Tafsir of Az-Zukhruf 43:12

"And He who created the pairs all of them" — meaning the categories of created beings. The term al-zawj (pair) here refers to the category, not its well-known meaning. According to Ibn Abbas, al-azwaj means types and varieties, such as sweet and sour, white and black, and male and female. It is said: Everything other than Allah—glory be to Him—is a zawj (pair/counterpart), because it is never devoid of an opposite, such as above and below, right and left, past and future, and so on. The One who is unique (the individual), exalted above having a counterpart, is Allah—Mighty and Majestic is He. This was challenged by the observation that the claim of its universality across all existent things is not free from scrutiny. Perhaps those who said, "Everything other than Allah—glory be to Him—is a zawj," did not base the matter on what was mentioned, but rather on the premise that the Necessary Existent—glorified be His Majesty—is One from all perspectives, with no composition in Him—glory be to Him—in any way, neither intellectually nor externally, whereas nothing of the possible existents—whether material or abstract—is like that.

"And He made for you of ships and cattle what you ride."

Meaning: "what you ride of them." Ma is relative (mawsulah), and the pronoun (referring back to it) is omitted. Regarding ships (al-fulk), the verb "to ride" (rukub) requires a preposition, which is fi (in), as the Exalted One said: "And when they ride in the ships." This is unlike its use with cattle (al-an'am), for it takes its object directly, as He—glorified be He—said: "that you may ride them." However, the usage of the transitive form without a preposition prevailed due to its strength, such that it extended to the form requiring a preposition. Thus, the figurative shift (tajawwuz) necessitated by this prevalence pertains to the object, or perhaps the animal ridden was given precedence over the ship because it is a direct creation of the All-Powerful Creator, or the common was given precedence over the rare. Therefore, the figurative shift lies in ma (what) and its pronoun to which the act of riding directly extends, rather than in the relationship to the object, and due to giving preference to the ridden animal over the ship.