“And of the fruits of the palm and the vines...

“And of the fruits of the palm and the vines, you get out therefrom (drinks of) intoxication and (also) goodly sustenance. Verily there is a sign in that for a people who understand.” The Arabic term /sukr/ signifies ‘losing one’s mind’ and the word /sakar/ refers to its origin. In the past two verses, the issues in question were water and milk both of which are natural and direct drinks. This verse deals with those drinks which are obtained by extraction.

Once Allah Himself is in action, there is always grace and blessings involved, namely, rainwater and pure milk. But, once man is involved, one finds that at times, provisions are good and at times the issue involved is intoxicating drinks which are the source of devastation and corruption.

Therefore, following the discussion of the animals and their milk, this noble verse refers to a part of the merits of plants, implying that Allah provided you with a kind of blessed nutrition for you out of the fruits of palm-trees and vines which you sometimes turn into detrimental forms and use it in the form of intoxicating substances and liquids, and sometimes use it in their tidy and clean forms. There is an evident clue in it for those who ponder.

“And your Lord revealed to the Bee (an instinctive revelation) to build cells in the mountains and in the trees and in what they (men) build.” The Arabic term /wahy/ signifies allusion and rapid and secret transfer that besides the Divine revelation to the prophets, includes both instincts, like this verse, and the divine inspiration, like Surah Al-Qasas, No.

28, verse 7 which says: “And We revealed to Moses’ mother…” It also includes satanical temptations, as in the verse which says: “…and verily the Satans inspire unto their friends…” [^2] The Qur’anic tune alters amazingly in this verse. While continuing previous discussions regarding the various Divine blessings and the statement of the secrets of creation, the Qur’an switches the discussion to ‘bees’ and later to the issue of ‘honey’ in the final analysis.

However, it is named as /wahy/ (revelation) which implies a form of Divine mission and a form of ‘mysterious revelation’.