It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that the hoopoe used to guide Sayyiduna Sulayman (peace be upon him) (in the search for water). The narrator says: I said: How can that be, when a trap is set for the hoopoe and dust is thrown over it (so why does it not see that trap)? He said (in a stern tone): When the decree (destiny) comes, sight departs (that is, a person becomes blind).

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) concerning this saying of Allah Almighty, "I will surely punish it with a severe punishment" [Surah al-Naml: 21] , that he said: (It means) plucking out its feathers. Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) further said: Six hundred thousand chairs used to be set out for Sayyiduna Sulayman bin Dawud (peace be upon him). Then the nobles of mankind would come and sit near him, then the nobles of the jinn would come and sit behind the humans. Then he would call the birds and they would shade them (with their wings), then he would command the wind and it would carry them all. He would cover a month's journey in a single morning. Once, while he was travelling through a barren wilderness, the need for water arose. The hoopoe came and began pecking at the ground, and it found the place of the water. Then the devils came and stripped that place open as a hide is stripped, and so they reached the water. Then Nafi' bin al-Azraq asked: O you who stand firm upon the truth! Have you considered the hoopoe, how it pecks the ground and finds the place of water, yet it comes towards the hunter's trap while seeing it, and still gets caught in it by its neck? Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: Indeed, when destiny comes, it comes between (a creature) and its sight. This hadith is sahih (authentic) on the condition of the two Shaykhs (Bukhari and Muslim), but they did not record it.

It is narrated from the Mother of the Believers, Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her), that she said: the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said this (about those slain at Badr): "They certainly know now that what I used to tell them in the world is the truth," whereas Allah Almighty has said to His Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): "Indeed, you cannot make the dead hear, nor can you make the deaf hear the call when they turn their backs and depart" [Surah al-Naml: 80] . This hadith is sahih (authentic) on the condition of the two Shaykhs (Bukhari and Muslim), but they did not record it.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) concerning this saying of Allah Almighty, "Whoever comes with a good deed" [Surah al-Naml: 89] , that he said: What is meant is the one who comes with "La ilaha illallah" (There is no god but Allah); and "whoever comes with an evil deed" [Surah al-Naml: 90] means shirk (associating partners with Allah). This hadith is sahih (authentic) on the condition of the two Shaykhs (Bukhari and Muslim), but they did not record it.