Jewels, Honey, Blindness, And Sight (Qur'n, Jawahir Al-Qur'an; The Jewels of the Qur'an‪)‬

Writing at the dawn of the sixth Islamic century, Abu Hamid al-Ghazali drew attention to the hexagonal structure of the beehive cells in a short treatise on the Qur'n, Jawahir al-Qur'an (The Jewels of the Qur'an). Written at an advanced age, when he had already composed his masterly expositions of Islamic intellectual science in such important works as Ihya' ulum al-din and Tahafut al-falasifa, The Jewels of the Qur'an presents the understanding and reflections on the Qur'an of an accomplished sufi master who had ascended to a spiritual and intellectual station which would make him a revered name in the east and the west for centuries to come. Known by the honorific titles of Hujjat al-Islam (the Proof of Islam) and Zany al-din (the Ornament of Religion), al-Ghazali remains one of the most important persona in Islamic thought and spirituality to this day, partially due to the peculiar path he traversed and the times in which he lived--both of which have deep relevance to our own times--as well as due to the sincerity and clarity with which he chronicled his experiences, thoughts, and insights. The Jewels of the Qur'an, written as it is in his characteristic style indicative of a spiritual authority that cannot be taken lightly, invites sincere seekers of truth to dive deep into the fathomless depths and mysteries of the Book in order to discover its jewels and pearls. It is in the chapter entitled "The secrets of surah al-Fatihah, which demonstrates how this short surah comprises eight of the ten types of the valuables (nafa'is) of the Qur'an" that one finds reference to the beehive, and this is not without deeper meaning for this chapter presents an exposition of the meaning of the two Names of Mercy--al-Rahman, al-Rahim--which occur twice in the surah, once in the opening Basmallah and once in the third verse of the surah. "Do you imagine that this [second occurrence] is a repetition?" Al-Ghazali rhetorically and explains: