﴿ وَتَفَقَّدَ ٱلطَّيْرَ فَقَالَ مَا لِىَ لَآ أَرَى ٱلْهُدْهُدَ أَمْ كَانَ مِنَ ٱلْغَآئِبِينَ ﴾

“And [one day] he looked in vain for [a parti­cular one of] the birds; and so he said: How is it that I do not see the hoopoe? Or could he be among the absent?”

And he reviewed the birds to see the hoopoe — which would locate water beneath the ground and indicate its location by pecking at it whereupon the devils would extract it for Solomon required it for when he prayed; but he could not see him — then he said ‘Why is it that I do not see the hoopoe? in other words is there something preventing me from seeing him? Or is he among the absent? and so I cannot see him because he is absent?’ And when he became certain of the hoopoe’s absence