First sermon:

 In fact, cooperation among believers is a Divine Command; and every Divine Command in the Holy Quran and Prophetic Sunna is considered as a religious obligation. And in fact the religion of Islam is not merely ritual services and worships but goes further to cover all aspects of human life, for, as Allah, Most Gracious, desires, it guarantees happiness and welfare in the life of this present world and the world to come.

 In man there is an inclination to individualism that stems from his love and great care for his existence, as well as safety, perfection, and continuity thereof.

 From his own individualism there is also in man an inclination towards the group, because most requirements of livelihood as well as human physical, psychological and intellectual needs are not fulfilled except through the group such as the feeling of intimacy, tranquility, peace, strength, help and fulfillment of his individual interests.

 However, man’s inclination to collectivism, which stems from his obedience to his Lord, Allah, Most Exalted and All-Mighty, and seeking His Good Pleasure, stands behind most moral values and merits. This is because each and every moral virtue whose benefit goes to the other fellow humans must necessarily be motivated by a feeling of altruism and a kind of sacrifice for the sake of the group as a means for the attainment of Allah’s Good Pleasure.

 In fact, immoralities stem from the feeling of selfishness and individualism as well as non-commitment to Allah’s Religion; while moralities come from obedience to Allah, commitment to His Religion and seeking His Good Pleasure by serving His slaves.

 The Holy Prophets and Messengers of Allah, (PBUT), gave everything to their communities and took nothing from them. But those who stood on the opposite side took everything and gave nothing. Some sh3er, who stood half-way between both parties, took and gave. The Holy Prophets and Messengers won people’s hearts through their human perfection; while tyrants and oppressors won people’s bodies by their power.

 Undoubtedly, great achievements are attainable only through group cooperative work; while individual work brings about inadequate and non-integrated work according to the abilities of each individual. Moreover, in his attempt to win admiration and respect of sh3er man’s tends towards individualism, which breeds vicious desires of demolishing the work of sh3er, which causes even individual work to be wasted and the fruits thereof dissipated. This makes humanity lose the fruits and benefits of collective work and much of individual work.

 Moreover, the total sum of two individual powers that join together is far greater than the mathematical sum of such powers, for factors of fear, illusion and languor sneak into the hearts of individuals but fail to do so with the group. In this context, Allah, Most Gracious, says,

“Help you one another in piety and righteousness; but do not help one another in sin and transgression. And fear Allah. Verily, Allah is Severe in punishment.”

[V; 2]

 Since man is Allah’s Vicegerent on earth, and since he is entrusted with the establishment of the righteous human civilization thereon in order to attain eternal happiness and prosperity in the Garden of Paradise, and since Allah, All-Wise, willed that each individual human being be able to do one thing although he is in need of innumerable things, cooperation among fellow humans is a necessity from the religious and logical perspectives.

 Cooperation is a neutral thing that can be effected for both good and evil ends, for piety and righteousness or sin and transgression. That is why Allah’s Divine Command comes to confirm that cooperation should be only in good righteous things that guarantee happiness and prosperity to mankind in both abodes and that it should never be in sinful deeds or transgression. Therefore, whosoever contributes, in one way or another, to the welfare and prosperity of mankind will have a share thereof in this present world or the Hereafter or in both. And whosoever contributes, in one way or another, to evil things that cause man to deviate from the Way of his Creator or transgress against his fellow humans will be severely punished in this present world or the Hereafter or in both. In this context, Allah, Most Gracious, says,

“Help you one another in piety and righteousness; but do not help one another in sin and transgression. And fear Allah. Verily, Allah is Severe in punishment.” [V; 2] He, All-Mighty, also says, “And hold fast, all of you, together to the Rope of Allah, and be not divided among yourselves, and remember Allah’s Favor on you, for you were enemies to one another but He joined your hearts together, so that, by His Grace, you became brethren, and you were on the brink of a pit of Fire, and He saved you from it. Thus Allah makes His Signs clear to you that you may be guided.”

[III; 103]

  By virtue of the above Verse, Allah, Most Merciful, bids us to hold fast, together and not individually, to His Tight Rope, the Holy Quran, seek refuge with Him and stick to His Prophet’s Sunna and Tradition, so that we may prosper in both abodes. It is noticeable that holding fast to Allah’s Rope should be done collectively and not individually. That is why Allah confirms:

“and be not divided among yourselves”

 Then He, Most Gracious, compares the condition in which the Arab nation was at times of ignorance before the advent of Islam to that in which they became after they were favored with the bliss of Islam:

“and remember Allah’s Favor on you, for you were enemies to one another but He joined your hearts together, so that, by His Grace, you became brethren, and you were on the brink of a pit of Fire, and He saved you from it. Thus Allah makes His Signs clear to you that you may be guided.”

 Beyond a shadow of doubt, before the advent of Islam, the Arab nation was mere separated inimical tribes, warring among themselves. They were on the verge of destruction because of their paganism, injustice and aggression:  

“for you were enemies to one another”

 But by the Grace of Islam, their dissension turned into unity, discord into accord, and enmity into brotherhood and love, simply because Allah, Most Gracious, joined their hears together and they became by His Grace brethren. To this effect, Allah, Most Merciful, says,

“And He has united their hearts. If you had spent all that is in the earth, you could not have united their hearts; but Allah has united them. Certainly, He is All-Mighty, All-Wise.”

[VIII; 63]

 Furthermore, elements of the Muslims’ safety, unity, power, and glory still remain the same everywhere and at all times. Such elements are: clinging, together and not individually, to Allah’s Tight Rope, the Holy Quran and Prophetic Sunna, and never getting divided among themselves.

 In fact, Islam restored man to his pure original nature that inauthors him to cooperation, fraternity and love towards other fellow humans. It forbade arrogance and hatred, brought equality to all members of the Muslim community and made them compassionate brother and sisters who help one another in piety and righteousness regardless of such considerations as color, race, gender, country or wealth, motivated only by Allah’s Divine Guidance:

“The believers, men and women, are helpers of one another; they enjoin righteousness and forbid evil; they perform prayer, give alms and obey Allah and His Messenger. Allah will have His Mercy on them. Surely, Allah is All-Mighty, All-Wise.”

[IX; 71]

  Islam rejects selfishness and denounces individualism and negativism. It also disavows malicious exploitation of the efforts of other fellow humans or transgression against their rights. In the sight of Islam, all humans are equal and have the right to work and live a decent life. To this effect, the Messenger of Allah, (PBUH), says,

“The bloods (lives) of Muslims are equal; the lowest from among them strive for their rights; the furthest from among them help them; and they are but one hand towards sh3er.”

 To the same purport, Allah, Most Gracious, says,

“Verily, those who believed, emigrated, strove hard and fought with their property and lives in the Cause of Allah as well as those who gave (them) asylum and help – those are allies to one another. And as to those who believed but did not emigrate, you owe no duty of protection to them until they emigrate; but if they seek your help in religion, it is your duty to help them except against a people with whom you have a treaty of mutual alliance; and Allah sees what you do.”

[VIII; 72]

 And in the very next Verse, He, Most Merciful, says,

“And those who believed, emigrated and strove hard in the Cause of Allah as well as those who gave (them) asylum and aid – those are the true believers; for them is forgiveness and a generous provision.”

[Ibid; 74]

 

The above Quranic Verse shows clearly that once true Faith is firmly established in a believer’s heart, it manifests itself through good movement towards sh3er. The lack of such movement bespeaks weakness or lack of Faith. In other words, true believers are those who believed, emigrated, gave asylum to other believers and helped them. Therefore, they all became like one body: should one part thereof suffer from any ailment, all other parts hasten to help by watchfulness and fever. And if believers do not counsel one another, give help to one another, or cooperate with one another, there will be a great discord and corruption in the earth. In this context, Allah, All-Mighty, says,

“Verily, those who believed, emigrated, strove hard and fought with their property and lives in the Cause of Allah as well as those who gave (them) asylum and help – those are allies to one another. And as to those who believed but did not emigrate, you owe no duty of protection to them until they emigrate; but if they seek your help in religion, it is your duty to help them except against a people with whom you have a treaty of mutual alliance; and Allah sees what you do. And those who disbelieve are allies of one another. If you (Muslims) do not do it (i.e. become allies as one united block under one ruler), there will be a great mischief and corruption.”

[Ibid; 72,73]

 Narrated Abu Sa’eed Al-Khudri: The Messenger of Allah, (PBUH), said,

“He who has an extra animal to ride, let him give it to someone who has no animal to ride; he who has extra food, let him give it to someone who has no food.”

 And he (PBUH) kept mentioning kinds of wealth and property so that we felt that none of us has the right to have any extra thing whatsoever.

 To wrap up, a true Muslim is someone who strives for sh3er and does not live only for himself. However, the reward of such true Muslim is great. To this effect, Allah, Most Gracious, says,

“Believe you in Allah and His Messenger and spend of that whereof He has made you trustees. And such of you as believe and spend (in Allah’s Way) theirs will be a Great Reward.”

[LVII; 7]

 Narrated Muslim on authority of Abu Hurairah: The Messenger of Allah, (PBUH), said,

“I saw a man dwelling happily in Paradise because he had removed from the road a tree that had caused harm to people.”

 Beyond a shadow of doubt, the Messenger of Allah, (PBUH), established the Muslim community in Medina as the first model of an ideal Muslim community built on the basis of collective cooperation. Al-Muhajiroun (The Emigrants) left Mecca, their homeland, and left therein their wealth and possessions and emigrated to Medina penniless. Al-Ansar (The Helpers), who were the people of Medina, had their own wealth and possessions there. The Messenger of Allah, (PBUH), unified them all, both the Emigrants and Helpers, through Muslim brotherhood, which is based on sympathy, love, and altruism; and all Muslims became partners in everything, even the Helpers’ own wealth and possessions. The amazing thing is that the Emigrants did not abuse the generosity of their Muslim brother, the Helpers. Nay, they rather went directly to the market-place to work and earn a living. Sa’d bin Ar-Rabee’, for example, addressed Abdur-Rahman bin ‘Aouf, “Dear brother! Here is one half of my wealth! Take it!” The latter simply replied, “May Allah bless your wealth for you! But please, tell me where the market-place is.” The Holy Quran recorded such magnificent picture of altruism among Muslims. In this context, the Quranic Verses go,

“And those who, before them, had homes (in Medina) and had adopted the Faith, love those who emigrate to them and have no jealousy in their breasts for that which they have been given, and give (the Emigrants) preference over themselves even though they were in need of that. And whosoever is saved from his own covetousness, such are they who will be the successful.”

[LIX; 9]

 Allah, All-Wise, says,

“They fight not against you even together except in fortified townships or from behind walls. Their enmity among themselves is very great. You would think they were united, but their hearts are divided. That is because they are a people who understand not.”

[LIX; 14]

 In other words, if we trace in Allah’s Book, the Holy Quran, causes of enmity and hatred among members of a certain community, even those who have so many things in common among themselves, we find that such causes stem from two things: their deviation from Allah’s Religion and following their own desires and caprices. To this effect, Allah, Blessed and All-High, says,

“And from among those who call themselves Christians, We took their covenant, but they have abandoned a good part of the Message that was sent to them. So We planted amongst them enmity and hatred till the Day of Resurrection; and Allah will inform them of what they used to do.”

[V; 14]

 The second cause of enmity and hatred among them is that they follow the steps of Damned Satan. To this effect, Allah, Exalted and Glorified, says,

“Verily, Satan wants only to exauthor enmity and hatred among you in intoxicants and gambling, and hinder you from remembering Allah and from prayer. So will you not then abstain?!”

[Ibid;91]

 In fact both of the above-mentioned causes stem from one main source, namely the fact that man is predisposed to be individually inclined; and unless controlled by Allah’s Religion, such individualism is sure to bring about a great many immoralities such as selfishness, arrogance, haughtiness, enmity, hatred, disloyalty, injustice, malice, avarice …etc.

 Furthermore, collectivism is essentially a Divine Command, but then it turns out to be a trait of a true believer due to his connection with Allah and consciousness of Him. And the spirit of collectivism stands behind a great many moral virtues such as altruism, modesty, compassion, love, sympathy, truthfulness, sincerity, generosity, …etc.

 People are of two kinds: those who know their Lord, Allah, Most Gracious, and are conscious of Him, committed to His Religion, and, hence, righteous and good-doing. Such are secure and prosperous in the present world and the world to come. The second type of people are those who are heedless of Allah, Most Merciful, and are, thus, uncommitted to His Divine Religion, far astray from His Divine Guidance, and are evil-doing. Such are wretched and miserable in both abodes.

 Beyond a shadow of doubt, man is the prime creature and the one that knows best that collectivism is far better than individualism and that cooperation is far more rewarding than negativism. Moreover, it is natural that people vary with regards to their talents and abilities, efforts and powers. Some of them are strong while sh3er are weak; some are healthy while sh3er are ill; some are competent while sh3er are incompetent; some are knowledgeable while sh3er are ignorant; some are intelligent while sh3er are feeble-minded; some are wealthy while sh3er are poor; some are rulers and leaders while sh3er are subjects and common people. Should such differences among people be left alone and neglected, the gap would increase, contradictions between members of the community would appear, the wealthy would dominate over and maliciously exploit the poor, the structure of the whole community would be demolished and caused to perish, morals and values go down, and those who are astray from Allah’s Religion and Guidance would follow the most malicious and evil ways to achieve the lowest and most disgraceful aims. This would give rise to a most devastating dilemma of moral values and wretchedness and misery to all mankind; and the relationships among humans would be corrupted. Then, the wealthy and powerful would dominate over the poor and weak,  rights would be devoured, and the whole human race would live in a real civilization crisis that hinders them from developing and bring them destruction and perdition as can be seen in may places of the modern world.

 That is why a true believer is a distinguished person who sees things that other fellow humans fail to see, and feels things that they fail to feel, simply because he enjoys a great wakefulness and deep insight and has a magnanimous heart and a strong determination. His aims and targets go beyond his secular needs; and his message in life is far more elevated than his desires. He is self-consistent, self-controlled, rightly guided, principled, morally governed and motivated, admired and respected.

 A true believer is a unique person because true Faith in itself reflects great knowledge of the most important realities of human existence as much as it bespeaks a high standard of morality that governs his behavior and betokens a high level of happiness and tranquility through his being connected with his Lord, Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

*        *          *

 In fact, lots and opportunities that man enjoys in the life of the present world are neutral and can be used for both the truth or vanity, good or evil, happiness or misery. They can be a means whereby man attains his Lord’s Good Pleasure and Generous Recompense or whereby he becomes the lowest of the low. Before Islam, Na’eem bin Mas’oud, for example, was a brilliant, intelligent, tactful, smart man who always sought mundane pleasures and enjoyments at all costs. When the Messenger of Allah, (PBUH), came with the religion of Islam to all mankind, Na’eem stubbornly and arrogantly turned away and rejected the call for the new religion of Islam lest it should deprive him of the pleasures and enjoyments he was indulged in. Therefore, he joined with those who fought against Muslims and opposed the new religion of Islam relentlessly. But one single moment of logical thinking, reasonable judgment, deep insight into the reality of things, truthfulness with himself, and sincere search for the truth was enough to rescue him from the darkness of ignorance and illusion to the light of Faith and nearness to the Lord, Most Gracious, from evil criminal work to magnificent heroic feats.

 The whole tribe of Quraish, with all its warriors and arms, powers and abilities, went out, under the leadership of Abu Sufian bin Harb, and so did the tribe of Ghatafan, under the leadership of ‘Uyaynah bin Hisn and Na’eem bin Mas’oud, our man, heading towards Medina to eradicate Muslims from the face of the earth. Banu Quraithah also breached their covenants and treaties with the Messenger of Allah, (PBUH), and joined with the other confederates against Muslims. Muslims were most seriously maligned and their existence seemed to have had only a few more hours to last, especially when a large number of hypocrites sneaked away from the Muslim army to join with the their enemies and only a few hundreds of true Muslims were left alone with the Messenger of Allah, (PBUH). Then, Muslims underwent a great trial and were put to a most grievous test after having been besieged by enemies from all sides.

 On one of the nights of the siege, which lasted for twenty days, Na’eem was lying in bed in his tent of the camp of polytheists contemplating. Suddenly, he asked himself, “Woe to you, O Na’eem! What brought you from those remote places of Najd to fight this man and those with him?! You are not fighting against him for an extorted right nor for people’s honor or dignity or a life that has been transgressed against. Nay, you have come here to fight them for no reason. Is it befitting for a wise man like you to fight such a righteous man who bids his followers to justice, good-doing and expenditure to kith and kin?! Woe to you, O Na’eem! What makes you shed the blood of his Companions who followed that which he brought them of guidance and truth?!”

 Such is the soliloquy that each of us needs everyday.

 Such soliloquy, which was characterized by clarity and sincerity, was the cause of Na’eem’s everlasting bliss, for he decided something that he did in no time. He sneaked out of the camp of his people and hastened stealthily to the Messenger of Allah, (PBUH), who received  him exclaiming, “Na’eem bin Mas’oud?!” Na’eem replied, “Yes, O Messenger of Alah! It’s me!” The Messenger of Allah, (PBUH), asked, “What brought you here at this hour?!” Na’eem replied, “O Messenger of Allah! I have come to bear witness that there is no god but Allah, and that you are the slave and Messenger of Allah. My people know nothing of my coming to you; so you may command me to do whatever you desire.” The Messenger of Allah, (PBUH), said, “You are, among us, but one man. So, go to your people and try to discourage them – if you can – from fighting against us, for war is trick.”

Such is an example of a sincere individual cooperation with the group.

 N’eem is now going to use all his intelligence, words, abilities and prominent social rank in favor of the new religion of Islam. Readily enough, he said, “O Messenger of Allah! You shall see that which pleases you if Allah so wills!”

 Na’eed went immediately to Bani Quraizah, because he had always been a good friend to them, saying, “O Bani Quraizah! You know how intimate I am to you and how desirous I am to be truthful in giving you sincere advice.” They said, “Yes, indeed. You have always been sincere to us.” He said, “Quraish and Ghatafan both have purposes in this war different from yours.” “How?” They asked. He said, “This land is your homeland, in which there is your wealth, children and women. You can not leave it for another land. But Quraish and Ghatafan: their homeland, wealth, children and women are somewhere else. They have come to fight Muhammad and asked you to breach your covenant with him and to help them against him, which you have done. If they win victory over him, they will get the benefit of that thanks to your help. But if they fail to win victory over him, they will return to their homeland safe and secure; and they will leave you alone for him to revenge himself against you most badly. You know that you have no power over him if you are left alone with him.” They said, “By Allah! What you say is true; and your opinion is wise.” He said, “Then, I would advise you not to fight with them (against Muhammad) unless you take some of their notable men as hostages whereby you force them to fight with you against Muhammad until you win victory over him or the last of your and their men are dead.” They said, “By Allah! Well done and well advised. May Allah bless you.”

 Then, Na’eem left Bani Quraizah and went to Abu Sufian bin Harb, leader of Quraish, saying, “O people of Quraish! You know how intimate I am to you and how inimical I am to Muhammad.” “Yes, we do.” They replied. “And I have been informed,” he continued, “of something I find necessary to tell you and give you my advice concerning it, provided that you promise to keep it secret and tell nobody about it.” They replied, “We give you our promise.” He said, “Banu Quraizah have regretted their antagonizing Muhammad; and they sent a message to him saying: ‘We have regretted our antagonizing you and breaching our covenants with you. We are determined to return to our covenants with you and to make peace with you again. Will you be pleased – O Muhammad – if we take for you a number of their notables as hostages and give them to you to have them killed, and then we join with you in the fight against them until we finish them all?!’ And Muhammad sent them back his consent. So, if the Jews ask you, O Abu Sufian, to send them any of your notable men as hostages, I would advise you not to send them anyone.” Abu Sufian said, “What a good ally you are! May Allah bless and well-reward you, because you have saved us.”

 Having left Abu Sufian and his men, Na’eem went to his people, Ghatafan, and did the same thing that he had done with Abu Sufian and his men, warning them against the Jews.

 Abu Sufian wanted to test Banu Quraizah, so he sent his son to them to tell them: “My father sends you his greetings and informs you that our siege of Muhammad and his men has taken a very long time; and we are bored. Therefore, we are now determined to fight Muhammad and finish him. And my father has sent me to invite you to fight against him tomorrow.” They replied, “Today is Saturday, on which we do nothing; and we shall not fight with you against Muhammad unless you give us seventy notable men from among you and from the tribe of Ghatafan, so that we keep them as hostages with us, because we fear – if the fight becomes hard for you – that you flee back to your homeland and leave us alone with Muhammad, whom, as you know, we have no power to withstand.”

 Na’eem’s plan was one hundred per cent successful, for the moment Abu Sufian’s son came back to communicate Banu Quraizah’s answer to his people, they all cried out: “The children of monkeys and pigs will never get this from us! By Allah! If they asked us to give them a sheep as a hostage, we would not give it to them!”

“Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah; and those who are with him are severe against disbelievers but merciful among themselves. You see them bowing and falling down prostrate (in prayer), seeking Bounty from Allah and His Good Pleasure. Their mark (of true Faith) is on their faces from the traces of prostration. Such is their description in the Torah. But their description in the Gospel is like a seed that sends forth its shoot then makes it strong, and it becomes thick and stands straight on its stem, delighting the sowers, that He may enrage the disbelievers with them. Allah has promised those from among them who believe and do righteous good deeds forgiveness and a mighty reward.”

[XLVIII; 29]

 Yes, indeed. By his clever plan Na’eem was able to seed dissension among the confederates; and Allah, All-Mighty, sent upon Quraish and their allies a strong wind that blew off their tents, overturned their pots, put out their fires, smacked their faces, and filled their eyes with dust; and they were forced to flee away. In this context, Allah, All-Mighty, says,

“And Allah drove back those who disbelieved in their rage; they gained no advantage (booty). And Allah sufficed for the believers in the fighting (by sending against the disbelievers a severe wind and troops of angels). Allah is Ever All-Strong, All-Mighty.”

[XXXIII; 25]

 

It is undoubtedly a great lesson of Faith: If Allah is with us, who can ever be against us?! But if Allah is against us, who can ever be with us?! But Allah’s Help, for which we have great hopes so that we are granted victory over an arrogant tyrannical enemy that has extorted land, frightened a peaceful people away, looted their properties, violated their honor and dishonored their sanctities, and built up settlements for the invaders, such Divine Help has a price as mentioned in the Holy Quran,

“Indeed Allah took the covenant from the children of Israel (Jews), and We appointed twelve leaders among them. And Allah said, ‘I am with you if you perform prayer and give alms and believe in My Messengers, honor and assist them, and lend a good loan to Allah, verily, I will expiate your sins and admit you to Gardens under which rivers flow (in Paradise). But if any of you, after this, disbelieves, he has indeed gone astray from the Straight Path.”

[V; 12]

 Allah, Most Gracious, does not command us to prepare the equivalent but rather the available power. To this effect, He, Most Merciful, says,

“And make ready against them all you can of power, including steeds of war (tanks, planes, missiles artillery…etc.) to frighten the enemy of Allah and your enemy, and sh3er besides them, whom you know not but Allah does know. And whatever you shall spend in the Cause of Allah shall be repaid to you, and you shall not be treated unjustly.”

[VII; 60]

*        *          *

 Second sermon:

 The speech about cooperation, which is a Divine Command to Allah’s most honored creature, man, reminds us of a most beautiful example of cooperation as manifested by the world of ants.

 Ants are excellent social insects that are found everywhere and at all times. And in fact, there are more than nine thousand kinds of ants, some of which live a well-organized life in well-protected settlements, while sh3er live like nomads a life of travel and unsettlement. Some earn their living by labor and toil, while sh3er earn their living by treachery and aggression. An ant is a social creature which can not live in isolation from other fellow ants, even if it is provided with good food, habitation and environment, just like man, who loses his mental balance if he is put in complete isolation where he is deprived of such indispensable elements as light, sound, time, day and night.

 Ants are very good exemplars of cooperation. If a hungry ant meets another that is full, the latter gives the former some digested food from inside its body by using special pumps. Now let us contemplate the Prophetic Hadith which goes,

“By Allah! He is not a true believer. By Allah! He is not a true believer. By Allah! He is not a true believer: he who goes to bed (in the evening) fed up and knows that his neighbor beside him is hungry.”, and the other Hadith which goes, “He who does not care for the affairs of Muslims does not belong to them.”

 An ant-city has one big queen, which lives in a safe place, lays eggs, rules and gives directives, and is in constant contact with all members of her kingdom. Ant-workers have various kinds of jobs. some bring up the young ants, which is like education in the human society. Other bigger ants are warriors with large heads that guard and defend the kingdom and keep security and peace therein, which is like armies and security forces in human community. Other ants clean the dwellings and passages, which is like public services in human community, drag the bodies of dead ones and burry them in the earth, which is like undertaking in human community, bring food from outside the kingdom, like import in human community, plant crops, which is like agriculture in human community, and breed other insects from whose nectar they get food, which is like cattle-breeding in human community.

 Ants build cities, construct roads, cut tunnels, store food in store-houses and silos, make parks and gardens, plant crops, fight wars against other ant-kingdoms and take captives from the defeated ones. In this context, Allah, Most Gracious, says,

“There is not a moving living creature on earth, nor a bird that flies with its two wings, but are communities like you. We have neglected nothing in the Book; then unto their Lord they all shall be gathered.” [VI; 38] He, All-High, also says, “Till, when they came to the valley of the ants, one of the ants said, ‘O ants! Enter your dwellings lest Solomon and his hosts should crush you while they perceive not.”

[XXVII; 18]

 By virtue of the above Verse, Allah attributes to ants a kind of language and knowledge. This goes in conformity with the fact that ants have tiny brains, nerve cells, special nerves whereby they perceive knowledge and a sense of direction whereby they are guided to locations of food and to their own dwelling-places. Ants also have a kind of rational behavior; and they are more intelligent than other insects. They see by means of light waves that are invisible to humans. Ant-language is a chemical one and plays two roles: communication and warning. If an ant is crushed, a special smell comes out from it and causes other ants to ask for help and to keep away from the source of danger. No ant is allowed to enter the ant-town unless it gives a special secret pass-word. And ants have a wonderful digestive  apparatus that consists of a mouth, an esophagus, a stomach, an intestine, a sucking apparatus, and a pumping apparatus.

 In this context, Imam Ali bin Abi Talib, may Allah be pleased with him, says, “Contemplate the ant with its tiny body and delicate stature. It can hardly be understood how it walks about and moves everywhere seeking its livelihood, carrying grains into its home and storing them for cold winters. Its provision has been guaranteed for it by the Lord, All-Bounteous, on hard stones or smooth moors. Contemplate its upper and lower parts of body, its belly and interior, and its head, ears and eyes. You will certainly be amazed at its creation, and will find it too difficult to describe it. Most Exalted is Allah, Who created its marvelous body and made it stand on its legs. No other originator helped Him originate it; and no other creator helped Him create it.”