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Fatwa CenterBees were created before man
Question
Assalaamu alaykum. Verse 16:68 makes it sound as if humans were created before bees, but that is wrong; we know that bees existed way before humans. God told the bee to live in what they, the humans, built, so it makes it sound as if the bees did not exsist till after the humans, but that would be wrong because animals existed way before us.
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.
We could not find any scholar who mentioned a contradiction in this regard or answered a similar question. The most likely correct view is that there is no contradiction, as the creation of animals and other creatures occurred before the creation of Man, as in the verse: {It is He who created for you all of that which is on the earth. Then, He directed Himself to the heaven, (His being above all creation), and made them seven heavens, and He is Knowing of all things.} [Quran 2:29]
As-Subki 
commented on the verse, saying, "It means that {all of that which is on the earth} was created for Aadam (Adam) and his offspring as an honoring for them. The perfection of such an honor entails that they existed before his creation, and then the creation of Aadam was the last creation because he and his offspring are the noblest among the whole creation..."
As for the verse in Soorah An-Nahl, it underlines that Allah inspired the bees to eat the fruits and produce honey. This inspiration does not necessarily mean that man had been created before the creation of the bees. Rather, it means that Allah endowed the bees with this ability so that they would be ready to use it when they can.
We advise the brothers who send questions to avoid such questions that have no real benefit. Rather, they should be keen on asking about the matters related to good deeds and religious rulings.
Allah knows best.
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