Tafseer of The Bee · An-Nahl · 16:5
And the grazing livestock He has created for you; in them is warmth and [numerous] benefits, and from them you eat.
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
Allah the Exalted says: and among His proofs against you, O people, is what He created for you of livestock (al-anʿām) — He made it subservient to you and ordained for you from their wool, hair and fur clothing with which you ward off the cold, and benefits from their milk, and their backs upon which you ride. وَمِنْهَا تَأْكُلُونَن — He says: and among the livestock is that whose flesh you eat, such as camels, cattle and sheep, and all other flesh that is eaten. The word mā has been omitted from the expression because min already points to mā.
In accordance with what we have said concerning this, the exegetes of the Scripture also spoke.
Mention of who said this:
Al-Muthanná and ʿAlī ibn Dāwud related to me; al-Muthanná said: he informed us, and Ibn Dāwud said: he related to us — ʿAbdullāh ibn Ṣāliḥ related to us; he said: Muʿāwiya related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His word وَالأَنْعَامَ خَلَقَهَا لَكُمْ فِيهَا دِفْءٌ: he said: "the clothing."
Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to me; he said: my father related to me; he said: my uncle related to me; he said: my father related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His word وَالأَنْعَامَ خَلَقَهَا لَكُمْ فِيهَا دِفْءٌ وَمَنَافِعُ وَمِنْهَا تَأْكُلُونَ: he means by al-difʾ: "the clothing"; and the manāfiʿ: "the benefits which they derive from it of food and drink."
Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to us; he said: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us; he said: ʿĪsā related to us; and al-Ḥārith related to me; he said: al-Ḥasan related to us; he said: Warqāʾ related to us; and al-Muthanná related to me; he said: Isḥāq informed us; he said: ʿAbdullāh related to us, on the authority of Warqāʾ — all on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning the word of Allah the Exalted لَكُمْ فِيهَا دِفْءٌ: he said: "clothing that is woven; and from them also transport, milk and flesh."
Al-Muthanná related to me; he said: Abū Ḥudhayfah related to us; he said: Shibil related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid: لَكُمْ فِيهَا دِفْءٌ — "clothing that is woven, and benefits: transport, flesh and milk."
Al-Qāsim related to us; he said: al-Ḥusayn related to us; he said: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, on the authority of Mujāhid — to the same effect.
Al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā related to us; he said: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us; he said: Isrāʾīl informed us, on the authority of Sammāk, on the authority of ʿIkrima, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His word لَكُمْ فِيهَا دِفْءٌ وَمَنَافِعُ: he said: "the offspring of every animal."
Aḥmad related to us; he said: Abū Aḥmad related to us; he said: Isrāʾīl related to us with his chain of transmission, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās — to the same effect.
Bishr related to us; he said: Yazīd related to us; he said: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His word وَالأَنْعَامَ خَلَقَهَا لَكُمْ فِيهَا دِفْءٌ وَمَنَافِعُ: he said: "For you therein is clothing, benefit and sustenance."
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us; he said: Jarīr related to us, on the authority of Manṣūr. He said: Ibn ʿAbbās said: وَالأَنْعَامَ خَلَقَهَا لَكُمْ فِيهَا دِفْءٌ وَمَنَافِعُ وَمِنْهَا تَأْكُلُونَ: he said: "They are benefits and foodstuffs."
Yūnus related to me; he said: Ibn Wahb informed us; he said: Ibn Zayd said, concerning His word وَالأَنْعَامَ خَلَقَهَا لَكُمْ فِيهَا دِفْءٌ وَمَنَافِعُ: he said: "the warmth of the coverings (al-luḥuf) which Allah ordained from it."
Ibn Wakīʿ related to us; he said: Muḥammad ibn Bakr related to us, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj. He said: it reached me, on the authority of Mujāhid: وَالأَنْعَامَ خَلَقَهَا لَكُمْ فِيهَا دِفْءٌ وَمَنَافِعُ — he said: "their young, riding upon them, their milk and their flesh."
