Why did the ant in the Quran say: "Lest Solomon and his armies crush you" instead of "Lest they kill you"?
Source: FtawySummary from Ftawy's records · added here Sep 2, 2026
Allah knows best the secret of what came in His Book. It is possible that the ant expressed the destruction that was expected to occur by the army's horses trampling the ants unintentionally. It is most likely that the word "killing" is only used when death is intended, and an animal may be crushed without dying. The word "destruction" is more emphatic in conveying mass annihilation than the word "killing" and has a broader meaning.
Summary from Ftawy's records · added here
Reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
Read the full answer on Ftawyhttps://ftawy.com/en/questions/61208
Where this answer came from
- Source platform
- Ftawy
- Original fatwa ID
- 61208
- Added here
- . This is when the answer was added to El Fatwa, not the fatwa's date.
- Text
- Summary from Ftawy's records, reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
- Read the full ruling
- Read the full answer on Ftawy