The Secret of the Bee and the Honey Bread

On the table sat a piece of warm bread spread with golden honey. Baby Mo was ready to take a bite. But suddenly he stopped and asked, "Umi… where does this honey come from?"

Umi smiled. "From a tiny hero. Its name: the bee."

Baby Mo's eyes went round. "The buzzy-buzzy bee?"

"Yes," said Umi. "And listen to this — to make just one spoonful of the honey on your bread, a bee has to visit thousands of flowers. Thousands! It flies from flower to flower, gathering the sweet nectar little by little, never once complaining."

"Thousands of flowers?" Baby Mo looked at his spoonful of honey with new respect. Before, it was just honey. Now he knew it was the hard work of a tiny creature.

"There's something even more amazing," Umi went on. "When a bee finds a garden full of flowers, it flies home to the hive and… dances! Yes, dances. Its dance moves tell its friends which way to fly. That's how a bee says, 'Friends, delicious food is over there!'"

Baby Mo giggled, picturing bees boogying. Then he whispered, half serious, "So when a bee buzzes 'zzzz', maybe it's saying 'bismillaaah-zzz' before it works!" Umi laughed. "Could be, sweetheart."

"And you know," added Abi, just joining them, "in the Qur'an there's a chapter called An-Nahl — meaning 'The Bee'. Allah mentions the bee specially, and tells us that from its belly comes a drink of many colours in which there is healing for people. This little honey is named in the most noble Book."

Baby Mo looked at his bread — the same bread, but now it felt special. So many journeys for one bite: the flower, the bee, the dance, the hive, all the way to his table.

"So," said Umi gently, "before we eat, it's only fitting to pause a moment and thank Allah who created all of it. Come on."

Baby Mo held his bread with both hands, took a breath, and said, sincerely:

Bismillah. Then, "Allahumma barik lana fima razaqtana…" — O Allah, bless what You have provided for us.

That first bite tasted the sweetest of his whole life. Not only because of the honey — but because now he knew how long and wondrous the journey of provision was, all the way to his hands.

Next time you eat honey, remember: there are thousands of flowers and a tiny striped hero behind it. Masha'Allah. 🐝