One bright, sunny day the Prophet and his companions set out on a trip on horse back. The companions were talking amongst themselves, mentioning Allah. They felt with very deep respect towards the Prophet, peace be upon him.
The trip was long and the honorable companions became tired so they asked the Prophet to rest. He granted them permission. They found a spot with trees to shade them and stopped there to rest.
One of the companions went between the bushes while others went searching in the trees, looking for something to eat. The rest remained with the Prophet, peace be upon him, listening to him and benefiting from his teachings.
The companion who went into the bushes came back carrying two small heron chicks. They were making a very low sound.
After a period of time, another heron came out fluttering her feathers and flying around the Prophet, peace be upon him. She was the mother heron. She went back and forth chirping the whole time. The companions thought this was a strange sight indeed.
The Prophet had been given a grand miracle. The mother heron had complained to the Prophet by her chirping and he had understood her, just as Prophet Sulayman used to understand the birds’ chirping.
This was as a mercy to the Heron so that she would not suffer. So the companion returned the small chicks to where he had found them.
