🐜 Sulayman and the little ant

1. Sulayman (peace be upon him) was the son of Dawud. After his father, he became king and prophet. He said: O people, we have been taught the language of the birds, and we have been given of everything (An-Naml 27:16).

2. Allah made the wind obey Sulayman by Allah's command. In one morning, the wind could carry him as far as a month of travel, and in one evening, as far again (Saba 34:12).

3. One day, Sulayman was marching with his great army of people, jinn and birds. They came to a valley of ants. A little ant called out: O ants, go into your homes, so that Sulayman and his army do not crush you without noticing (An-Naml 27:18).

4. Sulayman heard the little ant and smiled. He did not crush the ants. He thanked Allah and said: My Lord, help me to be grateful for the blessings You gave me and my parents (An-Naml 27:19).

5. Another day, Sulayman checked on the birds and noticed that the hoopoe was missing. The hoopoe came back with news: in the land of Saba, there is a queen, and her people bow down to the sun instead of Allah (An-Naml 27:20-24).

6. Sulayman sent the queen a letter. It began: In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Most Kind (An-Naml 27:30). It invited her to come and submit to Allah.

7. Before the queen arrived, her throne was brought to Sulayman in the blink of an eye, by Allah's permission. Sulayman did not become proud. He said: This is from the favour of my Lord, to test me: will I be grateful or not? (An-Naml 27:40).

8. The queen came and saw the signs of Allah. She said: My Lord, I have wronged myself, and I submit, with Sulayman, to Allah, the Lord of all the worlds (An-Naml 27:44).