A Desert Gathering – The Nation of Ants

The night was quiet in the desert, and the stars spread across the sky like distant lamps. A fire burned in the middle of the gathering, and the wood crackled from time to time.

Abu Hussein sat pouring tea, while Abu Jum‘a looked at the ground near the embers. Then he pointed his stick at the sand and said:

— Come here, Abu Hussein… look.

Abu Hussein moved a little closer, then said:

— Ants walking in a long line.

Abu Jum‘a smiled and said:

— Not merely ants… this is an entire nation.

— A nation?!

— Yes… has God Most High not said:

﴿وَمَا مِن دَابَّةٍ فِي الْأَرْضِ وَلَا طَائِرٍ يَطِيرُ بِجَنَاحَيْهِ إِلَّا أُمَمٌ أَمْثَالُكُم﴾ (There is no creature on earth, nor any bird flying on its two wings, but that they are communities like you.) [al-An‘am: ٣٨]

Abu Hussein fell silent for a moment, contemplating the ants, then said:

— Glory be to God… a small creature, yet its life is orderly.

— Indeed, more orderly than many human societies.

— How so?

A Clear Social Order

Abu Jum‘a smiled and said:

— First, they have a clear order. Their colony is divided into castes: a queen whose function is reproduction and the continuation of the nation, workers who gather food, rear the young, and build homes, and soldiers who guard and defend the colony.

— So each one knows its role.

— Exactly… you see no disorder… and no struggle over positions.

Collective Work

— The second quality is collective work. The ant does not work for itself, but for the good of the entire nation.

— That is why you always see them on the move.

— Yes… no idleness and no unemployment.

Communication

Then he pointed to the ants’ trail and said:

— And the third quality… communication. Ants speak to one another through chemicals called pheromones.

Abu Hussein said in astonishment:

— You mean they communicate without words?

— Yes… when an ant finds food, it leaves a chemical trail that leads the other ants to it.

— As though it were putting up signs along the road.

— And that indicates intelligence and organization.

Planning for the Future

— And the fourth quality… planning. Ants do not gather food only for the day at hand; they store food for the days to come.

— So they think about the future.

— Yes… and this is a quality many human societies lack.

Engineers beneath the Sand

— And there is something more remarkable still: ants are engineers. They build homes underground with tunnels, chambers, food stores, and places for rearing their young.

Abu Hussein smiled and said:

— An entire city beneath the sand.

— Indeed, more organized than some cities.

Discipline and Laws

— There is also strict discipline. Ants confront dangers intelligently and organize the defense of the colony. Some studies even say that they have a system of penalties for those who violate the established order.

— Even they have laws!

— Yes… and some species of ants wage organized wars against other colonies.

Then he fell silent for a moment and said:

— Abu Hussein… if a person reflects on the lives of ants, he will find a great lesson.

— What is it?

— That a nation’s strength does not come from size… but from order, work, and cooperation.

If Humans Learned from Ants

Then he said, looking up at the sky:

— Imagine, Abu Hussein… if humans learned these qualities from ants: each person knowing his role, working without idleness, cooperating rather than acting selfishly, planning for the future, respecting order and law, and having leadership that serves the nation rather than itself.

— Then society would become strong.

Abu Jum‘a smiled and said:

— Indeed, it would become a true nation, as God intended.

Then he said quietly:

Sometimes, Abu Hussein… God places the greatest lessons in the smallest creatures.

What Is Greater than Order

Abu Jum‘a said, contemplating the line of ants moving across the sand:

— Abu Hussein… look at these ants. A small nation that does not possess great intellects as humans do, yet moves with astonishing precision, as though it knows its way without hesitation; for it follows the order God has instilled in its nature.

Then he paused for a moment and said:

— As for the human being, Abu Hussein… God has given him something greater than that: He has given him reason so that he may think, an innate disposition so that he may discern the good, and faith so that he may be guided to the right path.

Abu Jum‘a sighed softly, then said:

— But if the human being squanders these blessings, he lives in a disorder that may be worse than the disorder of animals. If, however, he brings together a sound innate disposition, an aware intellect, and faith in God, he can build the greatest nation on earth.

The two fell silent for a while… and the ants continued along their little path across the sand. Yet behind that simple movement lay a great secret among the secrets of building nations.

Abdullah al-Mudahaka