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The Prophet Solomon (Sulayman), upon whom be peace, walked at the head of a vast army composed of men, jinn, and birds. This army was crossing a valley when an event, seemingly insignificant, would become one of the most tender passages in the Quran.

The small ant's alarm

As the procession drew near, an ant spotted the danger and cried out to its kind to hurry into their dwellings, for fear of being crushed without even Solomon and his army knowing it. This moment is reported in Surah An-Naml ("The Ants"), which takes its very name from this episode:

﴿ حَتَّىٰ إِذَا أَتَوْا عَلَىٰ وَادِ النَّمْلِ قَالَتْ نَمْلَةٌ يَا أَيُّهَا النَّمْلُ ادْخُلُوا مَسَاكِنَكُمْ لَا يَحْطِمَنَّكُمْ سُلَيْمَانُ وَجُنُودُهُ وَهُمْ لَا يَشْعُرُونَ ﴾

"When they came to the valley of the ants, an ant said, 'O ants, enter your dwellings, that Solomon and his soldiers do not crush you unknowingly.'"

(Surah An-Naml, verse 18)

Solomon's smile

The following verse tells us that Solomon heard these words and smiled, filled with wonder, then called upon God, thanking Him for granting him the faculty to understand the speech of creatures and making him grateful for His blessings upon him and his parents. This smile is not without meaning: it expresses genuine joy at the organization, intelligence, and concern for the preservation of life that animate this small community of ants. According to scholars of exegesis, this passage illustrates the exceptional knowledge granted by God to Solomon, capable of perceiving even the most discreet calls of a creature as tiny as an ant.

A universal lesson

It is related in an authentic hadith from Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim that an ant had stung a prophet, and he ordered the ant colony to be burned. God then revealed to him, in reproof, words reported in substance thus: "A single ant stung you, and you destroyed an entire community that glorifies Me!" This hadith, often cited alongside the Quranic account of Solomon, emphasizes the same principle: life, even the most minute, must not be taken away in anger or through neglect.

Commentators draw out several teachings from this story:

• Every creature, no matter how small, possesses value and a place in the order willed by God;
• Wisdom consists in paying attention to what may seem insignificant in the eyes of men;
• Gratitude toward God is expressed also through respect for His creatures;
• A leader, however powerful he may be, must be attentive and humble before the fragility of the weakest.

This scene, many thousands of years old, continues to resonate today. It reminds us that no life is too small to deserve our care and gentleness. Whether it is an ant we encounter on our doorstep, an insect in the garden, or any other living being, the Islamic tradition calls for caution and the avoidance of any needless destruction. To care for the most discreet of living creatures is also to cultivate within ourselves that mercy which Solomon displayed with such delicacy in the valley of the ants.