وَحُشِرَ لِسُلَيْمَانَ جُنُودُهُ مِنَ الْجِنِّ وَالْإِنْسِ وَالطَّيْرِ فَهُمْ يُوزَعُونَ ﴿۱۷﴾ حَتَّى إِذَا أَتَوْا عَلَى وَادِ النَّمْلِ قَالَتْ نَمْلَةٌ يَا أَيُّهَا النَّمْلُ ادْخُلُوا مَسَاكِنَكُمْ لَا يَحْطِمَنَّكُمْ سُلَيْمَانُ وَجُنُودُهُ وَهُمْ لَا يَشْعُرُونَ ﴿۱۸﴾ فَتَبَسَّمَ ضَاحِكًا مِنْ قَوْلِهَا وَقَالَ رَبِّ أَوْزِعْنِي أَنْ أَشْكُرَ نِعْمَتَكَ الَّتِي أَنْعَمْتَ عَلَيَّ وَعَلَى وَالِدَيَّ وَأَنْ أَعْمَلَ صَالِحًا تَرْضَاهُ وَأَدْخِلْنِي بِرَحْمَتِكَ فِي عِبَادِكَ الصَّالِحِينَ ﴿۱۹﴾

﴾17﴿ Wa hushira li Sulaimaana junooduhoo minal jinni wal insi wattairi fahum yooza'oon
﴾18﴿ hattaaa izaaa ataw 'alaa waadin namli qaalat namlatuny yaaa aiyuhan namlud khuloo masaakinakum laa yahtimannakum Sulaimaanu wa junooduhoo wa hum laa yash'uroon
﴾19﴿ Fatabassama daahikam min qawlihaa wa qaala Rabbi awzi'nee an ashkura ni'mata kal lateee an'amta 'alaiya wa 'alaa waalidaiya wa an a'mala saalihan tardaahu wa adkhilnee birahmatika fee 'ibaadikas saaliheen

﴾17﴿ And gathered for Solomon were his armies of jinn, humans, and birds, and they were arranged in ranks
﴾18﴿ Until, when they came upon the valley of the ants, an ant said, O ants, enter your dwellings so that Solomon and his armies do not crush you while they are unaware
﴾19﴿ So Solomon (peace be upon him) smiled, laughing at her words, and said, O my Lord, grant me the ability to be grateful for Your blessings which You have bestowed upon me and upon my parents, and to do righteous deeds that please You. And admit me, by Your mercy, among Your righteous servants

[17] This confirms the previous statement, showing an example of the knowledge of bird speech and great kingship.
The wisdoms in this are as follows:
1. A military system is essential for a king.
2. In times of need, gathering the entire army is necessary.
3. His army was composed of three types of creatures, and this occurred miraculously.
4. Assembling the entire army in one place instills fear in the enemy.
5. Dividing the army into different units during times of necessity helps with organization, and all of these are political strategies.
The word (yūzaʿūn) means either that they were held together in one place or that they were divided in an orderly manner.
[18] In the previous verse, it was mentioned: “And we were given of everything,” and in this verse, it states: “We were taught the language of birds.”
Before the word ḥattā (until), the implied phrase is (fa-sāra) — “they moved on until they reached the Valley of the Ants.”
In Nazm al-Durar, it is mentioned that this valley is in Ṭāʾif, and the author says, “I have seen it.” Al-Bayḍāwī says it is in Shām (the Levant).
As for the word (namla) (an ant), it is said that this ant had two wings, which is why its speech is included under the category of manṭiq al-ṭayr (language of the birds).
It is widely believed that the ant was female, though nowadays some ignorant people use this to argue for the permissibility of female leadership.
A quote attributed to Imām Abū Ḥanīfa in his childhood has been cited in this regard, but commentators like Ṭayyibī, Awḥadī, and Zamakhsharī have refuted it.
The more apparent likelihood is that it was male, and feminine attribution is merely due to the grammatical form, not true femininity.
The wisdoms of this verse include:
1. Allah, the Exalted, has placed understanding and awareness in ants and other insects.
2. Ants also live their lives with a special kind of organization.
3. It is necessary for every leader to teach their people the means of protection from dangers and corruption—just as this ant did.
4. When an action is done unknowingly, it should be excused—like the phrase lā yashʿurūn (they do not realize), which implies an excuse for Solomon (peace be upon him) and his army.
5. Prophets and saints sometimes do not even know about the state of an ant beneath their feet, because knowledge of the unseen is not theirs.
Note: It is clear that Solomon (peace be upon him) was not traveling through the air during this journey. Either the journey was a short one, or the ability to travel by air had not yet been subdued for him at that point.
Therefore, the objection—“Why did the ant say, lest Solomon crush you, when he was flying through the air?”—cannot be raised.
Note 2: In the ant’s speech, there are ten aspects of eloquence and rhetorical excellence (and these words are from the Qur’an, the speech of Allah):
1. Nidāʾ (the call)—“O…”
2. Tanbīh (attention)—“O you…”
3. Naming—al-naml (the ants)
4. Command—Enter your dwellings
5. Mention of location—your dwellings
6. Warning—lest Solomon crush you
7. Specification—mentioning Solomon specifically
8. Generalization—and his armies
9. Indication—while they (i.e., his soldiers)
10. Excuse—do not realize (i.e., they are unaware)
[19] When Allah, the Exalted, made Solomon (peace be upon him) hear the speech of the ant, he recognized it as a blessing from Allah and expressed his joy openly and offered thanks.
The wisdoms in this verse are:
1. Two types of laughter are mentioned: (1) Tabassum (smiling) and (2) Ḍaḥk (laughter), but qahqaha (boisterous laughter) is not mentioned, because qahqaha arises from heedlessness of the heart, and the prophets (peace be upon them) are free from such heedlessness.
2. It is permissible to rejoice over blessings.
3. A prayer for the ability to offer gratitude is itself a form of gratitude.
4. It is necessary to express gratitude not only for blessings upon oneself but also for blessings upon one’s parents.
5. Prophets (peace be upon them) are obligated to perform righteous deeds—meaning those that align with divine revelation.
6. Prophets (peace be upon them) are also in need of Allah’s mercy.
7. The mercy of Allah is the best means for making supplication.
Note: After tabassuma (smiling), the word ḍāḥikan (laughing) is mentioned, because ḍaḥk here means inner joy.
The meaning is: “He smiled while being joyful,” or it means that he first smiled, then his expression turned into laughter.