Ghafir (The Forgiver)

79. Allah it is He Who has made quadrupeds for you that you may ride on some of them and of some you eat.

80. And you have benefits from them and that you may reach by their means a desire that is in your breasts and on them and on ships you are carried.

81. And He shows you His Ayat [i.e., Signs and Verses, at all times]. Which then of the Ayat of Allah do you deny?

Taking heed of Divine Bounties is the best means of development and reinforcement of knowledge and gratitude. In this vein, attending to those Bounties which may be perceived and used by all people at any time and any place is the best way.

Thus, these Verses refer to the Signs of Divine Omnipotence and His All-Embracing Bounties and reveal some of them so that people may be further acquainted with His Glory and thereby arouse the sense of gratitude as a means of knowing God Almighty in them.

The blessed Verse reads:

“Allah it is He Who has made quadrupeds for you that you may ride on some of them and of some you eat.”

Some cattle, e.g. sheep, are used for their meet and some larger ones are used as mounts as well, e.g. camel which is the ship of parched deserts and is also used for its meat.

The Arabic word an’am (plural form of na’am) was originally employed in the sense of camel but its semantic range further developed to include camel, cow, and sheep. The word is a cognate of ni’ma (“delight”), since cattle are among the delights of man.

Even today, despite the availability of vehicles used on the land and in the air, at times men have solely to make use of cattle for crossing sandy deserts and narrow mountainous passageways.

The creation of diverse quadrupeds, particularly owing to their domesticability, is at times stronger than the most powerful men serve as Great Signs of God Almighty. There are small beasts of prey which are dangerous for men, but at times, a child may lead a file of enormous camels and

“he may take them where ever he wishes!”

Besides, man makes many other uses of them as reflected in Verse 80:

“And you have benefits from them.”

Man makes use of them for their milk, fleece, hair, hide, and even their feces as fertilizer. In short, there is nothing useless in cattle; even some drugs are made from them.

The blessed Verse proceeds to add that there was another reason for their creation:

“that you may reach by their means a desire that is in your breasts.”

A number of Qur’anic exegets maintain that the Verse makes a reference to the transportation of consignments with quadrupeds as reflected in the preceding clauses, but

“a desire that is in your breasts”

may also indicate personal uses, such as making use of them for the purposes of recreation, emigration, travel, races, gaining prestige, and the like.

Since they are all used for traveling on the land, the Verse closes thus:

“on them and on ships you are carried.”

The employment of the phrase

“on them” (‘alayha)

whose antecedent is

“quadrupeds”

precedes

“ships” (fulk) indicates that God Almighty provided men with means of transportation in deserts and seas so that they may reach their destinations conveniently. God Almighty created a quality in ships that despite their heaviness, they stay afloat. He set order in the flow of winds such that they may be used for sailing and “visiting friends.”

Verse 81 lays further emphasis on Divine Bounties and asks mankind to bear testimony to them:

“And He shows you His Ayat [i.e., Signs and Verses, at all times]. Which then of the Ayat of Allah do you deny?”

Neither His physical nor His non-physical Signs, e.g. man’s creation out of clay, developments of embryo and fetus, the stages of development following birth, and His Signs concerning life and death, are undeniable. Divine Signs and Manifestations are visible everywhere, but despite such undeniable evidence, some men deny them.

The eminent Qur’anic exeget, Tabarsi, maintains that such denial may spring from the following:

1. Following concupiscent desires leads man to make attempts at concealing the Truth with unfounded doubts and act upon his vain desires since acknowledgement of the Truth restricts him through obligations. However, despite evident arguments, they fail to acknowledge such obligations and deny the Truth.

2. Blind imitation of others, particularly their ancestors, thus making attempts at concealing the Truth.

3. False biases and beliefs of their predecessors which have penetrated their minds and impede impartial investigation of Divine Signs; as a consequence of which they fail to perceive them.