ARTICULATE ANTS

by
NASREEN FATIMA
WIFE OF ARSHAD BASHEER MADANI
UNDER SUPERVISION OF ARSHAD BASHEER MADANI, (alim,faazil,jamia
islamia,madina tayyiba,MBA,M.Phil,Phd,BDM).
Assalamualaikum wa rehmatullahi wa barakatuhu,
dear readers,
This book inshallah will amaze us about one of Allah's unique creations, the ants! our friend
namli in this book will not only guide us to their highly civilized lifestyle but also reveal a great
scientific miracle mentioned in the quran about them .She would inshallah also relate the story of
Sulaiman (alaihis salaam) from the Quran!Yet another journey marvelling us about Allah's
perfection in creating,organizing and sustaining life.subhanallah!how perfect is Allah!
Assalamualaikum wa rehmatullahi wa barakatuhu! assalamualaikum?..........hey,. over
here!...... down here! will you please look down in front of you..... phew! you finally heard and
saw me, my name is namli, inshallah I will be your host, welcome to our kingdom!
Let me first tell you about what kind of insects we ants are,our numbers and types in this big
wide world.
The scientists will tell you that all us ants belong to a single family called "formicidae",the world
is inhabited by many types of ants ,our size ranges from 2 millimeters (0.08inches) to 25
millimeters (1 inch). No wonder you almost missed seeing me , in places of warmer climates,
you can find many different varieties of ants, there are about 12,000 species of ants in the world!
Here are some of them,

Leaf cutter ants

Army ants

Harvester ants

Weaver ants

Fire ants

honeypot ants

Argentine ants

Trap jaw ants

Black garden ants

Red stinging ants

Yellow meadow ants

Wood ants

You must have commonly seen the red and black ants in your homes. The red ants have painful
stings and the black ants are stingless.
ANTS MENTIONED IN THE HOLY QURAN
Alhamdulillah! I'm proud to say that we ants have a whole surah in the quran named after us! its
surah no.27 "AN-NAML" ayat no.18 ,following is the exegesis of the ayaats:

And there were gathered before Sulaiman his hosts of Jinn ,men and birds, and they all were set)
means, all of Sulaiman's troops of Jinn, men and birds were gathered together, (.in battle order
and he rode with them in a display of might and glory, with people marching behind him,
followed by the Jinn, and the birds flying above his head. When it was hot, they would shade him
.with their wings

The first and the last of them were brought together, so that (.and they all were set in battle order)
none of them would step out of place. Mujahid said: "Officials were appointed to keep each
group in order, and to keep the first and the last together so that no one would step out of line -''.just as kings do nowadays

meaning, when Sulaiman, the soldiers and the (,Till, when they came to the valley of the ants)
,army with him crossed the valley of the ants



one of the ants said: "O ants! Enter your dwellings, lest Sulaiman and his armies should crush)
,Sulaiman, peace be upon him, understood what the ant said (''.you, while they perceive not

So he smiled, amused at her speech and said: "My Lord! Grant me the power and ability that I)
may be grateful for Your favors which You have bestowed on me and on my parents, and that I
meaning: `inspire me to give thanks for the ( ,may do righteous good deeds that will please You
blessings that You have bestowed upon me by teaching me to understand what the birds and
animals say, and the blessings that You have bestowed upon my parents by making them
.Muslims who believe in You
Before I ponder on these ayahs with you and inform you about the lessons we learnt from it, let
me first tell you about the true story of Sulaiman (A) from the quran:
Sulaiman (A) was one of the sons of Dawood (A).Allah had blessed both of them with
prophethood . Prophets are human beings like us whom Allah chooses to make them convey his
message to mankind that man should worship only one god Allah and that there is no other god
besides him.
After his father's death, Solomon became king. He begged Allah for a kingdom such as none
after
him would have, and Allah granted his wish. Besides wisdom, Allah had blessed Solomon with
many abilities. He could command the winds and make them blow in any direction he wanted
and he could understand and talk to birds and animals.It must have been so interesting to talk to
lions, tigers and birds! Allah had also directed him to teach both men and jinns to mine the earth
and extract its minerals to make tools
and weapons . Allah also gave Solomon (A) the knowledge to mine copper, which was a rare
metal in those days
Sulaiman (A) built a beautiful mosque in Jerusalem ,on a huge rock to draw the people to
worship
Allah. Today this building is known as "The Dome of the Rock." From there, a large group of
followers joined Solomon on pilgrimage to the Holy Mosque in Mecca. After they had
completed their hajj, they traveled to Yemen and arrived in the city of San'a. Solomon was

impressed by their clever method of channeling water all over their cities. He was keen to build
similar water systems in his own country but did not have enough springs.
THE HOOPOE BIRD GETS NEWS FOR PROPHET SULAIMAN
Since sulaiman (A) could understand the language of birds, he wanted to speak to the Hoopoe
bird but once it was absent without his permission and this made Sulaiman (A) angry,if you read
the Quran, in surah Naml,surah no.27 & ayat no. 20 & 21., you can find this incident.Thus,
sulaiman (A) said that the hoopoe better has a valid reason for his absence or be ready for
punishment. Eventually, the Hoopoe bird arrived and explained the reason for its delay,the
Hoopoe said, I have
discovered something of which you do not know . I have come from the place called Sheba
(Sab'a) with
important news." Sulaiman (A) became curious, and his anger subsided. The Hoopoe bird
continued: "Sab'a is
ruled by a queen named Bilqis, who has plenty of everything, including a splendid throne.
But in spite of all this wealth, Satan has entered her heart and the hearts of her people. She rules
their minds completely. I was shocked to learn that they worship the sun! instead of Allah the
Almighty."

THE HOOPOE FLIES BACK TO THE QUEEN

To check the hoopoe's information, Sulaiman (A) sent a letter to the queen with the bird. He
instructed the bird to remain hidden and to watch everything. The hoopoe dropped the letter in
front of the queen and flew away to hide. She excitedly opened and read it:
"Verily! It is from Sulaiman, and verily! It reads: 'In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, and
Most Merciful; be you not exalted against me, but come to me as Muslims (true believers who
submit with full submission).('"you can read this letter in the quran too in surah27,surah
naml,ayaats:30-31.
The queen was very disturbed and hurriedly called for her advisors, they reacted as to a
challenge, for they felt that there was someone challenging them, hinting at war and defeat, they
thought Sulaiman (A)
Wanted to fight with them
asking them to submit to his conditions.
They told the queen, that they could only offer advice, but it was her right to command action.
She
sensed that they wanted to meet Sulaiman's invasion threat with a battle. However, she told them:
"Peace and friendship are better and wiser; war only brings humiliation, makes people slaves and

destroys the good things. I have decided to send gifts to Sulaiman, selected from our most
precious treasure. The courtiers who will deliver the gifts will also have an opportunity to learn
about Sulaiman and his military might."
THE QUEENS COURTIERS VISIT SULAIMAN (A)
When the queens envoys reached sulaiman (A) place, they saw his powerful army and his
enormous wealth.they were surprised by the number and variety of soldierswhich included
lions, tigers and birds!
the courtiers were amazed!!they also marveled at Sulaiman (A) palace..its floors were made of
sandalwood and were inlaid with gold.
They eagerly presented their queen's
precious gifts and told Sulaiman (A) that the queen wished that he would accept them as an act
of
friendship.
They were shocked by his reaction: he did not even ask to open the covers of the containers! He
told them: "Allah has given me plenty of wealth, a large kingdom, and prophethood.
I am, therefore, beyond bribery. My only objective is to spread the belief in Tawheed, the
Oneness
of Allah."
Like all prophets of islam,even sulaiman (A),wanted all the people to worship only one god i.e
Allah subhanawatala and to believe that there is no other god besides Allah.
He did not want to fight with the queen and her people, neither did he want the queens wealth
and kingdom, instead all he wanted was to make them to worship Allah subhanawatala ,the
creator of everything.he wanted to stop those people from worshipping the sun, which is nothing
but one of Allahs creation because if anyone worships anything besides Allah and dies in that
state without saying sorry to Allah then he will be thrown in the hellfire in the hereafter.Thus
Sulaiman (A) only wanted to do his duty given to him by Allah subhanawatla to spread the
message of tawheed i.e to worship only Allah and to believe that there is no god besides him.
Therefore Sulaiman (A) directed the queens courtiers to take back the gifts to the queen and to
tell her that if she did not stop her
kind of worship, he would uproot her kingdom and drive its people out of the land.
THE QUEEN DECIDES TO VISIT SOLOMON

The queen's envoys returned with the gifts and delivered the message of Sulaiman(A) They also
told her of his amazing wealth and army . The queen was very wise and friendly instead of
feeling bad that her gifts were returned , she decided to visit Solomon (A).
Accompanied by her royal officials and servants, she left Sheba, sending a messenger ahead to
inform Sulaiman (A) that she was on her way to meet him.
Sulaiman (A) asked the jinns in his employ, whether anyone among them could bring her throne
to his palace before she arrived. One of them said; "I will bring it to you before this sitting is
over."
Solomon did not react to this offer; it appeared that he was waiting for a faster means. The jinns
competed with each other to please him. One of them named Ifrit said: "I will fetch it for you in
the twinkling of an eye!"
The jinns are also a creation of Allah , they have amazing speed and power but they cannot use it
without Allahs permission.
No sooner had this one - who had the knowledge of the Book - finished his phrase than the
throne
stood before Sulaiman. The mission had, indeed, been completed in the blinking of an eye.
Sulaiman's seat was in Palestine, and the throne of Bilqis had been in Yemen, two thousand miles
away. This was a great miracle performed by one of those sitting with Solomon.

THE QUEENS VISIT TO SULAIMAN

When Bilqis arrived at Sulaiman's palace, she was welcomed with pomp and ceremony. Then,
pointing to the altered throne, Sulaiman asked her whether her throne looked like that one. She
replied: "It is as if it were the very one, and resembles mine in every respect." Sulaiman (A)
judged
that she was intelligent and diplomatic.
He then invited her into the great hall, the floor of which was laid in glass and shimmering.
Thinking it was water, as she stepped on the floor, she lifted her skirt slightly above her heels, for
fear of wetting it. Sulaiman (A) pointed out to her that it was made of solid glass.
She was amazed. She had never seen such things before. Bilqis realized that she was in the
company of a very knowledgeable person who was not only a ruler of a great kingdom but a
messenger of Allah, as well. She repented, gave up sun worship, accepted the faith of Allah, and
asked her people to do the same.
It was finished; Bilqis saw her people's creed fall apart before Sulaiman (A). She realized that the
sun
which her people worshipped was nothing but one of Allah's creatures .and Alhamdulillah , the
queen Bilqis accepted islam and became a muslim worshipping Allah subhanawatala alone.

Well, my young friends, that was the story of Sulaiman(A).I was excited to relate it to you as it is
in the surah of the Quran which is named after us, surah Naml, the ants!and after knowing the
story of Sulaiman (A) , you would better understand the ayah no.18 of surah Naml in which we
ants are mentioned.Alhamdulillah! Allah has given us ants great prestige by mentioning us in his
sacred book which all humans and jinns will inshallah read till the last day of this earth.
Now let us go back to the 17th, 18th and 19th ayat of surah naml,it would be great if you can
open the holy Quran and read it for urself.
The translation of surah naml:ayaahs no17,.18and 19 is:
And there were gathered before Sulayman his hosts of Jinn and men, and birds, and they all
were set in battle order.Till,when they came to a valley of ants, one of the ants said: "O ants!
Enter your dwellings, lest Sulayman and his armies should crush you, while they perceive
not.So he smiled, amused at her speech and said: "My Lord! Grant me the power and ability
that I may be grateful for Your favors which You have bestowed on me and on my parents, and
that I may do righteous good deeds that will please you,and admit me by your mercy among your
righteous slaves.
By the above translation of the ayah 17,18& 19,we understand that Sulaiman(A) and his huge
army of jinns,men and birds were marching till they came to a valley of ants, upon seeing this,
one of the ants gave warning to the other ants to go back to their homes, fearing that sulaiman
(A) and his army might unknowingly crush them, under their feet.this warning by the ant was
understood by sulaiman(a).

THE GREAT SCIENTIFIC MIRACLE IN THE QURAN

Some people may laugh at the fact that ants can talk..but it is proved today that not only do ants
talk but infact if there is any insect which resembles the humans a lot then it is the ants.It is only
today with the availability of microscopes,various sensors,advanced photography etc. that
scientists have been able to research and conclude the amazing communication in antswhereas
Allah mentioned it in the Quran 1400 years back.
ANT COMMUNICATON
You must be wondering at us ants,neither do we have a tongue like you nor any vocal cords then
how come we communicate so effectively? you would be surprised to know that so perfect is our
communication and unity subhanallah that we ants who are sometimes two million members in
one family operate like one single organism.

PHEROMONES
Ants communicate with eachother by making and releasing chemicals called pheromones.these
pheromones are released from various glands present in the ants body,when pheromones get
released in the environment , they influence the behavior of other ants..to understand
pheromones ,you can imagine them like perfumes which have several blends , each blend giving
a new pleasant smellso its like we ants sense the pheromones and understand the message
given to us.
Pheromones are released from glands present in the ant mandibles which is like the lower jaw in
humans, from the gaster which is the furthest segment from the head and from the cuticle which
is the hard outer layer found on our bodies.
ANTS DONT HAVE A NOSE THEY HAVE ANTENNAE :Sniffsniff
Allah has given humans noses of different shapes and sizes for smelling and breathing, we ants
dont have such a nose, we use our antennae to detect these pheromones,the antennae guide us to
know where the pheromone is and how strong it isthrough antennae, ants can follow trails that
lead to food or mark a territory .
HOW DO ANTS INVITE OTHER ANTS TO EAT UR FAVOURITE CHOCLATE CAKE.
Please forgive us for irritating you,we just cant stand sweets you seelet me tell you about how
we find food,we send one of our ants to find food and we make sure we send the most clever ant
for this dangerous mission lest it may not return
After this ant finds food ,it lays down a trail of pheromone on its way back .If the food is our
favourite, a stronger pheromone trail is left.Other ants follow the pheromone trail and reach the
target place quickly,as the ants return home with tiny pieces of chocolate cake,they again make
the pheromone trail stronger and if there is a lot of food then other ants from the colony further
join to helpso helpful we are to eachother that if one of us loses its way then we guide that one
by touching its antennae.
MIXING OF PHEROMONES TO COMMUNICATE DIFFERENT MESSAGES:
Some pheromone trails last for a few minutes and others for some days,this is done to avoid ants
getting lost.
Just as different blends of perfume get different smells, ants release one or a combination of
pheromones from different glands to convey the different things they want to say like for
example the African weaver ant which releases different pheromones from several glands for
alarm response and defense system.

PHEROMONES RELEASED FOR FIGHTING AND SELF DEFENCE

When there is an immediate threat to an ant or the colonyfor example, when an ant is crushed,
a predator is in the vicinity, or the nest caves inants release alarm pheromones. These
pheromones can make ants aggressive and incite them to attack or cause them to go into "panic"
mode and they retreat or hide,this is something similar to what we ants did when Sulaiman (A)
and his army were about to crush us
ACCORDING TO A RESEARCH
Allah says in Sura Al-Naml (no. 27): "At length, when they came to a (lowly) valley of ants, one
of the ants said: "O ye ants, get into your habitations, lest Solomon and his hosts break you
(under foot) without knowing it. (The Noble Quran, 27:18)"
In the above mentioned ayah , the ant reported the imminent danger facing them through four
successive stages as follow:
1- "O ye ants" this is the first alarm pheromone (hexanal) given by the ant to draw the attention
of the other ants quickly. On receiving this alarm, the other ants stand alert to receive the other
signals that the same speaker ant will give.
2- "get into your habitations" here the speaker ant follows her words up with another type of
pheromone(hexanol), ordering the ants to do what they ought to do.
3- "lest Solomon and his hosts break you" in these word, the speaker ant shows the reason for
this danger to her fellow ants and this is also understood by a different blend of
pheromone(undecanone).
4- "without knowing it." The ants, as a reaction to the previous alarms, will make a certain kind
of defense, in these last few words, the ant shows her fellows that they don't have to attack the
source of danger, because the source of danger is not from a real enemy. He did not intend to
attack the kingdom of ants. Solomon and his soldiers didn't know of the ants on their way.Here
the pheromone released is (butyloctenal ).So the ants didn't consider them real enemies.See how
caring we are mashallah , we just dont attack anyone , we only attack our enemies..
ANTS ALSO COMMUNICATE BY TOUCHING EACHOTHERS CUTICLE
another way we ants communicate is through touching another ants cuticle, which is the hard
outer layer. The cuticle contains chemicals called hydrocarbons, which consists only of hydrogen
and carbon in varying amounts.this gives us information about age, sex , colony and reproductive
status.

WE MAKE NOISE AND MOVE OUR BODY TO COMMUNICATE

We ants can drum our abdomens or rub our mandibles and other body parts to raise an alarm for
other ants. Something like how humans clap to draw attention.
The weaver ants nod their heads and open their mouths to tell that there is food nearby, like how
you sometimes nod your head to say yes or no to your mommy
WE ALSO RUN TOGETHER TO COMMUNICATE
Two ants may run together where one becomes the leader and the other a follower and they both
go in search of food.

MEMBERS IN OUR FAMILY

Queen Ant: Each nest must have a Queen Ant to survive. The Queen Ant is much bigger than
both the Worker Ants and the Male Ants. Her job is to lay eggs, lay eggs and lay eggs. Queen
Ants have a long life and live for about 10 to 15 years.
Worker Ants: The majority of ants in the colony are Worker Ants. Worker Ants are females but
they cannot lay eggs. As the name suggests Worker Ants do all the work around the nest. They
look after the other ants, eggs and larvae, as well as keep the nest tidy and build new extensions
as required. Phew !work work and work!. Worker Ants live for about 5 years.
Male Ants: During the summer ,the Queen Ant lays special eggs that do not hatch into Worker
Ants but into Male Ants. At this time she also lays new Queen eggs. The male ants job is to mate
with a new Queen after which they die. Male Ants have a relatively short life and live for only a
few months.
Eggs: New eggs are laid regularly by the Queen Ant.
Larvae and Pupae: There is usually as many of these as there are eggs.
LIFECYCLE:
Stage 1
The Queen Ant lays eggs

Stage 2
After a few days the eggs hatch into larvae. The larvae are fed by the Worker
Stage 3
After about 8 days the larvae spins a cocoon around itself. Once in the cocoon it is called a pupa.
Stage 4
3 weeks later young Ants hatch from the cocoons. They are helped out by the Worker Ants.
These Ants spend their life gathering food and keeping the nest tidy
THE AMAZING ABILITIES ALLAH HAS GIVEN US
Allah, the creator of everything that exists has taught us many things, if there is any insect which
resembles you humans most...it is us the ants !alhamdulillah!
ANTS ARE FARMERS
You will be amazed to know For example, that a type of ants, called the "leaf-cutter ants are
farmers. These ants do not eat the leaves; they grow their fungus gardens on them and then eat
the fungus. . They raise the fungus garden , plant, fertilize, weed, and harvest their own crop!
scientists say that there are only four animal groups that have discovered agriculture: ants,
termites, bark beetles and humans

ANTS HAVE DAIRY FARMS AND DELIVER MILK AT DOORSTEPS

Another kind of ant is like a dairy farmer. It keeps little "cows" called aphids (a small insect). In
the winter, these ants carry aphids into their nests and care for them. In the spring, the aphids are
placed on plants, where they feed. When ants rub the bodies of the aphids a sweet liquid comes
out, which the ants drink and deliver to other ants
SOME ANTS ARE FRIENDS OF THE BUTTERFLY
Just as you humans make business partners and friends ,we share good friendship with the
butterfly. When the butterfly lays eggs on plants where we rear our aphids,the butterflys children
or caterpillars feed on the aphids, we do not stop them and let them feed, later we carry the
caterpillars to the nest. In the nest, the ants feed the caterpillars, which produce honeydew for the

ants. When the caterpillars reach full size, they crawl to the colony entrance and form cocoons .
After two weeks, butterflies emerge and take flight

CAN HUMANS LIFT A CAR WITH THEIR MOUTH AND RUN UPSTAIRS?
ALHAMDULILLAH WE ANTS CAN!

What I mean to say is that we ants can carry 100 times our own weight on our backs and
climb...Allah has given us great weight lifting abilities despite our tiny size.For example, Asian
Weaver ants can carry weights of more than 100 times their own body weight whilst upside
down on a smooth surface. To do this, they have incredibly sticky pads on their feet. However,
this does not stop them from running quickly across such surfaces
WE CAN WAGE WARS , FIGHT AND MAKE PRISONERS OF WAR LIKE HUMANS DO
Ant colonies also have soldier ants that protect the queen, defend the colony, gather food, and
attack enemy colonies in search for food and nesting space. If they defeat another ant colony,
they take away eggs of the defeated ant colony. When the eggs hatch, the new ants become the
"slave" ants for the colony. Some jobs of the colony include taking care of the eggs and babies,
gathering food for the colony and building the anthills or mounds.
WE PREPARE FOR WINTERS
We ants believe in making hay while the sun shinesmeaning we prepare before we face
difficult times .this is how we should think about the aaqira or the hereafter too when we all will
inshallah meet Allah and give our accountswe should prepare to please Allah and bank upon
good deeds to be able to pass to heaven.
We ants believe in the philosophy that if one fails to plan then he plans to fail and thus we work
very hard during summer to gather food, farm and reproduce as these tasks become too difficult
in winter.we dry our grains in the summer and prevent them from rotting.
A day doesnt go by that we dont prepare, this is how obedient we should be to our lord Allah
subhanawatala,a day shouldnt go by without pleasing him by praying five times a day and doing
all that is ordered by him as well as keeping guard against what Alllah has forbidden us.
WE STOCK OUR GRAINS IN OUR HOMES AND OUR STOMACHS!

We ants take good care of our stocked food, we cut the buds of plants to prevent them from
rotting ,we take our grains in the sunlight to dry. Allah has given us a remarkable ability to store
food in our reserved abdomens.its like we have two stomachs ,one used for only storing food,
during times of need, we take out food from our stomachs and feed other members of our
familysee how caring we are.
WE CAN MAKE BOATS AND BRIDGES!
Do you know that a species of us ants, the fire ants are capable of building a live raft .we ants
entangle our legs and make a mesh like boat that can swim on water and carry our families on
our backs.
Similarly we can make bridges with our own bodies to let other ants travel on itsubhanallah!
what amazing abilities Allah has granted us!
WE HAVE FAST BRAINS AND LEGS!
An ant brain has about 250 000 brain cells. A human brain has 10,000 million cells so a colony
of 40,000 ants has collectively the same size brain as a human. The legs of the ant are very strong
so they can run very quickly. If a man could run as fast for his size as an ant can, he could run as
fast as a racehorse. Ants can lift 20 times their own body weight.
I believe you were amazed to hear all those astonishing facts about us ants,all praise be to Allah
for making us so unique.
ALLAH DOES NOT ALLOW HUMANS TO KILL ANTS
Alhamdulillah,if you read authentic hadith from sahih muslim,a book which is full of hadiths
which are accurate and were collected by imam muslim there one can understand that Allah
subhanawatala forbade humans from killing us ants.
Abu Huraira reported Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying: An ant had bitten a
Prophet (one amongst the earlier Prophets) and he ordered that the colony of the ants should be
burnt. And Allah revealed to him:" Because of an ant's bite you have burnt a community from
amongst the communities which sings My glory."
Hadith no.5568.
Abu Huraira reported so many ahadith and one of them was this that Allah's Messenger (may
peace be upon him) said: When an Apostle from amongst the Apostles of Allah came to sit under
a tree ,an ant bit him. He commanded his luggage to be removed from under the tree and he

commanded it to be burnt in the fire and Allah revealed to him:" Why one ant (which had bitten
you) was not killed (and why did you burn the others)?
Hadith no.5569

Please dont stamp at us when you see us busy in our chores..we feel pain like you do and our
families are dearer to us like yours are to you,
Sob! sob! Sorry I cant help being emotionalI lost a dear friend in a horrible way, she
unfortunately had lost her way and was walking near the gas burner in the kitchen when this lady
suddenly switched on the stove burning and killing my friend instantlyplease be kind to us and
Ill pray that Allah will be kind to you.

IMPORTANT LESSONS THAT CAN BE LEARNED FROM THE AYAH ABOUT ANTS:

If we read the ayah no.18 of surah naml, we can get 10 lessons from it.

LESSON 1DONT FORGET YOUR CREATOR ALLAH!

When sulaiman (A) understood the speech of ants, he immediately thanked Allah , infact ,he
asked Allah to teach him the best way of giving thankshe thanked Allah for all the favours
bestowed on him and also thanked Allah for making his parents muslim.See how grateful
sulaiman (A) was and not just that but he also asked Allah to make him do righteous good deeds
so that he can please Allah!
Similarly when Allah gives us favours like Allah blessed us with eyes with which can see his
lovely creation and note how perfect it is , we must thank Allah.When Allah provides us good
food like the yummy choclate cake then we must thank Allah and being happy with what Allah
has given us we should strive hard in doing all what Allah has ordered us to do.

LESSON2 PROPHETHOOD

A muslim must beleive in the prophets and messengers sent by Allah to guide people...its such a
simple logic which many of you humans fail to understand.If the creator of this world has to give
a message, order us ,give us knowledge about the purpose of creating us,he will send a
messenger to convey the message...simple...he does not have to come down in person..
Allah says And for every people there is (sent) a guide.[Ar-Rad 13:7]
Allah had sent many messengers, of them twenty five are mentioned by name in the quran.Here
we can see the example of Sulaiman (A), how Allah blessed him and how he did dawah i.e how
did he call people to believe in one true god Allah

LESSON 3 HELP AND SAVE EACHOTHER FROM DANGER

An important lesson that can be learnt from us ants is that we help eachother alot.Have you seen
tiny black ants carrying the injured or dead ?you may have noticed that they do this inspite of
being in danger themselves.you must help eachother ,dont you like to be helped when your in
danger ?then why not feel for the others?
Allah says in the quran in surah Maida, surah no.5,ayat no.32

5: 32. Because of that We ordained for the Children of Israel that if anyone killed a person not in
retaliation of murder, or (and) to spread mischief in the land - it would be as if he killed all
mankind, and if anyone saved a life, it would be as if he saved the life of all mankind.

Alhamdulillah we ants dont fight like humanshumans break all rules when it comes to war,
they even kill women and children! Man should realize what he is commanded by Allah.killing

one innocent humanbeing is like killing all mankind!and saving a life is so greatly valued by
Allah that he says saving one life is like saving all mankind!
We ants strive hard in helping eachother,we feed the needy,take care of our queen and are sincere
in our responsibilities. One small ant saved the life of many ants when sulaiman (A) and his
hosts were coming.
Islam is a religion which came to save mankind from the loss of both this world and the
hereafter.

LESSON4 PROOF OF ALLAH

The holy quran is the last and final book to be sent down by Allah . He has made it overflowing
with miracles,proofs and evidences,this shows that it can only be sent down by the one who
created everything in the first place and cannot be written by man.
the ants ability to talk, to communicate is first mentioned in the quran, before man could
discoverthis proves the fact that Allah exists and he has made the quran a book of evidence for
man to accept this fact.we ants make sure we do our salat on time and are always praising Allah
subhanawatala ,we laugh at some humans who dont believe in their own creator!

LESSON5BE GRATEFUL FOR ALLAHS FAVOURS

Sulaiman (A) immediately thanked Allah for letting him understand the ants language.Allah says
in the quran in Surat At-Takthur,surah no.102:8

Then you will surely be asked that Day about pleasure.

In this surah,Allah is telling us that he will ask us about the favours he granted us. Our eyes are a
favour that Allah gave us ,our parents are a favour that Allah gave us ,our yummy food is a
favour that Allah gave us.Have you ever talked to anyone who lost his home in floods or
storms,its when we lose the favours of Allah that we really realize how much Allah loves us.

LESSON6BEING ORGANIZED AND DISCIPLINED

If you had observed us, we mostly walk in a line,you may never find us resting or lazing
around.we do this inorder to save time and make our work easy.we all are eager to help one
another in completing a task, not one of us is slow or lazy .nobody takes the other for granted,if
the ant who warned about Sulaiman (A) was lazy then all those ants could have been crushed
unknowingly. we make sure we complete all our work in summer before winter arriveswe
keep thinking about the dreadful winter when we cant collect food or do many tasks,likewise
even you humans should prepare for the hereafter i.e. the day of judgement when we would meet
Allah subhanawatala himself and he would show us what we did on earth and what we deserve
,heaven or hell based on our result. If you think carefully, it is a scary event where all our good
deeds and bad deeds will be calculated,if our good deeds exceed our bad deeds, its only then we
would become eligible for heaven!you humans have to be organized making sure you pray five
times, disciplined in doing all that Allaah has ordered without being lazy and saving time by
keeping all your things in place and doing things on time to avoid getting into difficulties later
on.

LESSON7 UNDERSTANDING THAT ALLAH IS THE BEST TO CREATE

By observing us ants and our remarkable abilities you can understand the power and wisdom of
our creator Allah subhanawatala. How perfectly Allah has made our tiny bodies ,how remarkable
is our way of communication through tiny glands which release pheromones and look at all the
different types of ants that he created,an intelligent man understands the power of his creator
Allah by looking at the things that Allah created.
Only a magnificent creator can create a remarkable creation like our universe.subhanallah! how
perfect is Allah.

LESSON8 ISLAM HAS HUMAN RIGHTS ,ANIMAL RIGHTS AND EVEN INSECT
RIGHTS!

When Sulaiman (A) understood the ants warning he smiled and saved the ants from getting
crushed,moreover prophet mohammad(may peace be upon him) forbade humans from harming
ants.this shows us that islam cares about even tiny creatures like ants!
Did you know that when the united nations made their fundamental rights chart,it was based on
the last sermon delivered by prophet mohammad (may peace be upon him) on his final
hajj(pilgrimage to makkah) and also on his dealings during his stay in the city of madina.

LESSON9 THE QURAN TEACHES BOTH CONTEMPORARY AND RELIGIOUS

KNOWLEDGE

By observing the surahs of the holy quran , one can notice how beautifully Allah has named them
like afer us the ants surah naml,like the bees,surah nahl,like the spider,surah al
ankabut.when one reads the quran he can conclude that Allah has given importance to both the
knowledge of his creation like science , math and social studies and also to religious
knowledge.The word used for knowledge in Arabic is ilm and this word ilm occurs more than
850 times in the holy quran.Sulaiman (A)had said that he had obtained the ilm of the language of
the birds. We can also see that Sulaiman (A) was a prophet of Allah and he was also a great ruler
and had built a beautiful kingdom too. Similarly we must be good citizens of our country by
being scientists, doctors and engineers and also great servants of Allah obeying all his
orders,doing dawah i.e calling mankind to islam and abstaining from sins.

LESSON10UNDERSTANDING THE QURAN AND APPLYING IT LIKE PROPHET

MOHAMMAD(P.B.UH) AND HIS COMPANIONS

The last lesson that we can ponder upon my friend is the correct way of understanding the
quran,the holy quran was revealed to prophet mohammad(p.b.u.h) and he understood it the best
and then he taught the same understanding to his companions, the sahabas and they inturn taught
it to their students thus even the explanations of the holy quran are preserved.thus, we must

understand the quran with the help of authentic tafseer and follow islam the way our prophet
Mohammad(p.b.u.h) did and then the way his companions followed.

OH! I just smelled and understood the alarm I got! that a foreign ant community is attacking our
home!I have to be back on duty now!jazakallahukhairan for patiently taking interest in us
ants.Gotta run now assalamualaikum! you better run too for you may get bitten by our huge
armies coming this way.