Surah An-Naml (27) — Ayah 18

(Ayah 18) {حَتّٰۤى اِذَاۤ اَتَوْا عَلٰى وَادِ النَّمْلِ …:} Many issues are learned from this verse: ➊ Allah Almighty has given ants a sense of collectivity, so they live in the form of colonies. They have a proper queen, under whose orders they live their lives. Within their colonies, there are houses, thresholds, roofs, paths, in short, everything, arranged in an amazing order. They collect food for the coming time and preserve it in such a way that human intellect is left astonished; for example, they cut every grain in half so that it does not sprout due to moisture. Among them are guards, fighting squads, food collectors, and cleaners, in short, all kinds of groups. Independent books have been written on their lives. The valley over which Sulayman (peace be upon him) was about to pass was such a valley in which there were colonies of ants. Allah Almighty did not mention its location, nor was it necessary for the purpose of guidance. Some commentators describe that valley as being in Syria, some in Ta’if. The actual place is not known to anyone. ➋ When Sulayman (peace be upon him) approached this valley, an ant said: “O ants! Enter your homes.” From this, it is known that an individual of this seemingly insignificant creature is concerned for its entire community and is informing them of a way to save themselves. This is a sign of living nations. When the individuals of a nation become concerned only for themselves, nothing can save that nation from humiliation and destruction, as is the case with most members of the Muslim Ummah today.
➌ The ant also knew that Sulayman (peace be upon him) was not all-knowing of the unseen, so the ant said, lest Sulayman and his army crush you while they are unaware. ➍ In this, there is also praise for Sulayman (peace be upon him) and his armies, that they never commit excess knowingly; if someone is crushed in their advance due to ignorance, that is another matter. This was also the quality of the Companions of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), as it is said: «{ وَ لَوْ لَا رِجَالٌ مُّؤْمِنُوْنَ وَ نِسَآءٌ مُّؤْمِنٰتٌ لَّمْ تَعْلَمُوْهُمْ اَنْ تَطَـُٔوْهُمْ فَتُصِيْبَكُمْ مِّنْهُمْ مَّعَرَّةٌۢ بِغَيْرِ عِلْمٍ }» [ الفتح : ۲۵ ] “And if there had not been believing men and believing women whom you did not know (if it were not) that you might trample them and thus incur guilt unknowingly (then attack would have been made).” ➎ From this, it is also known that it is not the responsibility of those walking on the common path to save ants and the like; it is their responsibility to save themselves. ➏ It is also known that Sulayman (peace be upon him) understood the speech of animals other than birds; this was his miracle. ➐ The sound of an ant is not audible to humans; Sulayman (peace be upon him) heard it—this is, besides understanding the speech of ants, an additional miracle. ➑ Some deniers of miracles have written that “Valley of the Ants” was the dwelling of the tribe of Banu Naml, and this “namlah” was not an ant but a man of that tribe. But this is the worst distortion of the Qur’an, because from the statement of the ant {’’ وَ هُمْ لَا يَشْعُرُوْنَ ‘‘} it is clear that they were ordinary ants crawling on the ground, because it is not possible for an army to pass through a valley full of humans and not realize it. Moreover, in that case, the verse would have no connection with the knowledge for which, upon being granted, Sulayman (peace be upon him) is seeking the ability to thank Allah Almighty. Neither is there any existence of a tribe named Banu Naml in history, nor in the Arabic language. It is not as if a man of the Banu Kalb tribe is called 'Kalb' or a man of the Banu Asad tribe is called 'Asad', but a man of the Banu Naml tribe is never called “namlah”! The problem with the deniers of miracles is that they do not dare to openly deny the Qur’an, so they keep distorting its meanings.

18-1 From this, firstly, it is understood that animals also possess a certain type of consciousness, although it is much less and different from that of humans. Secondly, it shows that despite the greatness and virtue of Prophet Sulaiman (عليه السلام), he was not ‘Alim al-Ghaib (knower of the unseen). That is why the ants felt threatened that they might be trampled unknowingly. Thirdly, it shows that animals also benefited from and still hold this authentic belief that no one except Allah is ‘Alim al-Ghaib. This is further supported by the upcoming incident of the hoopoe. Fourthly, Prophet Sulaiman (عليه السلام) understood the languages of animals other than birds as well. This knowledge was granted to him by Allah as a miracle, just as the subjugation of jinn, etc., was a miraculous attribute.

18. Until, when they came upon the valley of the ants, an ant [19] said, "O ants! Enter your dwellings, lest Solomon and his armies crush you while they do not perceive [20]."

[19]
The Social and Political System of Ants:

Modern research by zoologists has revealed that just as humans adhere to certain specific regulations for their collective and political systems, a similar system is found in the colonies of the most insignificant creature, the ant. Like humans, ants also have families and tribes; among them are found the principles of mutual cooperation, division of labor, and institutions of governance. They also have a language which all ants understand.

[20] Prophet Sulaimanؑ was passing by an ant colony with his army on a certain expedition when he heard one ant addressing another in this manner. Perhaps it was the chief ant, who was informing and instructing the other ants, saying: "Look, Sulaimanؑ and his army are approaching over your heads. Therefore, quickly enter your burrows, lest you be crushed under their feet, and they would not even know what calamity has befallen your lives."