عِلْمُ الإِسْلَامIlm of Islam
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Prophet Sulayman (AS) and the Ant

Ages 5–9 Story 20 of 30

Prophet Sulayman (AS) was the son of Dawud (AS). Allah gave him a huge kingdom and amazing gifts. He could understand the speech of birds and animals, and his army was made of people, jinn and birds, all in neat rows.

One day Sulayman and his great army were marching through a valley. In that valley lived a colony of ants. One little ant saw the army coming and called out to the others: "O ants, go into your homes so that Sulayman and his army don't crush you without realising!"

Sulayman heard the little ant. He smiled and laughed at what she said. He did not feel annoyed or proud. Instead, he thought about how much Allah had given him, and he made a beautiful dua: Rabbi awzi'ni an ashkura ni'matakallati an'amta 'alayya, "My Lord, help me to be thankful for the blessings You have given me and my parents, and to do good deeds that please You."

The ant knew Sulayman's army would never hurt them on purpose, because believers are careful not to harm even the smallest creatures. A whole surah of the Qur'an is named after this story: Surah An-Naml, "The Ants".

Where this story comes from

Qur'an 27:15–19 · An-Naml
وَلَقَدۡ ءَاتَيۡنَا دَاوُۥدَ وَسُلَيۡمَٰنَ عِلۡمࣰاۖ وَقَالَا ٱلۡحَمۡدُ لِلَّهِ ٱلَّذِي فَضَّلَنَا عَلَىٰ كَثِيرࣲ مِّنۡ عِبَادِهِ ٱلۡمُؤۡمِنِينَ 15 وَوَرِثَ سُلَيۡمَٰنُ دَاوُۥدَۖ وَقَالَ يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلنَّاسُ عُلِّمۡنَا مَنطِقَ ٱلطَّيۡرِ وَأُوتِينَا مِن كُلِّ شَيۡءٍۖ إِنَّ هَٰذَا لَهُوَ ٱلۡفَضۡلُ ٱلۡمُبِينُ 16 وَحُشِرَ لِسُلَيۡمَٰنَ جُنُودُهُۥ مِنَ ٱلۡجِنِّ وَٱلۡإِنسِ وَٱلطَّيۡرِ فَهُمۡ يُوزَعُونَ 17 حَتَّىٰٓ إِذَآ أَتَوۡاْ عَلَىٰ وَادِ ٱلنَّمۡلِ قَالَتۡ نَمۡلَةࣱ يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلنَّمۡلُ ٱدۡخُلُواْ مَسَٰكِنَكُمۡ لَا يَحۡطِمَنَّكُمۡ سُلَيۡمَٰنُ وَجُنُودُهُۥ وَهُمۡ لَا يَشۡعُرُونَ 18 فَتَبَسَّمَ ضَاحِكࣰا مِّن قَوۡلِهَا وَقَالَ رَبِّ أَوۡزِعۡنِيٓ أَنۡ أَشۡكُرَ نِعۡمَتَكَ ٱلَّتِيٓ أَنۡعَمۡتَ عَلَيَّ وَعَلَىٰ وَٰلِدَيَّ وَأَنۡ أَعۡمَلَ صَٰلِحࣰا تَرۡضَىٰهُ وَأَدۡخِلۡنِي بِرَحۡمَتِكَ فِي عِبَادِكَ ٱلصَّٰلِحِينَ 19

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💬 What did you learn?

Talk about these together. There is no right or wrong answer.

  • The little ant looked after her whole community. How can you look out for others?
  • Sulayman had so much, but he asked Allah to help him be thankful. Why is it important to say thank you to Allah?

❓ Questions from the story

Answer out loud, then tap to see the answer. Tick the ones you knew.

  1. What special gift did Sulayman have?

    Show the answer

    He understood the speech of birds and animals

  2. What did the ant tell the other ants?

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    Go into your homes so the army doesn't crush you

  3. What did Sulayman do when he heard the ant?

    Show the answer

    He smiled and made a dua of thanks

  4. What is the surah named after this story?

    Show the answer

    Surah An-Naml

✂️ Things to do

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