In the Name of Allah; the Entirely Merciful, the
Especially Merciful
Continuing our theme of the esoteric meanings
found in the Suhuf-i-Mutahhara (the Qur’an), we come to the passage
referring to the Valley of Ants:
حَتَّىٰ إِذَا
أَتَوْا عَلَىٰ وَادِ النَّمْلِ قَالَتْ نَمْلَةٌ يَا أَيُّهَا النَّمْلُ
ادْخُلُوا مَسَاكِنَكُمْ لَا يَحْطِمَنَّكُمْ سُلَيْمَانُ وَجُنُودُهُ وَهُمْ لَا
يَشْعُرُونَ
Until, when they came upon the Valley of the Ants, an ant
said, “O ants, enter your dwellings that you not be crushed by Solomon and his
soldiers while they perceive not.” (Sura 27:18)
The phrase “Valley of the Ants” is interesting, because
ants are not ordinarily associated with valleys. Ants, as in the insect, live
in colonies and build unique nests for themselves. Ants are fascinating
creatures, according to the article on them in Wikipedia: “Ant societies have
division of labour, communication between individuals, and an ability to solve
complex problems. These parallels with human societies have long been an
inspiration and subject of study.”
In addition to the fact that ants are already recognized
as creatures that have “parallels with human societies”, the Holy Qur’an
elsewhere gives similitudes of animals with human beings. For example:
أَمْ تَحْسَبُ
أَنَّ أَكْثَرَهُمْ يَسْمَعُونَ أَوْ يَعْقِلُونَ إِنْ هُمْ إِلَّا كَالْأَنْعَامِ
بَلْ هُمْ أَضَلُّ سَبِيلًا
Or do you think that most of them hear or reason? They
are not except like livestock. Rather, they are [even] more astray in
[their] way. (25:44)
Allah Most High compares the astray human beings who lack
reason to livestock or cattle.
مَثَلُ
الَّذِينَ حُمِّلُوا التَّوْرَاةَ ثُمَّ لَمْ يَحْمِلُوهَا كَمَثَلِ الْحِمَارِ
يَحْمِلُ أَسْفَارًا
The example of those who were entrusted with the Torah
and then did not take it on is like that of a donkey who carries volumes
of books (62:5)
Allah Most High compares the Jewish rabbis, scribes and
teachers of the law who were entrusted with the Holy Torah but subsequently
failed to follow its precepts to a donkey which is overloaded with books. For
the donkey, which is unable to gain any benefit from the books, the heavy load
it is forced to carry is only a burden. Elsewhere, the Holy Qur’an compares the
polytheists who flee from the preaching of the Prophet (Sallallahu ‘alayhi
wasallam) to “alarmed donkeys” (74:50).
فَمَثَلُهُ
كَمَثَلِ الْكَلْبِ إِن تَحْمِلْ عَلَيْهِ يَلْهَثْ أَوْ تَتْرُكْهُ يَلْهَث
So his example is like that of the dog: if you
chase him, he pants, or if you leave him, he [still] pants. (7:176)
Allah Most High compares one who was given knowledge of
Allah’s Signs but subsequently detaches himself from them to a dog.
And there are many other such similitudes to be found
from the authentic Ahadith of the Prophet (Sallallahu ‘alayhi wasallam).
Returning to the ants, it is not at all too far fetched
to understand the meaning of “ants” along these lines of descriptive or
expressive allegory.
Another strong indication of this is the meaning of the
roots from which the names of certain animals are derived. For example,
according to the Arabic-English Dictionary of Qur’anic Usage, the
meaning of ح-م-ر (H-M-R) from which the word donkey is derived is,
among other things: “to be difficult; donkey” (p.234) Similarly, the meaning of
خ-ن-ز-ر (KH-N-Z-R) the root from which the name for pig is
derived, is, among other things: “to be rough and crude; pig” (p.287). The
meaning ofك-ل-ب (K-L-B) from which the name for dog is
derived, is: “dog, any wild animal, to train animals and birds for hunting; to
become fierce; rabies; to fight over; hanging hook; gluttony”
(p.815) And likewise, the meaning of ق-ر-د (Q-R-D) from which the name for monkey is derived, is,
among other things: “to deceive; to subdue, to humiliate; monkey” (p.749). Taking into consideration these linguistic
meanings associated with the root from which the names of all these animals, we
can definitely say that Himaar, apart from meaning an actual donkey, can
also mean a person who is stubborn or “difficult”. Khinzeer means pig
but also a person who is “rough” and “crude”. Kalb means dog but also a
person who is “fierce” and combative. Qird means an ape or monkey but
also a person who has been “subdued” or “humiliated”.
Likewise, let us consider the linguistic meaning of the
root ن-م-ل (N-M-L) from which the name for ant is derived: “ants;
tips of the fingers; to invisibly mend a garment; to tell lies; to be
restless, active person.” (p.966) In summary, the word Namlah (a
singular ant) can mean a “restless, active person”, apart from the actual
insect. Again, this is taking it from a purely linguistic point of view. Our
interpretation is reinforced and strengthened by the fact that the Holy Qur’an
is a religious text that naturally employs allegory, parables, and symbolism.
Finally, the anthropomorphic description of the “ant” in Sura 27, for example,
the term “Valley of the Ants”, the speaking of the ant and commanding the other
ants to enter into their “dwellings” lends further credence to the view that in
this passage the “ants” can mean an active or laborious people who were
quartered in a particular valley. Allah Most High has referred to them as “ants”
to expressively describe the fact that they were hard-working laborers, perhaps
already in the employment of Prophet Solomon (and Allah knows best). It is
noteworthy that “ants” are mentioned in the Book of Proverbs attributed to
Prophet Solomon (Proverbs 6:6, 30:24).
The order to the “ants” that they should enter into their
dwellings lest they be crushed by Solomon and his forces is understood to mean
that when a mighty king and his cavalry march through some inhabited valley civilians
are usually trampled under foot and it is expected that they should remove
themselves from harm and seek safety inside their dwellings, (and Allah knows
best).
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