It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: A prophet camped under a tree and an ant bit him, so he ordered that his belongings be moved from under that tree, then he ordered that the ants be burned. Thereupon Allah Almighty revealed to that prophet: Why did you not burn only the one ant?

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas’ud (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) stopped at a place and went somewhere to relieve himself. When he (peace and blessings be upon him) returned, he saw that a man was burning an anthill on the ground or in a tree. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Who among you has done this? A man said: O Messenger of Allah! I did this. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Extinguish it, extinguish it.

(Second chain) They say: We were with the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), we passed by ant hills and saw that they had been burned. The Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: It is not befitting for any human to punish anyone with a punishment like that of Allah the Exalted.