Honeybee and beekeeping in the mirror of the verses of the Holy Quran and Islamic traditions

Bees have far older life than human on Earth, and according to historical evidence, honeybee has been involved in human nutrition since the beginning of human creation. Nowadays, in the era of development of bee industry all over the world, it seems that there are still unknown aspects of bee life that knowing it can have a great impact on the success of the workers in this industry. One of these important aspects is to pay attention to the references that exist in the divine religions, including Islam, about bees and its benefits. Examining the verses of the Holy Quran and Islamic traditions can be effective in creating a more comprehensive view of bees and strengthening the intellectual infrastructure of beekeeping industry activists. Therefore, the present study examines Islamic narrative sources and Quranic interpretations to try to identify issues related to the creation, lifestyle and behavior of bees and also mentions the statements made about the healing properties of honey and bee products. Based on the results of the present study, in the verses of the Holy Quran, important issues such as how to build a house, determination the sex of bees, how to feed bees, the healing properties of honey, as well as the process of honey production are directly mentioned, and in Islamic traditions, also the healing properties of honey, moral points and human modeling of bee life are emphasized.