Tafseer of Yaseen · Yaseen · 36:35
That they may eat of His fruit. And their hands have not produced it, so will they not be grateful?
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.
The statement concerning the explanation of His saying, the Exalted: Li-yaʾkulū min thamarihi wa-mā ʿamilathu aydīhim afalā yashkurūn "That they may eat of its fruits, and of what their hands have made. Will they then not be grateful?" (36:35).
The Exalted, whose mention is exalted, says: We brought forth these gardens in this earth that My servants may eat of their fruits, and of what their hands have made — He says: that they may eat of the fruits of the gardens which We brought forth for them, and of what their hands have made of that which they have planted and sown. And the "mā" in His saying ( wa-mā ʿamilathu aydīhim ) "and of what their hands have made" is in the genitive position (khafḍ), as an apposition to "the fruits," with the meaning: "and of that which their hands have made." And it reads, in the reading of ʿAbdallāh, according to what has been transmitted: ( wa-mimmā ʿamilathu ) "and of what they have made," with the hāʾ, according to this meaning. Thus the hāʾ in our reading is implicit (muḍmara), for the Arabs sometimes leave it implicit and sometimes make it manifest in the relative clauses of: man, mā, and alladhī. And if one were to say that "mā" has the meaning of the verbal noun (maṣdar), that would be a permissible view, so that the meaning of the statement would become: "and of the work of their hands." And if one were to say that it has the meaning of negation (jaḥd) and occupies no position, that too would be a permissible view, so that the meaning of the statement would become: "that they may eat of its fruits, while their hands have not made it." And His saying ( afalā yashkurūn ) "Will they then not be grateful?" — He says: will these people, upon whom We have bestowed this provision out of this dead earth which We brought to life for them, not be grateful to Him who bestowed that upon them and favored them with it?
