The Ant ( النمل )

Ants are almost all females. Male ants are only produced once in a great while and quickly die after mating. All the worker ants, as well as the queen ants, are females. Also, ants communicate with each other and have a "language" all their own.

The Arabic word for "ant" is a male-pattern noun: النمل (An-Naml). But in the Qur'an, Allah says that Prophet Sulaiman heard an ant speaking to "her" fellow ants telling them to run and hide to avoid being stepped on. A feminine form of the verb, "to say" is used: قالت (Qalat), "She said." The ant was indicated to be a female. No one in the world at that time even knew that ants had different sexes! In Qur'an 27:19, Prophet Sulaiman is said to have been amused at "her speech."

حَتَّىٰ إِذَا أَتَوْا عَلَىٰ وَادِ النَّمْلِ قَالَتْ نَمْلَةٌ يَا أَيُّهَا النَّمْلُ ادْخُلُوا مَسَاكِنَكُمْ لَا يَحْطِمَنَّكُمْ سُلَيْمَانُ وَجُنُودُهُ وَهُمْ لَا يَشْعُرُونَِ

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

At length, when they came to a (lowly) valley of ants, one of the (female) ants said: "O ye ants, get into your habitations, lest Solomon and his hosts crush you (under foot) without knowing it."

So he smiled, amused at her speech; and he said: "O my Lord! so order me that I may be grateful for Thy favours, which thou hast bestowed on me and on my parents, and that I may work the righteousness that will please Thee: And admit me, by Thy Grace, to the ranks of Thy righteous Servants."

(Quran 27:18 - 19)

While we may not immediately think that that's anything special, when we remember that the Qur'an was given to the Blessed Prophet (peace be upon him) about 1,500 years ago it becomes an amazing miracle!

None of the things mentioned in the Qur'an about plants, animals, the Earth, space and humans were known at that time. It was completely new information.

What is even more spectacular is that the Blessed Prophet lived in the middle of Arabia, which at that time, was the most out of the way and backward place in the world. They were no schools, no scientists nor any universities.

But Allah doesn't make scientific statements in the Qur'an just to impress us. Instead, He uses them as Signs, or proofs, for us to believe in Him and to follow the way of living He wants for us, i.e. Islam.