As we learn to move and tread lightly through our spaces and foster a better understanding and appreciation of other people, it is important to remain mindful of cultural codes in the contexts we inhabit. Each “landscape” speaks volumes of tradition, art, religion, experiences, histories and celebrations. While ‘landscape’ of any land is made up of the same societal processes, ‘landscaping’ understood as a verb is about the way in which land is transformed by human agency, creating unique spaces upon which sites are located. For each individual, each moment can mean something different in relation to that space. New sites of meaning can emerge at any given time and social meaning too can become contorted in relation to that space.

A very insightful set of verses that enable us to consider navigating through spaces with an alert mind, a heart of understanding, faith, empathy and gratitude is found in Surah al-Naml (27) pertaining to Prophet Sulaymān (upon him be peace):

27:17 - Solomon’s hosts of jinn, men, and birds were marshalled in ordered ranks before him.

The first of the discussed verses describes a battle scene arrangement.

The verse invokes images of might, order, kingdom and strength. To begin, we realise that Prophet Sulaymān is the passive beneficiary of such a marvellous spectacle of power. The Muslim is alerted to creations of space and boundaries, to landscapes and settings. What follows is an arrival into a new space, a different space, but nonetheless worthy:

27:18 - and when they came to the Valley of the Ants, one ant said, ‘Ants! Go into your homes, in case Solomon and his hosts unwittingly crush you.’ Prophet Sulaymān and his army of humans, jinn and birds reach a valley of ants. The transitioning from a site of temporal power, large in scope, into a valley, low in landscape and inhabited by ants, miniature in size, juxtaposes well. We reflect on movements through space, from familiarity to foreignness, from space of ‘here’ into spaces of ‘there’. We are told in the verse that an ant warned the other ants that Prophet Sulaymān’s army was approaching.