid, Sa`id bin Jubayr and others narrated from Ibn Abbas and others that the hoopoe was an expert who used to show Suleiman 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. When the hoopoe showed him where the water was, Suleiman would command the Jinn to dig in that place until they brought water from the depths of the earth.

One day Suleiman went to some open land and checked on the birds, but he could not see the hoopoe.

فَقَالَ مَا لِيَ لَا أَرَى الْهُدْهُدَ أَمْ كَانَ مِنَ الْغَايِبِينَ



and (Suleiman) said;"What is the matter that I see not the hoopoe Or is he among the absentees!"

One day Abdullah bin Abbas told a similar story,

and among the people was a man from the Khawarij whose name was Nafi` bin Al-Azraq, who often used to raise objections to Ibn Abbas. He said to him,

"Stop, O Ibn Abbas; you will be defeated (in argument) today!"

Ibn Abbas said;"Why?"

Nafi` said;"You are telling us that the hoopoe can see water beneath the ground, but any boy can put seed in a trap and cover the trap with dirt, and the hoopoe will come and take the seed, so the boy can catch him in the trap."

Ibn Abbas said, "If it was not for the fact that this man would go and tell others that he had defeated Ibn Abbas in argument, I would not even answer."

Then he said to Nafi`;

"Woe to you! When the decree strikes a person, his eyes become blind and he loses all caution."

Nafi` said;"By Allah I will never dispute with you concerning anything in the Qur'an.