ﲪ ﲫ ﲬ ﲭ ﲮ ﲯ ﲰ ﲱ ﲲ ﲳ ﲴ ﲵ ﲶ ﲷ ﲸ ﲹ ﲺ ﲻ ﲼ ﲽ ﲾ ﲿ
And it is He who subjected the sea for you to eat from it tender meat and to extract from it ornaments which you wear. And you see the ships plowing through it, and [He subjected it] that you may seek of His bounty; and perhaps you will be grateful.
Tafsir
Verse range: 16:14
{Fresh meat} It is fish. He described it as "fresh" because decay hastens to it, so one hastens to eat it for fear of it spoiling.
If you ask: Why do the jurists say that if a man swears not to eat "meat," and then eats fish, he has not broken his oath, even though God Almighty named it "meat" as you see?
I say: Oaths are based on custom. It is the custom of people that when "meat" is mentioned absolutely, fish is not understood from it. If a man said to his servant, "Buy meat with these dirhams," and he brought fish, he would be deserving of rebuke. An example of this is that God Almighty called the disbeliever a "beast" (dābbah) in His saying: “Indeed, the worst of beasts in the sight of God are those who have disbelieved.” If someone swore not to ride a "beast" and then rode a disbeliever, he would not have broken his oath.
{Ornaments} These are pearls and coral.
{To wear them} The intent is the wearing by their women, because they are part of them, and because they only adorn themselves with them for their sake; thus, it is as if it were their [the men's] adornment and clothing.
{Cleaving} (al-makhr) The splitting of the water with its prow (ḥayzūm). According to al-Farrāʾ, it is the sound of the ship moving through the winds.
{And that you may seek of His bounty} Trade.
{And He has cast into the earth firm mountains, lest it sway with you, and rivers and roads, that you may find your way. And landmarks; and by the stars they find their way.}
