AN ANT EXPLAINS A CHAPTER BROUGHT DOWN IN ITS NAME

AN ANT EXPLAINS A CHAPTER BROUGHT DOWN IN ITS NAME

As you know Allah the Almighty sent down verses to our be-loved Prophet Mohammad (pbuh). Th ese verses were then put together to form the Holy Qur’an. Chapter Naml (Th e Ant) explains the incident between my ant ancestors and Prophet Solomon. Let me introduce myself to you. I’m a tiny little ant. Allah the Almighty gave me great importance by mentioning my name in the Holy Qur’an. I cannot tell you how happy I am as a result of this. Moreover, we are also one of the animals that have been forbidden from being killed. Even lighting a fi re near our nests has been forbidden. Let’s all try and understand the 27th chapter of the Qur’an titled Th e Ant. Th is chapter has 93 verses. Th e main topics discussed are: the importance of faith, the importance of worshipping Allah the Almighty, to believe in divine inspiration, that knowledge of things that are unknown and unseen by us can only be known by Almighty Allah, that all forms of blessing and sustenance is bestowed by Allah and that for these we must be thankful to Allah. Th e incident that took place between Belkys (Queen of Sheba) and Prophet Solomon as well as the things that Prophets Moses, Salih, and Lot went through is also mentioned in this chapter. You see all of these are mentioned in the chapter titled in my name. Some people refuse to believe in Allah despite the lessons contained in the stories, and the variety of blessings and beauty that surrounds us. I am thankful to Allah each time I remember them. Let me tell you a little bit about ants before telling you the story of Prophet Solomon. I am sure you are going to be amazed as you read on.
Ants can be classifi ed into three diff erent classes: the queen ant, male ants and worker ants. Each one of us is aware of our duty as soon as we come into being. Unlike you we have no need for school, education, exams or reports because we get these directly from our Lord. Despite the fact that Allah the Almighty has created us as tiny fl imsy creatures, we have also been given, among many, the special characteristics of being organised, making detailed calculations, being diligent and being able to divide up our duties. Conditions of life are indeed very diffi cult for ants. It can take hours for us to carry a grain of wheat. Th is is the reason why Allah has wished for us to live in colonies which number in the hundreds of thousands. Similar to other creatures we’ve been adorned with distinct abilities and beauty that aid us in adapting to the conditions we fi nd ourselves in. Our underground nests are connected through tunnels as a means of protection from the many things that threaten our survival. Sometimes these include humans and rain. Th is is dangerous for us as we do not know how to swim and can drown very easily. And oh those humans! Sometimes they step on us with or without realising it. If only they would watch where they are going these things wouldn’t happen to us. I would like you all to be more careful in the future. Now let’s get to the story. Allah the Almighty put a great deal of creatures at the service of Prophet Solomon. Th e winds carried him wherever he wanted, the birds collected knowledge for him, the mountains chanted Allah’s name with him, and alot of creatures worked in his service. Allah the Almighty gave Prophet Solomon, besides the gift of prophethood, vast knowledge, governance, treasures, and knowledge and understanding of the language of birds and other creatures. Even though he had been bestowed with these gift s he did not act proud because he was able to comprehend the fact that these were all indeed gift s from Allah. He had such a merciful nature that he would not even step on ants that were crossing the road from one side to the other. Prophet Solomon prayed for himself and his family, that they may be given opportunities and strength to do good works that would please Allah so that his family and himself would be amongst the good servants of Allah in heaven. Th is chapter of the Qur’an proves that every creature shows obedience to Allah. Th erefore humans should realise that this planet does not belong to them and that they have no right to harm a single creature in it. Humans need to be aware of all creatures; ants, bees, birds, insects and learn to share the planet with them.