«وَرَأَى قَرْيَةَ نَمْلٍ قَدْ حَرَّقْنَاهَا، فَقَالَ: مَنْ حَرَّقَ هَذِهِ؟ فَقُلْنَا: نَحْنُ. قَالَ: إِنَّهُ لَا يَنْبَغِي أَنْ يُعَذِّبَ بِالنَّارِ إِلَّا رَبُّ النَّارِ». (Reported by Abu Dawud)
Translation: The Prophet ﷺ saw a colony of ants that they had burned. He asked who had burned it. They said that they had. He replied that inflicting torment with fire belongs to the Lord of the Fire alone.
قَرْيَةَ نَمْلٍ refers to an ant colony. In حَرَّقْنَاهَا, نَا refers to the people who did it and هَا to the colony.
The warning condemns unnecessary cruelty toward living creatures, particularly torment by fire. It should not be stretched into a general prohibition on cooking, using heat or every legitimate protective measure.