42/38. Chapter:
Sunan an-Nasai 4359 — Why Punish More Than the One Ant?
Killings Ants
The Ant Hadith: Justice, Restraint, and Mercy to Creation
Sunan an-Nasai : 4359
Sunan an-NasaiHadith Number 4359
أَخْبَرَنَا إِسْحَاقُ بْنُ إِبْرَاهِيمَ، قَالَ أَنْبَأَنَا النَّضْرُ، - وَهُوَ ابْنُ شُمَيْلٍ - قَالَ أَنْبَأَنَا أَشْعَثُ، عَنِ الْحَسَنِ، نَزَلَ نَبِيٌّ مِنَ الأَنْبِيَاءِ تَحْتَ شَجَرَةٍ فَلَدَغَتْهُ نَمْلَةٌ فَأَمَرَ بِبَيْتِهِنَّ فَحُرِّقَ عَلَى مَا فِيهَا فَأَوْحَى اللَّهُ إِلَيْهِ فَهَلاَّ نَمْلَةً وَاحِدَةً . وَقَالَ الأَشْعَثُ عَنِ ابْنِ سِيرِينَ عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم مِثْلَهُ وَزَادَ فَإِنَّهُنَّ يُسَبِّحْنَ .
Al-Hasan Narrated from:
One of the prophets stopped beneath a tree and an ant bit him, so he gave instructions that their nest be burned with all the ants inside it. Then Allah revealed to him" 'Why did you not punish just one ant?" Al-Ash' ath said: "A similar report was narrated from Ibn Sirin, from Abu Hurairah, from the Prophet, in which were added the words: 'for they glorify Allah."
Reference : Sunan an-Nasa'i 4359In-book reference : Book 42, Hadith 97English translation : Vol. 5, Book 42, Hadith 4364
Summary of Sunan an-Nasai Hadith 4359
This narration tells of a prophet who stopped beneath a tree and was bitten by an ant. He ordered the nest to be burned with all the ants inside. Allah revealed a question to him: why did he not punish only one ant? A similar report from Abu Hurairah adds that the ants glorify Allah. The central teaching is restraint. One creature caused the injury, but many creatures were harmed in response. The hadith warns against collective punishment and needless destruction, even when a person has genuinely been hurt. For readers searching for the Islamic teaching on killing ants or mercy to creation, this report shows that anger should not lead to harming those that were not responsible for the original harm.
What we learn from this hadith
- Only one ant caused the bite.
- Burning every ant in the nest was questioned.
- A similar narration adds that ants glorify Allah.
- Personal pain does not justify harming creatures that were not responsible.
