The hoopoe

الهدهد

Solomon's bird which he missed one day; it returned from Sheba with certain news of a kingdom prostrating to the sun instead of God, and he sent it with his letter to their queen — 'rise not against me, but come to me in submission' — and she submitted with Solomon to the Lord of the worlds. The Prophet forbade killing it.

Depth

At a glance

Region
Global / Diaspora

Animals and mercy

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Mentioned in
Abu Dawud 5267 — He forbade killing four creatures· Qur'an 27:20· Qur'an 27:21· Qur'an 27:22· Qur'an 27:23· Qur'an 27:24· Qur'an 27:25· Qur'an 27:26· Qur'an 27:27· Qur'an 27:28
Related to
Sulayman (Solomon)

People and things also explored

The ant· The bee· The birds· The horse· The shrike· The earth-creature· al-Wahhab — The Bestower· The wind

Sources

  • Tanzil Project, Qur'an text v1.1
  • Sunan Abi Dawud
Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “The hoopoe”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/concept/hoopoe/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-11-09.

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Wing

Living

Practices, the Islamic year, festivals, food, dress and music by region.
Related

The ant

An ant in the Valley of the Ants warned its people of Solomon's army and he smiled at her words; the surah of the Ant is named for her, and the Prophet forbade killing her with the bee, the hoopoe and the shrike.