Empire of The Ants (2)

Now, I will talk to you a little about myself. I was born a workerant, a hard laborer. We are born in the form of eggs, then we become a larvae and then pupae. After that we come to know what kind we belong to. When the egg, I was in, hatched, the mother washed the larva with her tongue, gave me the food that she had stored in her stomach and kept me from harm until I grew up. When I grew up, I realized that I was a guard. Worker-ants have different duties. Among them there are servants to clean the colonies, soldiers to protect them and patrol ants to keep the colony save from harm.
I am from the watch patrol. In, fact, I am a chief. In the beginning I watched our colonies that were flourishing with interesting slowness but it was usual to progress in a steadfast manner. I watched the worker-ants that were nursing the children. I watched the worker-ants that were milking the ant cows. Yes, we milk a certain type of insect that is responsible for making honey nectar just as human beings milk cows. I watched the builders among the worker-ants as they were digging tunnels and houses under the ground. I was responsible for the external dangers of which man was the most dangerous. Yes, man is one of the most dangerous forces. Apart from man, there are hundreds of natural forces that also threaten ants. The first of these dangers is rain, for we are creatures that do not know how to swim. We drown in water. The moment lightening and thunder strike, we let out a yell of warning and declare a state of emergency and all ants flee to their houses underground. Moreover, we, the watch patrol, survey the situation from places far from the rain but which are nearer to it than the places of the other ants. When the rain stops we do not hurry to the surface for but we remain in our homes surveying the situation. We wait for the sun to reappear.

The sun is strange because we never see it first, but we feel its presence. It eats one of the greatest dangers that threatens us. The sun soaks up the water. As soon as the sun appears in a place that has water, something interesting, which we cannot comprehend, occurs. The sun soaks up the water. Where does it go? Does it evaporate? What does it mean?
We are always surprised to find that when the sun appears, the pools of water, that were made by the rain, have disappeared. This is a mystery that deeply confounds me when I contemplate things in my free time. I do not understand. I do not know how all this happens. In this way I continue praising Allah while I declare that I neither understand nor comprehend His Wisdom.

All I know is that Allah is Merciful towards ants and one of the signs of His Mercy is what the sun does to the water. But how does the sun do what it does? This too is a secret. I confess my inability of revealing its mystery.
After the danger of water, comes the danger of man. He destroys, kills and demolishes us without any sense. He does not feel for us. Why does man have no sense? Why does he not feel? Ants hold thousands of meetings in order to discuss this question. The final statement was as follows, "The human squashes us with his feet because he does not look at the ground when he walks. He looks in front and behind and around but rarely bows his head. What pride that creature called man harbors! If he watched his step, the catastrophes that have taken place throughout the long history of ants would never have occurred.” I remember, Abu Huraira, radhiyallahu 'anhu, reported that Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said,

"When one of you looks at one who stands at a higher level than you, in regard to wealth and physical structure, he should also see one who stands at a lower level than you in regard to these things (in which he stands) at a higher level (as compared to him)." - [Sahih Muslim]

There is an event that links the ants to the human race, which is enshrined in the Quran. So, let me tell you what I have heard from my mother, he heard it from her mother, her mother from her mother's mother untill it reach my great-great grandmother. My great-great grandmother said,
One day I was crawling about and walked a long way. It was a distance that humans could accomplish in moments. I did not feel despair nor did I feel hate towards man. One of the good traits of ants is that they are small in size but big in mind. For sure, wisdom is better than wealth that is accompanied with pride, and better than poverty that is followed by hate. We praise Allah in all four directions. Wherever you turn yourselves or your faces, there is the Face of Allah.

I know that for sure. This is the knowledge from which the tree of wisdom stems. After walking a long way, I coincidentally came upon a tree. I climbed it, stood, looked, praised Allah, turned and looked again. My stare froze! Suddenly fear overwhelmed me. I smelt unrevealed danger. There was a tremendous army gathering. It was not a normal army and it was not like the armies of the present time. Normally, an army consists of human soldiers just like an army of ants consists of ant soldiers. Much to my surprise, what I beheld before me was not an army of humans, it was an army of Jinn, humans and birds. Endless rows of humans, endless rows of animals and endless rows of birds!
I came down from the tree and walked with the speed of danger. This is the maximum speed for ants. We have five speeds and this is the fastest. I geared my five speeds to their maximum limit and got down from the tree. At the same time I ejected a smell that has significant in the world of ants. It means a warning to the ants to gather at the outskirts of the colony. All the ants that were working outside the colony made their way quickly to it. I reached the valley of ants.

There was an emergency meeting of those in charge of guarding the colony. The smell I had released, had gathered them. I stood to give my report to the highest official of the ant colony. This official was a silent ant but had the ability to make fast and decisive decisions in less than a blink of an eye. I said, "There is an army near our valley." The official ant asked, "How many humans are there?" "The army does not consist of humans only," I replied. While rubbing her head, the official ant said, "The army is not of humans!" "It is an army of Jinn, humans and birds," I added.
If you happenned to read such an ancient Greek and Roman histories, it seems, in my opinion, allegorically, the institutions they had, similar to the Ants Empire, but of course, not all were the same. Now, let me continue. A meeting of the highest officials of the Ants Empire was held. A member of the Senate asked, "Who is the leader of this army?" Nobody answered untill a General of the Ants Army said, "Your majesty, please let one of my intelligence agency informs you some datas!" The Senator said, "Fine, ask him to step forward!"

There was a special task carried out by a special command, whose job was to spy on the enemy. However, their duty was only for the enemies, not spying on the member of the ants. Neither the ants nor the humans would do so, because the Prophet (ﷺ) forbade us to spy on another. From Abu Hurayrah, radhiyallahu 'anhu, the Prophet (ﷺ) said,

"Beware of suspicion, for suspicion is the worst of false tales; and do not look for the others' faults and do not spy, and do not be jealous of one another, and do not desert (cut your relation with) one another, and do not hate one another; and O Allah's worshipers! Be brothers (as Allah has ordered you!)." - [Sahih al-Bukhari]

So, the agent, stepped forward, greeted, and explained some informations, then he said, "In conclussion, the leader of the Army is a king. He is Solomon, he ruled after his father, David. Allah compelled the jinn, men, birds, and wind to serve him. In addition, Allah gave Solomon prophecy, and he asked his Rabb to give him dominion that would not be appropriate to anyone after him, and He responded, giving him that." The Senator said, "If so, are the troops planning to attack us?"

The agent continued, "According to reliable sources, after his father's death, Solomon became king. Solomon was the youngest son of David. He was born at Jerusalem. The name of his mother was Saba. As he was a talented fellow with versatile gifts, his father made him his heir. After the death of David, he ascended the throne of Judia on account of his sagacity, power of judgement, right understanding and spiritual insight. He begged Allah for a kingdom such as none after him would have, and Allah granted his wish. Solomon was very much obedient, worshipping Allah much and turning to Allah in repentance.
He was endowed with the quality of giving sound decision in complicated cases. Once a dispute arose between two persons. They were present before King David. One of them said, "O king, the sheep of that person have trampled over my vineyards. They have grazed and caused me a considerable loss. It must be compensated by the owner." The shepherd was very poor. He had nothing except sheep and the damage done to the crops exceeded the price of the sheep.
King David passed judgment on the sheep in favor of the owner of the vineyard, but Solomon said, "Not that, O prophet of Allah!" He replied, "Why was that ? " He said, "Hand over the vineyard to the owner of the sheep, so that he may take care of it until it returns to its former condition, and give the sheep to the owner of the vineyard, so that he may gain from them until the vineyard has returned to its previous state, then hand it over to its owner and the sheep to their owner."

The senator said, "If knowledge is power, then leadership is greatness. Knowledge is a crucial to strong leadership. Results are mainly based on knowledge assets, and knowledge is used to make decisions for improving a community, its results and efficiency. I once went to a country where I heard the people said, "The leader does not need knowledge, he can learn it later when he is in office." And I tought, "How will it be a country led by someone who can only make selfies? How will it be a country led by someone, when asked for a decission, he gave it someone else? An extraordinary leader will not do what ordinary people do!"
The agent continued, "Besides wisdom, Allah had blessed Solomon with many abilities. He could command the winds and understand and talk to birds and animals. Allah directed him to teach both men and jinns to mine the earth and extract its minerals to make tools and weapons. He also favored him with a mine of copper, which was a rare metal in those days." The senator commented, "Strong written and verbal communication skills are immensely important for good leadership. Communications that are clear, appropriate, and useful are the way you colleagues understand what you are asking of them. If you make it easy for people to understand you question, instructions, comments, and guidance, they can easily follow your lead." Then he said, "In my opinion, a prophet will not be send to destroy any nation, not even our empire." But another senator said, "If this army were to walk through the valley, it would mean utter destruction for our entire empire. The painful part is that this would happen unconsciously on the part of the army." So, a meeting of the highest officials of the Ants Empire was held and it continued for a few seconds. The security procedures were given out to all ants, inside or outside the empire. The orders that were given to the ants inside the empire were that they should remain in their houses. While making preparations for this, the worker-ants started airing houses lest they would stay there for a long time.

The orders given to the ants outside the empire, was that they should make hast and return to the outskirts of the empire. A double system of protective vigilance was established outside. All systems of warning were prepared and I was appointed as the head to announce the last warning shout. On normal days, I was stationed on a little hill but during these exceptional circumstances my position changed and so I climbed a tree branch and stood watching attentively. I was watching a certain road on the horizon, a road that Solomon's army would have to take in order to pass through the area. I did not have to wait a long time, before the army appeared. They were such a small speck, faraway, like an ant! Then it started getting bigger and bigger, so I shouted, “O ants! Enter your dwellings, lest Solomon and his hosts, crush you, while they perceive not!"
As soon as I shouted my warning, the ants rushed into their houses. I was not surprised at that, but at the same time something else happened. Solomon and his army stopped. They paused and silence. I was totally surprised. Solomon looked at the tree I was standing on and smiled. I was extremely surprised at what was happening. His smile carried the taste of honey and seemed inlaid with mercy that we do not feel except among ourselves. I felt that Solomon understood what I had said and so had stopped. My astonishment increased. It increased even further when he turned to me and addressed me in my native tongue saying, "Have no fear! The army will not destroy the valley of ants. We will change our course and steer faraway from your valley." He then turned to his army and ordered, "Steer away from the valley of ants and march forward."

That's the story of my great great grandmother. I was amazed when heard the story and thought, "Could this human truly understand what the ant have said?"Of course I've had the answer, because Allah already revealed it. Allah says,

وَلَقَدْ آتَيْنَا دَاوُدَ وَسُلَيْمَانَ عِلْمًا وَقَالا الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ الَّذِي فَضَّلَنَا عَلَى كَثِيرٍ مِنْ عِبَادِهِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ

And We had certainly given to David and Solomon knowledge, and they said, "Praise [is due] to Allah, who has favored us over many of His believing servants." - [QS.27:15]

وَوَرِثَ سُلَيْمَانُ دَاوُدَ وَقَالَ يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ عُلِّمْنَا مَنْطِقَ الطَّيْرِ وَأُوتِينَا مِنْ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ إِنَّ هَذَا لَهُوَ الْفَضْلُ الْمُبِينُ

And Solomon inherited David. He said, "O people, we have been taught the language of birds, and we have been given from all things. Indeed, this is evident bounty." - [QS.27:16]

وَحُشِرَ لِسُلَيْمَانَ جُنُودُهُ مِنَ الْجِنِّ وَالإنْسِ وَالطَّيْرِ فَهُمْ يُوزَعُونَ

And gathered for Solomon were his soldiers of the jinn and men and birds, and they were [marching] in rows. - [QS.27:17]

حَتَّى إِذَا أَتَوْا عَلَى وَادِ النَّمْلِ قَالَتْ نَمْلَةٌ يَا أَيُّهَا النَّمْلُ ادْخُلُوا مَسَاكِنَكُمْ لا يَحْطِمَنَّكُمْ سُلَيْمَانُ وَجُنُودُهُ وَهُمْ لا 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." - [QS.27:18]

فَتَبَسَّمَ ضَاحِكًا مِنْ قَوْلِهَا وَقَالَ رَبِّ أَوْزِعْنِي أَنْ أَشْكُرَ نِعْمَتَكَ الَّتِي أَنْعَمْتَ عَلَيَّ وَعَلَى وَالِدَيَّ وَأَنْ أَعْمَلَ صَالِحًا تَرْضَاهُ وَأَدْخِلْنِي بِرَحْمَتِكَ فِي عِبَادِكَ الصَّالِحِينَ

So [Solomon] smiled, amused at her speech, and said, "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." - [QS.27:19]

I then realized that, when he saw the ants, he talked to Allah and prayed."

"O my brothers and sisters, the ability to understand the speech of animals, which is one of the great things granted to Solomon, is different from other worldly knowledge and arts, but were two miracles granted to eminent prophets. Hence, the story of how Solomon listened to the conversation of an insignificant animal like the ant, the same way that a man listens to another man. Tomorrow belongs to those who can hear it coming. When you are listening to somebody, completely, attentively, then you are listening not only to the words, but also to the feeling of what is being conveyed, to the whole of it, not part of it. 
Then also, when Solomon had experienced it with certainty, he, as it fitting for an eminent messenger of Allah, expressed thanks and gratitude for the gift. The only people who truly worship Allah, are those who give thanks and gratitude to Him."

وَمَا مِنْ دَابَّةٍ فِي الأرْضِ وَلا طَائِرٍ يَطِيرُ بِجَنَاحَيْهِ إِلا أُمَمٌ أَمْثَالُكُمْ مَا فَرَّطْنَا فِي الْكِتَابِ مِنْ شَيْءٍ ثُمَّ إِلَى رَبِّهِمْ يُحْشَرُونَ

"And there is no creature on [or within] the earth or bird that flies with its wings except [that they are] communities like you. We have not neglected in the Register a thing. Then unto their Lord they will be gathered." - [QS.6:38]

[Part 1]

Bahasa

References :
- The History of al-Tabari, The Children of Israel, Volume III, Translated by William M. Brinner, SUNY Press
- Ibn Kathir, Stories of The Prophets, Darussalam
- Maulana Hifzur Rahman Soeharwy, Qasasul Ambiyaa, Idara Impex
- Ahmad Bahjat, Animals in The Glorious Qur'an, Islamic e-Books