The Ant that Made Sulaiman Laugh

21 Views· 24/03/25

Sayed Mahdi Modarresi
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Link to full lecture: https://youtu.be/37u27qa4aOA

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[0:00]prophet sulaiman had a throne sometimes it's described as a carpet but

[0:07]that's not the description that we get from the quran nor the

[0:10]traditions of the rebate that have provided commentary on the quran the

[0:14]best description that we can derive is that it was made from

[0:19]a celestial substance something above and beyond the physical world of ours

[0:25]it resembled a cloud celestial object upon which he sat traditions tell

[0:31]us that the throne of sulaiman had many thrones in other words

[0:37]chairs on which he sat along with his top aides lieutenants and

[0:41]advisors that these thrones were studded with the most expensive and luxurious

[0:47]jewelry and it was from those thrones that he governed his dominion

[0:53]and ruled his kingdom traditions also tell us that the size of

[0:56]it this vessel the celestial vehicle or whatever you wish to call

[1:01]it was six thousand feet by six thousand feet so it was

[1:06]akin to an incredible spaceship not just a carpet surahman would sit

[1:10]on this and he would travel vast distances it had incredible speed

[1:22]the quran says the speed at which this vessel traveled was the

[1:26]equivalent of a month's worth of travel on traditional means so he

[1:31]would get from city to city in an instant he would get

[1:34]from country to country within a day or less it was this

[1:38]kind of vessel now the quran describes a very interesting encounter it

[1:42]says that one day as sulaiman was traveling he reached an area

[1:47]that again according to our traditions has been located around the levant

[1:53]or the countries now known as asham and it was there while

[1:57]he was traveling over a desert that an ant began to address

[2:04]the ant colony [Music] oh my fellow aunt go back into your

[2:17]homes so as not to be crushed by suleiman and his army

[2:22]while they do not perceive you because you're too small you're too

[2:26]insignificant the army of sulaiman can easily crush you so go back

[2:33]and seek shelter in your hive now let's pause here a little

[2:37]bit and say something sulaiman had such an incredibly powerful large fast

[2:42]and beautiful vessel in which he traveled one of the powers that

[2:49]allah had given suleiman in addition to this in order to be

[2:52]able to govern and to rule his kingdom he was awarded manta

[2:58]kottayar meaning that he was able to speak to birds but also

[3:01]other creatures so two points to be made here number one voices

[3:05]of all creatures would be delivered to him number two he was

[3:11]able to process all of these voices all of the speech by

[3:16]different creatures and animals around the world thank god this is in

[3:19]the quran by the way had this been in a hadith i'm

[3:22]sure no one would accept it as is the norm as is

[3:23]the case in this day and age where the materialistic lifestyles that

[3:27]we lead kind of compartmentalizes all of these stories and fables into

[3:33]the fiction category or the fiction isle of the library but it

[3:38]is in the quran and there's really nothing anyone can do about

[3:42]it unless someone has a disease in their heart in which case

[3:44]they reinterpret the entire quran and they say things like that the

[3:47]quran was but the prophet's dreams people like abdul karim surosh and

[3:52]others so it says that the voices of these creatures would reach

[3:58]prophet sulaiman and he would be able to process them and understand

[4:01]their speech now this is truly amazing just think about it for

[4:04]a moment if you were sitting somewhere and four people were speaking

[4:07]at the same time you'd lose the plot you wouldn't be able

[4:10]to tell what was happening and yet every single animal every single

[4:15]species every single creature would speak and suleiman had the capacity to

[4:20]process it all and understand it immediately when the ant said those

[4:25]words sulaiman recognized her speech he ordered the vessel to go down

[4:31]and land as soon as he landed suleiman said to the ant

[4:35]why would you say such a thing to the other ants why

[4:37]would you instruct the colony to avoid me out of fear that

[4:42]i might crush them and kill them do you not know that

[4:44]i am a prophet of god do you not know that i

[4:48]do not oppress do you not know that i have knowledge that

[4:52]allows me to avoid even inadvertently killing other creatures because she said

[4:59]she said to him no oh prophet of god i didn't mean

[5:03]that i know you're a prophet i know you're a messenger i

[5:06]know you don't oppress the reason i said it to the other

[5:10]ants is you have to appreciate that we live in the dirt

[5:14]and i didn't want the other ants to look up and see

[5:15]you living this life of luxury of dominion having this incredible kingdom

[5:25]bejeweled thrones on this incredible vessel and think that what they have

[5:28]is too little and be unappreciative of the things that allah has

[5:33]given them i didn't want them to feel that they were deprived

[5:39]because that is one of the byproducts of obsessing over the lives

[5:43]of the rich and famous after a while you begin to develop

[5:47]this thought process subconsciously subliminally without you realizing you start to wonder

[5:54]well why don't i have what they have why am i deprived

[5:57]when they are living in luxury i didn't want them to feel

[6:01]that way i didn't want them to obsess over the luxurious lifestyle

[6:05]that you led now let's take a pause here for a moment

[6:08]as well brothers and sisters one of the diseases of this day

[6:15]and age is our obsession with those who are rich with those

[6:17]who are famous with those who are labeled as celebrities and that

[6:22]is a morbid obsession meaning that it has some very negative side

[6:28]effects in our immediate lives traditions actually tell us there's a body

[6:32]of hadith which discourage befriending people who are rich avoid those people

[6:38]who are rich not because they're inherently evil not because they're bad

[6:42]but because of the wealth disparity which is growing day by day

[6:45]the capitalist system is contributing to this increased global wealth disparity where

[6:51]the poor are getting poorer and the rich are only getting richer

[6:54]and the middle class is being eroded because i am not at

[6:59]that level being in the presence of wealthy individuals will lead to

[7:03]me thinking why don't i have what they have and then the

[7:06]next logical conclusion that we draw is either allah subhanahu wa ta'ala

[7:12]god forbid god forbid for allah he is unable to provide for

[7:16]me as he did for them or unwilling and therefore he is

[7:21]a miser so the hadith tell us do not befriend people who

[7:24]are rich instead acquaint yourself with people who are poor that's why

[7:29]the conversation between prophet suleiman and the ant is so critical suleiman

[7:32]landing coming all the way down to the level of the ant

[7:37]and speaking to her addressing her speak to the people who are

[7:42]poor befriend people who have less than you because when you are

[7:45]acquainted with individuals who are less fortunate than you are then you

[7:49]begin to appreciate what you have you become thankful you become grateful

[7:53]for whatever you have because it's a natural human instinct for us

[7:59]to compare ourselves with others we always keep an eye out and

[8:02]check out the joneses and what they have and what they don't

[8:05]have their new car their new house their new furniture their new

[8:08]jewelry their new clothes it's a natural human instinct so if you

[8:10]put yourselves in circles where you don't have much interaction with people

[8:16]who are wealthier and more quote unquote fortunate which they're not always

[8:20]fortunate because they happen to be richer than you are look at

[8:24]what the quran says stop raising your gaze at those who have

[8:36]been given luxuries and comforts why such a beautiful and subtle and

[8:44]nuanced description allah subhana wa ta'ala provides for the luxuries that people

[8:51]have he says this entire world this dunya is like a rose

[8:53]it looks beautiful it's attractive it's alluring and so you pick it

[8:57]the moment you pick it the countdown to its death and destruction

[9:01]and decay begins the moment you take it home no matter how

[9:05]much you try to nourish it and give it water and sunlight

[9:09]the countdown has already begun and within a few days once you've

[9:13]grabbed it in your hand it will wither away and die that

[9:19]is the example of this world he says and whatever others seem

[9:22]to have all these luxuries all this wealth all this money that

[9:26]you see them enjoying they're being tested by all of this you're

[9:30]tested by having less than they do they're tested by having more

[9:34]than you do you're also tested by having more than other people

[9:37]everybody's being tested so if it's a test then what difference does

[9:41]it make the quran tells the prophet do not raise your gaze

[9:45]do not look at them do not obsess over them why because

[9:48]when you look at them you desire to have what they have

[9:52]when you desire to have what they have you begin to show

[9:55]less appreciation for what you already have and you get into this

[9:59]vicious cycle where you're never happy it's never enough no matter what

[10:04]happens no matter what you do it's just not enough because there's

[10:06]always people who are richer and wealthier than you are and you

[10:10]keep comparing yourself to them which is why if you watch these

[10:14]programs that talk about the life of the rich and famous it's

[10:16]pathetic how they each are trying to compete with the other guy

[10:22]the one who has a couple more million dollars or a couple

[10:25]more billion dollars by buying all these toys and by accumulating more

[10:31]possessions buying more homes buying more mansions buying more boats building a

[10:35]bigger boat and they keep getting into this crazy rat race where

[10:41]it's about one or two or three additional feet added to their

[10:44]yacht now we look at this and we feel this is truly

[10:48]pathetic but the reality is in our own ways and in our

[10:53]own little worlds we're exactly like that imagine you have last year's

[10:57]flagship smartphone and somebody comes across who has this year's updated flagship

[11:03]smartphone and suddenly you feel like the one you have is garbage

[11:06]and you need to throw it away you feel like breaking it

[11:09]so you can have an excuse to buy the next one the

[11:10]next iteration only because you happen to see the new one otherwise

[11:15]the old one is perfectly fine working without a glitch no problems

[11:19]at all look at this hadith a hadith that's narrated from our

[11:22]holy imams from the tongue of prophet isa he says don't look

[11:31]at the wealth of the people of this lowly life because the

[11:39]glitter and shine of their money and their wealth will strip you

[11:46]away of the light of your faith in other words you have

[11:52]faith but that faith is lacking it's devoid of light it doesn't

[11:55]give you the inspiration to worship allah subhanahu ta'ala as it once

[12:00]did because you keep obsessing about what other people have anyway moving

[12:04]on the ancestor prophet sulaiman he says to him i didn't want

[12:09]the other ants to see what you have you live in the

[12:11]heavens we live in the dirt and then be less appreciative and

[12:16]grateful for what allah has given them another point that i think

[12:19]important to be mentioned here is look at how much this ant

[12:23]cared about its fellow ants about the colony it's important to care

[12:29]about the spiritual well-being of your brothers and sisters and family and

[12:31]tribe and clan and city and town and country it's important to

[12:35]care enough to actually take the initiative and when you feel like

[12:40]you can step in and do um to actually do so moving

[12:45]on then the hadith says suleiman said to her could you give

[12:49]me words of advice imagine god's prophet asking an aunt whom he

[12:54]now recognizes as a creature that is wise he says give me

[12:59]some words of advice so the ancestor him do you know why

[13:03]allah subhanahu ta'ala gave you dominion over the wind why is it

[13:08]that the wind is the vehicle that carries you around or carries

[13:13]your vessel around he had full control by the way it is

[13:16]incredible if you think about it nowadays a little wind that's a

[13:21]little too fast can cause a tornado and tear down entire states

[13:25]and countries so the fact that sulaiman had power over this is

[13:27]it itself incredible the quran calls it this is a kingdom god

[13:32]calls this a kingdom by the way allah also says in the

[13:38]quran are they envious of what we have given to the people

[13:44]of god's grace for we have given allah ibrahim the family of

[13:51]ibrahim [Music] we have given the children of ibrahim the book and

[13:59]wisdom and the great kingdom who are the children of ibrahim they

[14:05]are muhammadan the kingdom that the rebate had was much much greater

[14:10]than any prophet has ever seen so she says to him do

[14:14]you know why god gave you dominion and control over the wind

[14:18]he said why he said because god is trying to tell you

[14:20]that everything that you have is nothing but the wind it's the

[14:25]wind that carries you around it's the wind that delivers my voice

[14:29]and sound waves to you it is the wind that gives you

[14:32]power over other people at the end of it all it's just

[14:36]wind it's just air and so it's really nothing in the eyes

[14:39]of allah and you yourself should never think that you have something

[14:45]when you really don't the quran says he smiled and he laughed

[14:51]from the words of this ant when he heard this advice and

[14:56]these incredible words of wisdom from her the point here is this

[15:00]brothers and sisters that no one and nothing in this entire universe

[15:04]can take anything from you nor can they give you anything that

[15:09]you don't have except by the power of allah wa it's in

[15:12]his hands no sickness can be cured no health can deteriorate no

[15:21]wealth can decrease no riches can increase except by the power of

[15:26]allah subhanahu

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