ZOOLOGY
LIFESTYLE AND COMMUNICATION OF ANTS
وَحُشِرَ
لِسُلَيْمَانَ جُنُودُهُ مِنَ الْجِنِّ وَالْإِنسِ وَالطَّيْرِ فَهُمْ يُوزَعُونَ
27:17 حَتَّى إِذَا أَتَوْا عَلَى
وَادِي النَّمْلِ قَالَتْ نَمْلَةٌ يَا أَيُّهَا النَّمْلُ ادْخُلُوا مَسَاكِنَكُمْ
لَا يَحْطِمَنَّكُمْ سُلَيْمَانُ وَجُنُودُهُ وَهُمْ لَا يَشْعُرُونَ
27:18
“And before Solomon were
marshalled his hosts –
of Jinns and men and birds,
and they were all kept
in order and ranks.
“At length, when they came
to a (lowly) valley of ants,
one of the ants said :
‘O ye ants, get into
your habitations,
lest Solomon and his hosts
crush you (under foot)
without knowing it.’”
[Al-Qur’an 27:17-18]
In the past, some people would have probably
mocked at the Qur’an, taking it to be a book of fairy
tales in which ants talk to each other and
communicate sophisticated messages. In recent
times however, research has shown us several facts
about the lifestyle of ants, which were not known
earlier to humankind. Research has shown that the
animals or insects whose lifestyle is closest in
resemblance to the lifestyle of human beings are the
ants. This can be seen from the following findings
regarding ants:
(a) The ants bury their dead in a manner similar
to the humans.
(b) They have a sophisticated system of division
of labour, whereby they have managers,
supervisors, foremen, workers, etc.
(c) Once in a while they meet among themselves
to have a ‘chat’.
(d) They have an advanced method of
communication among themselves.
(e) They hold regular ‘markets’ where they
exchange goods.
(f) They store grain for long periods in winter and
if the grain begins to bud, they cut the roots, as
if they understand that if they leave it to grow,
it will rot. If the grain stored by them gets wet
due to rains, they take it out into the sunlight
to dry, and once dry, they take it back inside
as though they know that humidity will cause
development of root systems which will cause
the grain to rot.
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