What does Quran 27:20 mean?

Quran 27:20 (Surah An-Naml, Ayah 20) translates to: "And he took attendance of the birds and said, "Why do I not see the hoopoe - or is he among the absent?"

Which Surah and Juz is Quran 27:20 from?

This ayah is from Surah An-Naml (The Ant), the 27th surah of the Quran. It appears in Juz 19.

Are there hadiths related to Quran 27:20?

Yes — there are 5 hadiths related to this ayah from Sahih Muslim, Sunan an-Nasa'i, Sunan Abu Dawud.

What tafsir is available for Quran 27:20?

Commentary on this ayah is available from Ibn Kathir, Ibn Kathir, Ibn Abbas, Al-Jalalayn — classical scholars of Quranic exegesis.

Ayah 19

فَتَبَسَّمَ ضَاحِكًۭا مِّن قَوْلِهَا وَقَالَ رَبِّ...

27:20An-Naml

Q: What topics does Quran 27:20 relate to?

This ayah connects to these Quranic topics: Prophet Sulayman, Historical Prophets, Knowledge, Accountability, Creation.

Ayah 21

لَأُعَذِّبَنَّهُۥ عَذَابًۭا شَدِيدًا أَوْ لَأَا۟ذْ...

وَتَفَقَّدَ ٱلطَّيْرَ فَقَالَ مَا لِىَ لَآ أَرَى ٱلْهُدْهُدَ أَمْ كَانَ مِنَ ٱلْغَآئِبِينَ

Wa tafaqqadat taira faqaala maa liya laaa aral hud hud, am kaana minal ghaaa'ibeen

And he took attendance of the birds and said, "Why do I not see the hoopoe - or is he among the absent?

Themes in this ayah

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Lessons from past peoples67

Scores run 0–100: how strongly this ayah speaks to a theme. 70+ is central, 50+ is clear, under 50 is weak.

3 other themes with weak connections

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Lessons from past peoples

27:20Ayah 193

32 ayahs in An-Naml are strongly about lessons from past peoples.

← Previous on Lessons from past peoples27:19So [Solomon] smiled, amused at her speech, and said, "My Lord, enable me to be grateful for Your favor which You have bestowed upon me and upon my parents and…Next on Lessons from past peoples →27:24I found her and her people prostrating to the sun instead of Allah, and Satan has made their deeds pleasing to them and averted them from [His] way,

Tafsir

Scholars largely agree on this ayah

View Full Tafsir: Al-Jalalayn on 27:20→

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

Abu 'Umair, what has the sparrow done? He (Anas) said that he had been playing with that.

Sunan an-Nasa'i #3975It was narrated that 'Aishah said:Sahih

"I noticed that he was not there one night" and he quoted the rest of the Hadith.

Sunan Abu Dawud #4971Anas b. Malik said :Sahih

The Messenger of Allah (May peace be upon him) used to come to visit us. I had a younger brother who was called Abu ‘Umair by Kunyah (surname). He had a sparrow with which he played, but it died. So one day the prophet (May peace be upon him) came to see him and saw him grieved. He asked: What is the matter with him? The people replied: His sparrow has died. He then said: Abu ‘Umair! What has happened to the little sparrow?

Sunan an-Nasa'i #3019It was narrated from Muhammad bin Jubir bin Mutim that his father:Sahih

"I lost a camel of mine, so I went to look for it in Arafat on the day of Arafat. I saw the Prophet standing there and said: 'what is he doing here?' He is one of the Hums.'"

Sahih al-Bukhari #5897Narrated Anas bin Malik:Sahih

The Prophet (ﷺ) used to mix with us to the extent that he would say to a younger brother of mine, 'O Aba `Umair! What did the Nughair (a kind of bird) do?"