ALMISKEENAH

Have they not seen the birds above them, as they draw in their wings, having spread them-the Benevolent One alone holds them up, observing everything. (67:19)
Don’t you see all creatures in the skies and on the earth glorify Allah, even the birds on the wing? Each ones knows its prayer, and its manner of praise. And Allah is fully cognizant of what they are doing.
(24:41)
There is no animal on the earth, nor yet a bird on the wing, but forms communities like you. We have not neglected anything in the Book; and they will ultimately be gathered to their Lord.
(6:38)


Narrated Anas bin Malik RadhiAllahu anhu: Allah’s Apostle SallAllahu alaihi wasallam said, "There is none amongst the Muslims who plants a tree or sows seeds, and then a bird, or a person or an animal eats from it, but is regarded as a charitable gift for him."
SubhanAllah, so many lessons unfolding as one peers transfixed from the hotel window looking down at the antics of the pigeons in the courtyard outside the Ka’aba. (lime dot, on the photo of the model of Jabal Umar in the previous post) People buying bags of wheat from the numerous sellers, (who sometimes seem to out number the pigeons!) scattering it around the clock tower. Pigeons flutter, gobble and depart, as the army of sweepers brush the grains in concentrated piles.

Sh Ahmad Yasin Al-Khairayi, authored ‘The Pigeons of the Sacred Hijazi’ in the mid 1300’s Hijrah. He was an eminent Madani scholar at the time who has written other informative titles in Arabic on Makkah al-Mukarramah and Al-Madinah Al-Munawwarah.He explains that the respect given to pigeons in these two Holy Cities originates from three major events from our past history. He relates a lengthy Hadith narrated by Ibn Abbas RadhiAllahu anhu retelling the story of Nuh Alaihis Salaam. It mentions that there were 80 men and their families on the ark with Nuh Alaihis Salaam, and they were on the ark for 150 days when it was directed towards Makkah, and that it made Tawaf for 40 days before resting on Mt Judi. Nuh Alaihis Salaam sent a crow to see if it may return with any signs that land was once again habitable. However it was late in returning, so he sent a pigeon, which came back with an olive branch in its beak and muddy feet, indicating that water had receded. Nuh Alaihis Salaam then came down from the mountain and began building a village.
The second opinion regarding the heritage of the pigeons is that they are descendants of the birds that stoned Abrahah and his army, "The People of the Elephants" referred to in Surah Fil:

And He sent upon them flying birds in flocks, throwing stones of baked clay (105:3-4)

And the third event the author connects to the present day pigeons is the story of when the Prophet SallAllahu alaihi wasallam and Abu Bakr RadhiAllahu anhu were hiding in the Cave on Mt Thawr and Allah Ta’ala instructed the bird to build its nest over the opening of the cave to shield them from their pursuers. He also links how the people of Makkah are the people of Allah Ta’ala, and whatever enters Makkah is sacred.

While the people of Madinah are the family of Rasulullah SallAllahu alaihi wasallam, concluding that the pigeons belong to this family.He relates that during the Ottoman times the trust authority in
Istanbul issued a decree that funds were to be accounted for on a daily basis to cover the cost of feed for the pigeons and for the wages of workers to feed them and as well as keep a huge trough of water filled for them.
And Allah Almighty knows best.
Whatever the origins, it is amazing to see the amount of seed distributed to the pigeons around Haramain. Insha’Allah, this act is accepted as charity, according to the Hadith. Maybe you are aware of other aspects to the pigeon feeding? Insha’Allah you can share any information.

May our reliance on Allah Ta’ala, be a true reliance, as conveyed in the Hadith saying to the effect that He will sustain us as He does the birds, who go out in the morning with an empty stomach and return in the evening full. Insha’Allah  

A few fascinating pigeons facts, SubhanAllah.
Pigeons mate for life and rear their broods together, although if one dies the other will take a new mate. Once the simple nest is built, the female lays an egg and then another a day or so later. The incubation period for common pigeons is 17 to 19 days. The female sits on the egg from late afternoon through the night until about 10AM. The male then takes over and does the day shift. Once the eggs hatch, both parents feed the young squabs. The first food is pigeon milk or crop milk, a
cheesy substance that appears in the crops of the parents at hatching time and is fed for a week or so. Then the adults start regurgitating partially digested grains for the young. By the time the squabs are ready to fly, about 4 weeks, the father is doing most of the feeding.
The squabs are fed for another week to 10 days after they are free-flying.
The anatomy of birds has remarkable similarities to that of humans.       
Birds have nearly all the same organs, like a heart with right and left coronary arteries and 4chambers with 4 valves like ours, pumping blood into similar blood vessels.  However their heart beats much
faster than ours & pumps more blood for its size.  Also their aorta, the largest artery in birds as in man, arches to the right instead of to the left. Their brain & spinal cord have similar parts to ours, though there is a separate ocular lobe for sight.  Eyes, ears, lungs, intestines, liver, pancreas, kidneys, ovaries, testes & our other reproductive organs, lymphatic system, thyroid & other endocrine organs are all present in birds.  Their kidneys have the same function as ours, filtering waste material out of the blood.  The kidneys are longer than ours, having 3 pairs of arteries compared with our single pair.  
  
  
All good is from Allah Ta’ala whereas mistakes are from this humble speck. May Allah Ta’ala Bless all readers, bringing you all closer to Him and His Rasul SallAllahu alaihi wasallam. Ameen.

I apologize for the delay in posting. Allah Ta’ala Willed that I was faced with major problems with my computer, leaving it three days sitting "resting", while frantic efforts were made to wake it up…after many attempts to revive it, it was sent to a "reformatory" for bad adab, and finally returned with the diagnosis that some Mubarak Madinah dust was the source of the problem! Alhumdulillah! In the meantime it limps along until all programs are reinstalled. A huge learning curve in this test for me, with the following offering one of the many anchors at such a time.

On the authority of Abu Hurairah RadhiAllahu anhu who said: The Prophet SallAllahu alaihi wasallam said: "A believer who is strong is better and more beloved to Allah than the one who is weak, although both bear goodness. Desire eagerly what benefits you, seek help from Allah and do not show slackness in struggle. If something [trouble] befalls you, you should not say: Had I done so and so, then such and such a thing would not have happened, but you should say that Allah destined it and did what He wanted, for the word "if" starts the work of Shaitan."