Sürah 27. An Naml الْنَّمْل "The Ants" is the 27th Sürah chapter of Al Qur'an with 93 verses with 7 Rukhu spanned over Juzʼ 19 to 20. It was revealed in Makkah (except a few scholars who consider verse 85 or 93 / Madinan). It takes its name from the story of the ant in verses 18–19 during the narrative of Prophet Sulaymān عَلَيْهِ ٱلسَّلَامُ (Solomon).
The Sürah's name is taken from the ants whose conversations were understood by Solomon. Similar to Sürahs ar-Ra'd "the Thunder" or al-Ankabut "the Spider", "The Ants" has no thematic significance in the Sürah beyond it being a familiar phrase amongst believers, a reminder of the Sürah's story of Solomon.
- Ants do hold a privileged status among animals in Islam on account of the story of Solomon. Hadith literature tells of Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم forbidding Muslims to kill the ant, bee, hoopoe, or shrike; it is no coincidence that they are all featured in an-Naml and an-Nahl "the Bee".
- One interpretation for the ant's theological significance coincides with its role historically, as written in the 1993 edition of the Encyclopaedia of Islam: Since early antiquity, ants have been an object of admiration on account of the feverish activity with which they provide for their 27th chapter (surah) of the Qur'an with 93 verses (ayat) sustenance and the perfect organisation of their societies. This perfect organization under one cause correlates well with the Islamic idea of obedience, or ibadah. (Wikipedia)
Herein under we will only present a condensed overview of the entire Sūrah, for the scope of this post is to only to introduce the Sūrah and provide links to some of the selected verses from this Sūrah for selective reading / references. The following bird eye view includes the context, major themes and subjects and lessons that we can learn from this Sūrah, followed by references to some of the selected verses already published.
Main Context
Sürah An-Naml was revealed during the Makkan period when the Quraysh were rejecting the message of Tawḥīd (Oneness of God). It uses historical stories of past prophets to demonstrate God’s power, the consequences of arrogance, and the ultimate triumph of truth.
The Central Theme
- The truth of divine revelation, the certainty of resurrection, and the consequences of disbelief — illustrated through the stories of past messengers.
- The Surah emphasizes:
- Tawḥīd (Monotheism) — Only Allah is worthy of worship.
- Prophethood — Affirmation of Muhammad ﷺ as a true messenger in the same line as earlier prophets.
- Resurrection — Certainty of life after death.
- Moral accountability — Good and evil will be judged.
Main Subjects & Structure
The Surah consists of two discourses, the first from the beginning of the Surah to the end of verse 58, and the second from verse 59 to the end of the Surah.
- The First Discourse: The theme of the first discourse is that only those people can benefit from the guidance of the Quran and become worthy of the good promises made in it, who accept the realities which this Book presents as the basic realities of the universe, and then follow up their belief with obedience and submission in their practical lives as well.
- Opening Verses (1–6):
- The Qur’an is a guide for believers, but a source of loss for disbelievers.
- The reality of revelation.
- The Surah 27 stories of the prophets Musa (Moses), Sulayman (Solomon), Saleh, and Lot (Arabic Lūṭ) to emphasize the message of tawhid (monotheism) in Arabian and Israelite prophets. The miracles of Moses, described in the Book of Exodus, are mentioned in opposition to the arrogance and kufr (disbelief) of the Pharaoh.
- Story of Prophet Mūsā عَلَيْهِ ٱلسَّلَامُ(Moses) [7–14]:
- Call to prophethood.
- Confrontation with Pharaoh and his arrogance.
- Story of Prophet Sulaymān عَلَيْهِ ٱلسَّلَامُ(Solomon) [15–44]: The story of Solomon is most detailed: Solomon converted Bilqis, Queen of Saba' (the Queen of Sheba) to the "true religion" after a hoopoe reported to him that she was a sun-worshipping queen. This sura was likely revealed to address the role of the "Children of Israel" among the believers in Mecca, to emphasize and commend the piety of past prophets, and to distinguish the present Qurʾānic message from traditions.
- His wisdom, communication with animals, and the ant episode.
- The Queen of Sheba’s conversion to Islam after recognizing the truth.
- Stories of other Prophets [45–58]
- Prophet Ṣāliḥ عَلَيْهِ ٱلسَّلَامُ and the people of Thamūd.
- Prophet Lūṭ عَلَيْهِ ٱلسَّلَامُ and the destruction of his people.
- The Second Discourse: In the second discourse, at the outset, attention has been drawn to some of the most glaring and visible realities of the universe, and the disbelievers of Makkah have been asked one question after the other to the effect : "Do these realities testify to the creed of shirk which you are following, or to the truth of Tauhid to which the Qur'an invites you?" After this the real malady of the disbelievers has been pointed out, saying, "The thing which has blinded them and made them insensitive to every glaring reality is their denial of the Hereafter. This same thing has rendered every matter and affair of life non-serious for them. For, when according to them, everything has to become dust ultimately, and the whole struggle of life is purposeless and without an object before it, the truth and falsehood are equal and alike. Therefore, the question whether one's system of life is based on the right or wrong foundations, becomes meaningless for him."
- Affirmation of Resurrection and Divine Judgment [59–66]: Repeated reminders of Allah’s power in creation.
- Challenge to the Quraysh [67–93]
- Criticism of their disbelief.
- Signs in nature and history as proof of God’s oneness.
- End with a call to worship Allah alone.
- Special Significance about Poets
- Unlike Surah Ash-Shu‘arā’ (26), Surah An-Naml does not address poets directly.
- However:
- It implicitly addresses eloquence and persuasion because the Makkan disbelievers accused the Prophet ﷺ of being a poet or magician (verse 69-70 context in tafsīr).
- Instead of attacking poets, it focuses on wisdom, knowledge, and truth as shown in Prophet Sulaymān’s story — contrasting divine wisdom with human eloquence.
- But the discourse, as outlined above, is not meant to dissuade the Prophet and the Muslims from calling the obdurate and heedless people to the way of Tauhid; it is, in fact, intended to arouse them from their slumber. That is why in vv. 67-93 certain things have been said repeatedly in order to produce in the people a sense of the Hereafter, to warn them of the consequences of being heedless of it, and to convince them of its coining, like an eye witness of something, who convinces the other person of it, who has not seen it.
Lessons for Today
- Wisdom and Leadership: Leadership should be based on justice, humility, and service — like Sulaymān’s.
- Power of Dialogue: The Queen of Sheba’s story shows the value of reasoned discussion in guiding others.
- Signs in Creation: We should reflect on nature as a means of knowing Allah.
- Truth Over Pride: Arrogance — whether due to wealth, power, or intellect — leads to downfall.
- Certainty of the Hereafter: Reminds us to live with accountability.
No Sürah of the Qur'an is without any meaning. It is up to us humans to read in between the lines too to know what is being said to us directly or indirectly through mentions of previous prophets and the attitude of their people in rejecting the Divine guidelines and commandments.
Now let us share herein some of the selected ayat / verses from this surah already shared:
- Verse 19: My Lord! Include me, out of Your Mercy, among Your righteous servants
- Verse 19: How to express one's Gratitude to Allah
- Verse 36: Do not accept the Bribes in the matter of wicked system of life
- Verse 62: Who is He Who heeds the prayers of the distressed when he calls out to Him
- Verse 65: None in the heavens or on the earth has knowledge of the Unseen save Allah
In time we will add more selected ayat / verses from this surah.
May Allāh (سبحانه و تعالى) help us understand Qur'ān and follow the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, which is embodiment of commandments of Allah contained in the Qur'ān. May Allah help us to be like the ones He loves and let our lives be lived helping others and not making others' lives miserable or unlivable. May all our wrong doings, whether intentional or unintentional, be forgiven before the angel of death knocks on our door.
وَمَا عَلَيۡنَاۤ اِلَّا الۡبَلٰغُ الۡمُبِيۡنُ
(36:17) and our duty is no more than to clearly convey the Message.”
That is Our duty is only to convey to you the message that Allah has entrusted us with. Then it is for you to accept it or reject it. We have not been made responsible for making you accept it forcibly, and if you do not accept it, we shall not be seized in consequence of your disbelief, you will yourselves be answerable for your actions on Day of Resurrection.
May Allah forgive me if my posts ever imply a piety far greater than I possess. I am most in need of guidance.
Reading the Qur'ān should be a daily obligation of a Muslim - Reading it with translation will make it meaningful. But reading its Exegesis / Tafsir will make you understand it fully. It will also help the Muslims to have grasp over social issues and their answers discussed in the Qur'an and other matter related to inter faith so that they are able to discuss issues with non-Muslims with authority based on refences from Qur'an.
Note: When we mention God in our posts, we mean One True God, we call Allah in Islam, with no associates. Allah is the Sole Creator of all things, and that Allah is all-powerful and all-knowing. Allah has no offspring, no race, no gender, no body, and is unaffected by the characteristics of human life.
You may also refer to our exclusive reference page: Selected verses from selected Surahs of Al-Qurʾān for compiled verses from other surahs.
For more Selected Subjects, please refer to our reference page: Selected Verses from Al Qur'an about a Specific Subject (Reference Page) to know more about what Qur'an says about specific subjects and our reference page: Selected Verses from the Qur'an. .
An effort has been made to gather explanation / exegesis of the surahs and selected verses of Al-Qurʾān from authentic sources and then present a least possible condensed explanation of the surah. In that the exegesis of the chapters of the Quran is mainly based on the "Tafhim al-Qur'an - The Meaning of the Qur'an" by one of the most enlightened scholars of the Muslim World Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi.
In addition, other sources which have been explored and views of other scholars have been incorporated while explaining meaning of a verse. Those desirous of detailed explanations and tafsir (exegesis), may refer to these sites. For expansion of meaning and themes / contextual background help from ChatGPT is also taken.
Disclaimer: The material for this post has been collected from the references given above. If anyone differs with the material contained in this post, one may consult the references and their authors. If someone has more material about the subject, he/she is most welcome to share in the comments box to make the post all encompassing.
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