An Enlightening Commentary into the Light of the Holy Qur'an vol. 13

Surah An-Naml, Chapter 27

(The Ant)

No. 27 (Revealed at Mecca)

93 Verses in 7 Sections

The Feature of the Surah

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحِيمِ

In The Name of Allah, The Beneficent, The Merciful

This Surah contains 93 verses, and due to verse No. 18, which is about ants and Solomon (as), it is called An-Naml (The Ant); but it is also called Sulayman, and Ta, Seen.

The whole verses of this Surah were revealed in connection with different events and occasions, and the holy phrase: /bismillah-ir-rahman-ir-rahim/ is repeated two times in it, one of them is at the beginning of the Surah and the other one is in verse No. 30 at the onset of Solomon’s letter to Sheba, the Queen.

The struggles of four Divine prophets (Moses, Solomon, Salih, Lut) against different tribes of their times have been referred to in this Surah, the most detailed of them is that of Solomon which resulted to Sheba’s faith in Monotheism.

Another portion of the verses of this holy Surah is about Solomon’s speaking with the birds, such as hoopoe and some insects like ants, and the attendance of some jinns in the army and court of Solomon, and, finally, bringing the throne of Sheba from Yemen to Syria in a short moment.

The Virtue of the Surah

A tradition stated by Imam Sadiq (as) announces:

“Whoever recites the triple suras which begin with Ta Seen (Surah Ash-Shu‘ara, An-Naml, and Qasas) in the night before Friday, he will be one of the friends of Allah and he will be nigh to Him and he will be involved in His Grace and support.”

(If he fulfils his religions duties sincerely.)[^1]

[^1]: Nur-uth-Thaqalayn, Vol. 4, P. 74