Messengers and Communicators

The Hoopoe (Hudhud) of Solomon

Birds are divine soldiers (Surah Al-Fil, 105:3-5)

First teacher to humanity:

Allah sends a raven that scratches the ground, showing Cain how to bury his brother. (Surah Al-Ma'idah, 5:31) - 

Proof of Resurrection and Symbol of Life

To satisfy his heart, Abraham asks Allah to show him how He gives life to the dead. He is commanded to take four birds, tame them, cut them into pieces, and place the parts on different hills. When Abraham calls them, the birds reassemble and fly back to him. (Surah Al-Baqarah, 2:260)

Jesus is given the miracle of fashioning the form of a bird from clay, breathing into it, and having it become a living bird "by Allah's permission." (Surah Al 'Imran, 3:49; Surah Al-Ma'idah, 5:110)

Worship and exalting by submission.

"Do you not see that Allah is exalted by whomever is within the heavens and the earth and [by] the birds with wings spread [in flight]? Each [of them] has known his [means of] prayer and exalting [Him]..." (Surah An-Nur, 24:41)

They join Prophet David (Dawud) in singing praises to Allah, symbolizing a universe in perfect harmony and worship. (Surah Al-Anbiya, 21:79)

Metaphors for Destiny and the Human Soul

The Arabic word for bird, Tā'ir, is linguistically related to the word for one's deeds or destiny.

Verse: "And [for] every person We have imposed his ṭā'irahu (fate/deed) upon his neck, and We will produce for him on the Day of Resurrection a record which he will find spread open." (Surah Al-Isra, 17:13)

Symbolism: The word ṭā'ir (literally "flying thing" or "bird") is used here to mean one's destiny or record of deeds. In Sufi mysticism, the bird is also a common and powerful metaphor for the human soul, and its flight represents the soul's spiritual journey and longing to return to the divine.

Prominent in many cultures, the peacock has been used in numerous iconic representations, including being designated the national bird of India in 1963.^[11] The peacock, known as mayura in Sanskrit, has enjoyed a fabled place in India since and is frequently depicted in temple art, mythology, poetry, folk music and traditions.^[66] A Sankrit derivation of mayura is from the root mi for kill and suggested as meaning killer of snakes.^[5] Many Hindu deities are associated with the bird, Krishna is often depicted with a feather in his headband, while worshippers of Shiva associate the bird as the steed of the God of war, Kartikeya (also known as Skanda or Murugan). A story in the Uttara Ramayana describes the head of the Devas, Indra, who unable to defeat Ravana, sheltered under the wing of peacock and later blessed it with a "thousand eyes" and fearlessness from serpents.^[5] Another story has Indra who after being cursed with a thousand ulcers was transformed into a peacock with a thousand eyes.^[67] In Buddhist philosophy, the peacock represents wisdom.^[68] Peacock feathers are used in many rituals and ornamentation. Peacock motifs are widespread in Indian temple architecture, old coinage, textiles and continue to be used in many modern items of art and utility.^[22] In Greek mythology the origin of the peacocks plumage is explained in the tale of Hera and Argus

.^[17] The main figure of the Kurdish religionYezidism, Melek Taus, is most commonly depicted as a peacock.^[69][70] Peacock motifs are widely used even today such as in the logos of the US NBC and the PTV television networks and the Sri Lankan Airlines.

These birds were often kept in menageries and as ornaments in large gardens and estates. In medieval times, knights in Europe took a "Vow of the Peacock" and decorated their helmets with its plumes. Feathers were buried with Viking warriors^[71] and the flesh of the bird was said to cure snake venom and many other maladies. Numerous uses in Ayurveda have been documented. Peafowl were said to keep an area free of snakes.^[72] In 1526, the legal issue as to whether peacocks were wild or domestic fowl was thought sufficiently important for Cardinal Wolsey to summon all the English judges to give their opinion, which was that they are domestic fowl.^[73]

In Anglo-Indian usage of the 1850s, to peacock meant making visits to ladies and gentlemen in the morning. In the 1890s, the term "peacocking" in Australia referred to the practice of buying up the best pieces of land ("picking the eyes") so as to render the surrounding lands valueless.^[74] The English word "peacock" has come to be used to describe a man who is very proud or gives a lot of attention to his clothing.^[75]

Evolution and sexual selection[edit]

Charles Darwin first theorized in On the Origin of Species that the peacock's plumage had evolved through sexual selection. This idea was expanded upon in his second book, The Descent of Man and Selection in Relation to Sex.

The sexual struggle is of two kinds; in the one it is between individuals of the same sex, generally the males, in order to drive away or kill their rivals, the females remaining passive; whilst in the other, the struggle is likewise between the individuals of the same sex, in order to excite or charm those of the opposite sex, generally the females, which no longer remain passive, but select the more agreeable partners.^[3]

A peacock in flight, Tamil Nadu,India

An Indian peacock displaying its plumage

Work concerning female behavior in many species of animals has sought to confirm Darwin's basic idea of female preference for males with certain characteristics as a major force in the evolution of species.^[4]Females have often been shown to distinguish small differences among potential mates and to prefer mating with individuals bearing the most exaggerated characters.^[5] In some cases, those males have been shown to be more healthy and vigorous, suggesting that the ornaments serve as markers indicating the males' abilities to survive and, thus, their genetic qualities.

INTRODUCTION

Cuneiform writing reminded the ancients of bird tracks in mud.

 Pagans of the Isis bloodline valued wisdom as the highest human virtue. The "Sacred Ibis" was an enduring wisdom symbol in Pagan religion. One might wonder why they chose the ibis as a symbol to represent the god of wisdom and learning. The common pun that someone's handwriting looks like "chicken tracks" has truly ancient origins. The earliest enduring forms of writing were impressions made in clay. The ibis is a wading bird that probes for food in shallow waters along streams and ponds. Its footprints in the mud of its habitat reminded the scribes of cuneiform clay tablet writing.  
 The Pagan's concept of wisdom was divided into distinctly different branches of wisdom. The educated wisdom of scribes was regarded differently from the agrarian wisdom of farmers or the military wisdom of soldiers. Farmers, soldiers, and "tradesmen" of all kinds were illiterate classes of people. Heru, the hawk god, was the patron god of soldiers who did not need to be educated in the literary arts. When armies went on military campaigns, professional scribes went along as accountants, message writers, and etc. The common feature of armies subservient to civilian governments in Western civilizations may have sprung originally from this ancient literary tradition. 
 Thoth was the patron god of all the scientific, literary, and bureaucratic professions that required writing skills. They chose the ibis as the symbol for the patron god of the educated literary branch of wisdom because its footprints looked like cuneiform clay tablet writing.
Priest scribes of the Thoth school were linguistic architects and wordsmiths. They designed languages and formulated words. 
 According to conventional language theories, our modern languages "evolved" from prehistoric languages by chance. There was no design or designer involved in the process. That isn't true. Our languages are man-made structures in much the same way that our houses are man-made structures. Our houses may be built of wood from forests that evolved out of the ecosystem of the planet, but the houses did not evolve out of the forest by chance. 
 For the most part, constructors of houses refined and formulated naturally existing materials to create the products from which they built houses. Ironsmiths refined nails out of raw iron ore. Sawyers sawed lumber from naturally existing trees. They built their houses on foundations of field stone mortared together to serve their purpose. Scribes of the Thoth school designed and constructed languages by similar processes. Our major languages are structures built partly of linguistic materials from prehistorical times and partly from the creations of Thothian genius. 
  "Thoth, the inventor writing and of numbers"-->  For instance, Thothian scribes used the names of gods and the functions of those gods to formulate words and give them meaning. Thoth was the all around god of wisdom and learning. Our word thought is derived from the name of Thoth. Our word hero is derived from the name of Heru, the god of wisdom in action. Our word assure is derived from the name of Assur, the founding father god of Pagan civilization. Those are very direct god name words that derive their sounds and meanings from the names and functions of Pagan gods. Many words in many languages are derivatives of god names. They're not always as direct and obvious as these examples are.


Herodotus, Histories 2. 75. 1-4 (trans. Godley) (Greek historian C5th B.C.) :  "There is a place in Arabia not far from the town of Bouto (Buto) where I went to learn about the Winged Serpents (ophies pteretoi). When I arrived there, I saw innumerable bones and backbones of serpents: many heaps of backbones, great and small and even smaller. This place, where the backbones lay scattered, is where a narrow mountain pass opens into a great plain, which adjoins the plain of Aigyptos (Egypt).  Winged serpents (ophies pteretoi) are said to fly from Arabia at the beginning of spring, making for Egypt; but the ibis birds encounter the invaders in this pass and kill them. The Arabians say that the ibis is greatly honored by the Aigyptoi (Egyptians) for this service, and the Aigyptoi give the same reason for honoring these birds."
Herodotus, Histories 3. 107. 1 - 110.1 :  "Again, Arabia is the most distant to the south of all inhabited countries: and this is the only country which produces frankincense and myrrh and casia and cinnamon and gum-mastich. All these except myrrh are difficult for the Arabians to get. They gather frankincense by burning that storax which Phoinikes (Phoenicians) carry to Hellas; they burn this and so get the frankincense; for the spice-bearing trees are guarded by small Winged Snakes (ophies hypopteroi) of varied color, many around each tree; these are the snakes that attack Aigyptos (Egypt). Nothing except the smoke of storax will drive them away from the trees . . .   So too if the vipers and the Winged Serpents (ophies hypopteroi) of Arabia were born in the natural manner of serpents life would be impossible for men; but as it is, when they copulate, while the male is in the act of procreation and as soon as he has ejaculated his seed, the female seizes him by the neck, and does not let go until she has bitten through. The male dies in the way described, but the female suffers in return for the male the following punishment: avenging their father, the young while they are still within the womb gnaw at their mother and eating through her bowels thus make their way out. Other snakes, that do no harm to men, lay eggs and hatch out a vast number of young. The Arabian Winged Serpents do indeed seem to be numerous; but that is because (although there are vipers in every land) these are all in Arabia and are found nowhere else.   The Arabians get frankincense in the foregoing way."
Aelian, On Animals 2. 38 (trans. Scholfield) (Greek natural history C2nd A.D.) :  "The Black Ibis does not permit the Winged Serpents (Ophies Pterotoi) from Arabia to cross into Aigyptos (Egypt), but fights to protect the land it loves."

Aelian, On Animals 16. 41 :  "Megasthenes states that in India there are . . . snakes (ophies) with wings, and that their visitations occur not during the daytime but by night, and that they emit urine which at once produces a festering wound on any body on which it may happen to drop."


The Sacred Ibis (Threskionis aethiopicus) once lived in Egypt and is depicted in many ancient Egyptian wall murals and sculptures. It is also found as mummified specimens at many burial sites and played a significant religious role, in particular during the Late and Ptolemaic periods. The ibis represented the god Thoth, god of wisdom, knowledge and writing, and was considered the herald of the flood[1]. It was of practical use to villagers as it helped to rid fish ponds of water snails that contained dangerous liver parasites[2]. However, it is now extinct throughout Egypt because of gradual aridification through swamp drainage and land reclamation[3].

The Jacobin Cuckoo, Pied Cuckoo, or Pied Crested Cuckoo (Clamator jacobinus) is a member of the cuckoo order of birds that is found in Africa and Asia. It is partially migratory and in India, it has been considered a harbinger of the Monsoon rains due to the timing of its arrival.[2] It has been associated with a bird in Indian mythology and poetry, known as the Chatak represented as a bird with a beak on its head that waits for rains to quench its thirst.

This species is widely mentioned in ancient Indian poetry as the chātak.[17][18] According to Indian mythology it has a beak atop its head and it thirsts for the rains.[19] The poet Kalidasa used it in his "Meghadoota" as a metaphor for deep yearning and this tradition continues in literary works.[20] Satya Churn Law, however noted that in Bengal, the bird associated with the "chatak" of Sanskrit was the Common Iora unlike the Jacobin Cuckoo suggested by European orientalists. He further noted that a captive Iora that he kept drank water only from dew and spray picked up from plant leaves suggesting that it may have been the basis for the idea that the "chatak" only drank raindrops.[21]