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idhhab bi-kitābī hādhā fa-ʾalqih ʾilayhim thumma tawalla ʿanhum fa-nẓur mādhā yarjiʿūna
Take this letter of mine and deliver it to them. Then draw away from them and observe what [response] they return.’
— Ali Quli Qarai
27An-NamlالنملVerse 28 of 93
The Ant27. An-Namlالنمل
Al Naml
The Ants
MeccanVerse 28 of 93
Surah An-Naml - Verses 25-26
25. “So that they prostrate not themselves to Allah, Who brings forth what is hidden in the heavens and the earth and knows what you hide and what you reveal.”
26. “Allah, there is no god but He! Is the Lord of ‘Arsh, the Mighty (throne of Supreme Authority).”
The Arabic word /xab’/ means ‘concealed and hidden’. Ali (as) Says:
“(The value of) man is hidden under his tongue.” 34
The growth of plants, as well as falling rains, are the clear examples of bringing forth those which are hidden in the heavens and the earth. The ears (of corn) are hidden inside a corn and the Might of Allah brings it forth from inside of it. All the things that alter from potentiality to actuality are the extensions of this very verse. However, it says:
The Qur’anic word /xab’/, which means anything hidden and concealed, here points to the omnipotence of Allah’s knowledge due to the unseen of heavens and earth. Thus, the verse means why they do not prostrate themselves to the Lord Who knows the unseen of the heavens and the earth and the secrets hidden in them. Some commentators have rendered it to rain (respecting the heavens) and plants (respecting the earth), this in fact, is from the kind of statement of a clear extension.
Alike them are those commentators who have commented this phrase upon ‘bringing out the creatures from the unseen of nonexistence into existence’. It is interesting that the holy verse firstly speaks of the knowledge of Allah unto ‘the secrets hidden in the heavens and the earth’, and then it refers to the secrets concealed in the hearts of people. Why the hoopoe, among all attributes of Allah (s.w.t.), emphasized on the issue of His knowledge due to unseen and seen in the macrocosm and microcosm, it may be in relation to the fact that Solomon, with all his abilities and knowledge, was not aware of the country of Sheba and its qualities, and it says that we must seek the grace of the Lord for Whom nothing is concealed.
Or it is in relation to the known matter which is said that hoopoe has a special sense by which it can understand the existence of water inside the land that contains it. Then it speaks of Allah Who is aware of all the things which are concealed in the world of existence. At last, the hoopoe concludes his saying with the following statement:
Thus, the hoopoe emphasized on ‘unity of worship’ and ‘Unity of Lordship’ of Allah and the negation of any polytheism, and then put an end to his speech. By the way, what is cited in this part of the verse contains a lot of points which can be effective in the life of all human beings and in the process of all governments. 1- The chief of a government, or an administrator, must be so careful and aware of the order of his organizations that he recognizes and realizes even the absence of an ordinary and insignificant member, and pursues its affairs.
2- He must be careful of the offence of a single member and, in order not to affect others, he must apply the necessary precautions. 3- No one should be judged in his absence, or to pass a judgment by default. The one should be allowed to defend himself if possible. 4- The amount of forfeit must proportionate to the crime. So, for every crime a suitable punishment must be decided, and hierarchy should be observed, too. 5- Everybody, even the greatest powers of the society, must submit to reason and logic though the reason is uttered by a very insignificant person.
6- There must exist so much freedom and explicitness in the atmosphere of the society that, at the necessary time, even an ordinary person can tell the chief of the government:
7- Sometimes some ordinary persons or the smallest ones get information of something that the greatest scientists and the most powerful ones are unaware of it, and we must never be proud of our knowledge. 8- In the society of human beings, the reciprocal needs are so much so that sometimes some great men, such as Solomon, are dependant on a bird. 9- Though there are many eligibilities in women, and even this very story shows that the Queen of Sheba possessed an extraordinary understanding and perspicacity, the leadership of a government is not consistent with the situation of their spirit and body; so the hoopoe also surprised of it and said:
10- People often have the same religion that their rulers have. Therefore, we read in this story that the hoopoe says:
(The words are first about the prostration of the Queen and then that of the people.)
27. “(Solomon, after hearing hoopoe’s information,) said: ‘Soon we will see whether you have told the truth or whether you are of the liars.”
28. “Go you with this letter of mine, and throw it down unto them, then turn away from them, and (wait to) see what (answer) they return.”
The Divine prophets’ communication and writing letters to disbelievers and polytheists has a long background, and the Prophet of Islam (S) did it, too. He (S) wrote some letters to the rulers of several countries, such as Iran and Byzantine. In order to reach to some leading and cultural aims, sending messages, advisors, cultural counselors, officers, and taking the lead in these affairs had been the conduct of the divine prophets. Of course, when confronting some complicated systems and governments, we cannot encounter them simply, and, thus, recognizing them secretly and far from the eyes is the deepest kind of cognitions.
Therefore, Solomon carefully listened to the words of the hoopoe and began thinking. Solomon might mostly thought that that news was right, and there was no reason for it to be a lie so great. But since it was not a simple issue and it related to the fate of a country and a great nation, he should not suffice only to the statement of a single informer, and he ought to investigate more about this sensitive subject. Thus, the Qur’an announces:
This statement clearly proves that for important matters, which relate to the fate of people, one must pay attention to the information received from a simple member and soon it must be sufficiently researched about. Solomon did neither accuse nor condemn hoopoe, nor did he verify its speech without any proof, but he took it as the cause of a research. He said:
Footnotes