Allah the Exalted said: << وتفقد الطير فقال مالي لآأرى الهدهد أم كان من الغآئبين >

He said: [Surat al-Naml: 20] Is the article "al" here for the definite (specific) reference, or for the generic class? I say it is for the definite reference, because it refers back to the birds mentioned in [Surat al-Naml: 17]. And on this basis, his checking on the birds took place during this very march.
[Surat al-Naml: 20] He says: "He checked on the birds to see the hoopoe, which sees water under the ground and indicates it by pecking at it, so that the jinn would extract it, because Sulayman needed it for prayer, but he did not see it." This is from the author's own insight.
He says: He checked on the birds so that the hoopoe, the hoopoe...? It sees water under the ground, and when it sees rivers flowing under the ground, it pecks with its beak, meaning he said: ... here, then he orders the jinn to dig.
The student: .....

The Shaykh : Yes, indeed... Who says this? Rather, his checking on the birds was because—as mentioned before—he (peace and blessings be upon him) was organizing his troops. So he checked where they had gone. That is why he did not say: "He checked on the hoopoe" or "the hoopoes," but rather he said: "He checked on all the birds." Yes. Because you know that birds fly in the air, so something might stray from them. So he (peace and blessings be upon him) checked on them in order to complete the organization.
Also, their claim or assertion that the hoopoe sees what is under the ground is not correct... that he let the hoopoes come... do you see them or not? You certainly do not see them. And this is a matter... if you do not see the nearby boundary, how do you see the distant waters? The point is that the hoopoe is like the others; the light of its eyes is obscured by density, and it sees nothing.
Furthermore, Sulayman (peace be upon him) did not need this. He did not need it. Rather, Sulayman, in this regard, was like other human beings. If he found water, he benefited from it, and if he did not find it, then Allah the Exalted would facilitate water for him by any means.
He said: [Surat al-Naml: 20] "Ma" is an interrogative noun. And is the purpose of it seeking information or expressing disapproval?
The student: Seeking information.

The Shaykh : Hm? It was said: The intended meaning, it was said: The purpose is seeking information; that he is asking a genuine question, saying: Where is the hoopoe? And it was said: It is an expression of disapproval. And the apparent view is that it is not... because the original rule for interrogation, the original rule in it, is seeking information.
Some of them said: And in the verse there is an inversion, and the estimated meaning is: "What is the matter with the hoopoe, I do not see it." But this is not correct. Rather, the verse is in its proper order. So he is asking: Why don't I see the hoopoe? Yes. Is there an obstacle preventing... or was it not present? And so he moved away from the first possibility and said: [Surat al-Naml: 20] And this "am" is disconnected. Yes. "Am" is disconnected, and the disconnected "am"—as has passed us several times—carries the meaning of "bal" (rather), and the hamza means: Rather, was it among the absent ones? Yes. And at that point, he moved away from the first statement, and it became known that there was no defect in his sight, but rather the cause was the absence of this hoopoe.
Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: [Surat al-Naml: 20] "I did not see it because of its absence."