The Ant

The Ant is the twenty-seventh surah of the Qur'an. It is notable largely for a weird bit in which King Solomon claims to "have been taught the language of birds" and forms armies of men, jinn and birds; he then comes across some ants, and "an ant exclaimed: O ants! Enter your dwellings lest Solomon and his armies crush you, unperceiving." Shortly afterwards Solomon turns to the birds in his army and asks "How is it that I see not the hoopoe, or is he among the absent? I verily will punish him with hard punishment or I verily will slay him, or he verily shall bring me a plain excuse." The hoopoe turns up on cue, however. Phew!

There's also some condemnation of homosexuality. "And Lot! when he said unto his folk: Will ye commit abomination knowingly? Must ye needs lust after men instead of women?... Then We saved him and his household save his wife; We destined her to be of those who stayed behind. And We rained a rain upon them. Dreadful is the rain of those who have been warned." (Quran 27:55)