Tafseer of Ornaments of gold · Az-Zukhruf · 43:12
And who created the species, all of them, and has made for you of ships and animals those which you mount.
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.
And His statement: And Who created all the pairs — the Exalted, whose mention is exalted, says: and Who created all things and made them in pairs; that is to say: He created the male beings opposite the female as pairs, and the female beings opposite the male as pairs. And for you of the ships — these are the vessels — and the cattle — these are the animals — that which you ride — He says: He has made for you of the ships that which you ride upon over the seas, to wherever you wish to go and head for in your journeys with them for your livelihood and your needs; and of the cattle that which you ride upon over the land to the regions you wish to reach, such as the camels, the horses, the mules and the donkeys.
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The footnotes:
(1) The verse is by al-Aʿshā Maymūn ibn Qays, from a poem in which he reviles ʿAlqama ibn ʿUlātha and praises ʿĀmir ibn al-Ṭufayl, in the rivalry-dispute that took place between the two of them (his dīwān, p. 139). And ʿAlqama ibn ʿUlātha was a Companion (ṣaḥābī); he came to the Prophet ﷺ when he was an old man, and he embraced Islam and gave the pledge of allegiance. And the verse is among the evidentiary verses of Abū ʿUbayda in Majāz al-Qurʾān (folio 220-1) regarding the statement of the Exalted in sūrat al-Zukhruf: with which We brought a dead land to life — he said: We brought to life. And "the earth was raised to life (nasharat)": it came to life. Al-Aʿshā said: "Until they say..." the verse. And in (al-Lisān: n-sh-r): "and Allah raises the dead (yanshuruhu), raising (nashran) and resurrection (nushūran); and He revives him (anshara-hu), He made him alive so that he revived (fa-nashara)". Al-Aʿshā said: "Until the people say... the verse". End.
(2) In the base manuscript it reads: "an". And this is probably a scribal error of the copyist.
