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Sulayman (AS) was a prophet and a king… His father was Prophet Dawud (AS), and from him Sulayman inherited both prophethood and kingship. But Allah gave Sulayman something more…. A kingdom that defied imagination.
He could command the wind, It carried him wherever he wished… It blew gently at his command, a month’s journey in the morning, a month’s journey in the evening…
He could understand the speech of birds… He could hear what they said… He could understand their world… No king before him had been given such a gift… No king after him would receive it.
He had armies of jinn who built for him palaces and fortresses… They dove into the sea and brought forth treasures… They worked without rest, without complaint, without payment because Allah had placed them under his command.
He had soldiers from among men, jinn, and birds, all marching under his command…
Allah gave him knowledge, wisdom, understanding, the ability to judge with justice.
His father Dawud (AS) was known for his wisdom and Sulayman carried that torch and raised it higher.
One day, Sulayman was marching with his massive army. Men… Jinn… Birds overhead.
The ground shook with the weight of them and they came upon a valley… The Valley of the Ants.
In that valley lived a colony of ants…Tiny creatures… easily crushed… easily ignored. No one would notice if a few were stepped on. No one would care…
But one ant saw the army coming and she did something remarkable… She called out to her entire colony
“O ants, enter your dwellings, lest Sulayman and his soldiers crush you while they do not perceive.” (27:18)
She said, Dont let Sulayman and his soldiers crush you while they do not perceive. She did not accuse the prophet of cruelty. She knew he would not knowingly harm them. She simply warned her sisters to protect themselves.
Sulayman heard and the Qur’an says, So he smiled, amused at her speech. (27:19)
He smiled…The king of men, jinn,and birds with the wind at his command and armies at his back smiled at the words of a tiny ant.
Then he did something even more beautiful. He did not laugh in pride… He did not boast… He did not say, Even the ants fear me. Instead, he turned to Allah and prayed…
He says, My Lord, enable me to be grateful for Your favor which You have bestowed upon me and upon my parents, and to do righteousness of which You approve. And admit me by Your mercy into the ranks of Your righteous servants.” (27:19)
True greatness is measured by how you treat the smallest.
Sulayman had the power to ignore the ant. Her voice was barely a whisper against the thunder of his army. The ground shook beneath the weight of jinn and men. Birds filled the sky and yet in the midst of all that noise, all that glory, all that power, he heard a tiny creature speaking to her colony.
Do you understand what this means?
It means Sulayman’s heart was not consumed by his own greatness. He was not so busy being king that he forgot to listen… He was not so important that the small became invisible to him.
The world is full of people who climb to the top and then forget what it was like at the bottom.
They stop seeing the poor… They stop hearing the weak… They stop noticing the ones who have no voice.
But Sulayman, the most powerful king on earth heard an ant.
If a king with armies of jinn can stop to listen to an ant, what excuse do we have for ignoring the people around us?
The poor man at the gate… The crying child… The lonely neighbour… The forgotten relative… The person whose voice is small…
Do you hear them? Or have you become too important?
How often do we accuse people before we understand? How often do we assume the worst?
Someone does not greet us we say they are arrogant. Someone does not return our call, we say they are ignoring us.
Someone makes a mistake, we say they did it on purpose. We build entire stories in our minds about people’s intentions and most of the time, we are wrong.
Even the ant does not accuse, she gives the benefit of doubt… An ant taught us to pause before accusing. An ant taught us to consider that maybe just maybe the other person does not perceive.
Maybe they are not cruel… Maybe they are unaware… Maybe they are struggling with something we cannot see.
If an ant can think this way about an approaching army, what is our excuse?
There is a moment coming for every one of us.
A moment when we will stand before Allah and every small deed will be brought forward…
Every ant we heard or ignored… Every voice we listened to or dismissed… Every truth we accepted or rejected and every blessing we were grateful for or arrogant about.
On that day, no army will help you… No wealth will speak for you… No titles will matter…No followers will support you… Only your heart… Only your deeds… Only your gratitude.
“My Lord, enable me to be grateful for Your favor… and admit me by Your mercy into the ranks of Your righteous servants.” (27:19)
May Allah make us among those who hear the smallest voices, who accept the truth when it comes, who respond to every blessing with gratitude, and who walk through this world with the humility of Sulayman and the wisdom of an ant… Aameen
