The short answer
Yes. In Surah an-Naml an ant warns the other ants to enter their homes so that Sulayman (AS) and his army do not crush them unknowingly, and Sulayman, who had been given special knowledge, understood her, smiled and thanked Allah. The Sunnah adds that ant colonies glorify Allah.
As Sulayman (AS) marched with his army of jinn, men and birds, "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" 1. Notice her fairness: she excused the army, since they would not even know the ants were there. The tafsir adds that if Sulayman's army knew of them, they would not trample them 4.
Sulayman understood her because Allah had given him an extraordinary gift. He said, "we have been taught the language of birds, and we have been given from all things" 3. His reaction is the real lesson: he "smiled, amused at her speech" and at once turned to Allah with a dua for gratitude and good deeds 2. Power did not make him forget a tiny creature, or his Lord.
The Prophet ﷺ told of an earlier prophet who, after being bitten by one ant, burned the whole colony. Allah rebuked him: because of one bite he had burned a community that glorifies Allah 5. The Prophet ﷺ also prohibited killing ants 6, and the Quran says every creature and bird forms "communities like you" 7.
A modest note on science: ants live in highly organised colonies and communicate mainly through chemical signals (pheromones), including alarm signals that rouse nestmates to defend the nest or to flee. Some modern writers present this verse as a scientific miracle, but that goes beyond the text. The Quran tells the story as a special gift to Sulayman: the miracle is that he understood her speech 23, not a lesson in ant biology. It is still a beautiful reminder that even the smallest creatures have real communities.
A dua worth memorising is Sulayman's own: "My Lord, enable me to be grateful for Your favor..." 2.
An ant warned the ants to enter their homes so Sulayman's army would not crush them unknowingly.
حَتَّىٰٓ إِذَآ أَتَوۡاْ عَلَىٰ وَادِ ٱلنَّمۡلِ قَالَتۡ نَمۡلَةࣱ يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلنَّمۡلُ ٱدۡخُلُواْ مَسَٰكِنَكُمۡ لَا يَحۡطِمَنَّكُمۡ سُلَيۡمَٰنُ وَجُنُودُهُۥ وَهُمۡ لَا يَشۡعُرُونَ ١٨
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
Sulayman smiled at her words and prayed for gratitude and righteous deeds.
فَتَبَسَّمَ ضَاحِكࣰ ا مِّن قَوۡلِهَا وَقَالَ رَبِّ أَوۡزِعۡنِيٓ أَنۡ أَشۡكُرَ نِعۡمَتَكَ ٱلَّتِيٓ أَنۡعَمۡتَ عَلَيَّ وَعَلَىٰ وَٰلِدَيَّ وَأَنۡ أَعۡمَلَ صَٰلِحࣰ ا تَرۡضَىٰهُ وَأَدۡخِلۡنِي بِرَحۡمَتِكَ فِي عِبَادِكَ ٱلصَّٰلِحِينَ ١٩
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
Sulayman was taught the language of birds and given from all things.
وَوَرِثَ سُلَيۡمَٰنُ دَاوُۥدَۖ وَقَالَ يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلنَّاسُ عُلِّمۡنَا مَنطِقَ ٱلطَّيۡرِ وَأُوتِينَا مِن كُلِّ شَيۡءٍۖ إِنَّ هَٰذَا لَهُوَ ٱلۡفَضۡلُ ٱلۡمُبِينُ ١٦
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
They were being led until when they came to the valley of ants (a place in the Levant), one of the ants said: “O ants, enter your homes so that Solomon and his armies do not destroy you whilst they do not know of you, because if they know of you they will not trample you”.
Allah rebuked a prophet for burning an ant colony, a community that glorifies Him.
Abu Huraira reported Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) as saying:An ant had bitten a Prophet (one amongst the earlier Prophets) and he ordered that the colony of the ants should be burnt. And Allah revealed to him:" Because of an ant's bite you have burnt a community from amongst the communities which sings My glory
حَدَّثَنِي أَبُو الطَّاهِرِ، وَحَرْمَلَةُ بْنُ يَحْيَى، قَالاَ أَخْبَرَنَا ابْنُ وَهْبٍ، أَخْبَرَنِي يُونُسُ، عَنِ ابْنِ شِهَابٍ، عَنْ سَعِيدِ بْنِ الْمُسَيَّبِ، وَأَبِي، سَلَمَةَ بْنِ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ، عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم " أَنَّ نَمْلَةً قَرَصَتْ نَبِيًّا مِنَ الأَنْبِيَاءِ فَأَمَرَ بِقَرْيَةِ النَّمْلِ فَأُحْرِقَتْ فَأَوْحَى اللَّهُ إِلَيْهِ أَفِي أَنْ قَرَصَتْكَ نَمْلَةٌ أَهْلَكْتَ أُمَّةً مِنَ الأُمَمِ تُسَبِّحُ " .
The Prophet ﷺ prohibited killing ants, bees, hoopoes and sparrow-hawks.
Narrated Abdullah ibn Abbas: The Prophet (ﷺ) prohibited to kill four creatures: ants, bees, hoopoes, and sparrow-hawks
حَدَّثَنَا أَحْمَدُ بْنُ حَنْبَلٍ، حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ الرَّزَّاقِ، حَدَّثَنَا مَعْمَرٌ، عَنِ الزُّهْرِيِّ، عَنْ عُبَيْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ عُتْبَةَ، عَنِ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ، قَالَ إِنَّ النَّبِيَّ صلى الله عليه وسلم نَهَى عَنْ قَتْلِ أَرْبَعٍ مِنَ الدَّوَابِّ النَّمْلَةُ وَالنَّحْلَةُ وَالْهُدْهُدُ وَالصُّرَدُ .
Every creature on earth and bird in the sky forms communities like ours.
وَمَا مِن دَآبَّةࣲ فِي ٱلۡأَرۡضِ وَلَا طَٰٓئِرࣲ يَطِيرُ بِجَنَاحَيۡهِ إِلَّآ أُمَمٌ أَمۡثَالُكُمۚ مَّا فَرَّطۡنَا فِي ٱلۡكِتَٰبِ مِن شَيۡءࣲۚ ثُمَّ إِلَىٰ رَبِّهِمۡ يُحۡشَرُونَ ٣٨
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
This answer was compiled with the help of AI, using only the verified texts shown here. Every reference links to its source. If you find a mistake, please report it. Updated 2026-09-24