The Ant’s Warning (27:18-19)
“Until, when they came upon the valley of the ants, an ant said: ‘O ants, enter your dwellings that you not be crushed by Sulayman and his soldiers while they perceive not.’ So [Sulayman] smiled, amused at her speech, and said: ‘My Lord, enable me to be grateful for Your favor which You have bestowed upon me and upon my parents and to do righteousness of which You approve.’”
The ant’s concern: not malice from Sulayman but inadvertent trampling — la yahtimannakum — let him not crush you without noticing. The ant assumes good faith in the army and still takes care for her community. Sulayman hears the ant’s private instruction to her colony — a mark of his miraculous gift. His response is not pride but immediate gratitude prayer: enable me to be grateful.
The Hoopoe and Bilqis (27:20-44)
The hoopoe (hudhud) arrives late from its mission and reports: there is a queen (Bilqis in later tradition, unnamed in the Quran) who rules Sheba, worshipping the sun. Sulayman sends a letter: In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful — Be not arrogant toward me, but come to me in submission.
Bilqis — consulting her advisors — decides to send a gift delegation rather than submit. Sulayman refuses the gifts. She then decides to come herself. Before she arrives, Sulayman asks who among his court can bring her throne. An ‘ifrit (spirit) claims it in a day; one who had knowledge of the scripture (‘ilm min al-kitab) brings it in a blink of an eye (27:40). This mysterious figure — unnamed — has been interpreted as the prophet Khidr, as Asaf ibn Barkhiya, and by Ismaili tradition as the wali who holds the Book’s knowledge.
See also: Al Anbiya, Seerah Musa Prophet, Tawhid Divine Unity, Quran Sciences, Tafsir Overview, Batin Zahir