لَاُعَذِّبَنَّہٗ

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Contrary to popular belief, based on fable and fiction, Hud-hud was not a bird employed by Solomon as his message-bearer since (a) it was inconsistent with Solomon’s dignity as a great monarch and a Divine Prophet to be so angry with a small bird as to be prepared to inflict severe punishment upon it or even to kill it. (b) Hud-hud seems to be well-acquainted with the rules and requirements of States and also well-versed in the knowledge about Divine Unity (vv. 25, 26) which birds are not. (c) Hud-hud, being not a migratory bird, cannot fly long distances and therefore could not have been selected for the journey to Sheba and back (v. 23). It follows from these facts that Hud-hud was not a bird but a man, even a very responsible officer of State or a general who had been entrusted with an important political mission by Solomon to the Queen of Sheba. The practice of exchange of envoys seems to have been quite popular in Solomon’s time. Moreover, it is a known fact that men are named after birds and anim