Of Mice and Men

وَمَا مِن دَآبَّةٍ فِي الأَرْضِ وَلاَ طَائِرٍ يَطِيرُ بِجَنَاحَيْهِ إِلاَّ أُمَمٌ أَمْثَالُكُم مَّا فَرَّطْنَا فِي الكِتَابِ مِن شَيْءٍ ثُمَّ إِلَى رَبِّهِمْ يُحْشَرُونَ

Wa mā min dābbatin fī l-ardi wa lā tā’irin yatīru bijanāhayhi illā umamun amthālukum mā farratnā fī l-kitābi min shay’in thumma ilā rabbihim yuhsharūn.

There is not an animal (that lives) on the earth, nor a being that flies on its wings, but (forms part of) communities like you. Nothing have we omitted from the Book, and they (all) shall be gathered to their Lord in the end.

(Qur’ān, Sūrat al-An‘ām, Āyah 38)

How often do we appreciate the amazing order and structure that Allāh has placed in every facet of every system He has created? From the organized structure of the incredibly minute atoms that build up all the molecules within an organism, to the complex social structures that are manifest among a species of those organisms. A video follows showing us just a glimpse into the amazing social dynamic that exists among the animals with which we share this earth. Watch it to the very end for something rather unexpected.



One cannot help but be reminded of one of the lessons that Allāh has taught us through Prophet Sulaymān (Solomon), may Allāh grant him peace. That these communities that we so often blindly pass off as being less “evolved” are actually much more sophisticated than we think. Perhaps these reminders can help us gain a better appreciation for Allāh’s creation and the hidden beauty that lies right underneath our feet...

حَتَّى إِذَا أَتَوْا عَلَى وَادِي النَّمْلِ قَالَتْ نَمْلَةٌ يَا أَيُّهَا النَّمْلُ ادْخُلُوا مَسَاكِنَكُمْ لَا يَحْطِمَنَّكُمْ سُلَيْمَانُ وَجُنُودُهُ وَهُمْ لَا يَشْعُرُونَ

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

Hattā idhā ataw ‘alā wādī n-namli qālat namlatun yā ayyuhā n-namlu dkhulū masākinakum lā yahtimannakum Sulaymānu wa junūduhū wa hum lā yash‘urūn.

Fatabassama dāhikan min qawlihā wa qāla Rabbī awzi‘nī an ashkura ni‘mataka llatī an‘amta ‘alayya wa ‘alā wālidayya wa an a‘mala sālihan tardāhu wa adkhilnī birahmatika fī ‘ibādika s-sālihīn.

At length, when they came to a (lowly) valley of ants, one of the ants said: “O 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 Your favors, which you have bestowed on me and on my parents, and that I may work righteousness that will please You. And admit me, by Your Grace, to the ranks of Your righteous servants."

(Qur’ān, Sūrat an-Naml, Āyāt 18-19)