Tafsir of Ghafir 40:79

"The An'am (cattle)": Specifically camels.

If you ask: Why did He say, "that you may ride upon them" and "that you may reach upon them [your needs]," but did not say, "that you may eat of them" or "that you may attain benefits from them"? Or why did He not say, "Of them you ride, and of them you eat, and upon them you reach a need in your breasts"?

I reply: Riding refers to riding for Hajj and military expeditions. Reaching a need refers to migration from one land to another to establish the religion or seek knowledge. These are religious objectives—either obligatory or recommended—which are matters related to the Will of the Wise (Allah). As for eating and attaining general benefits, these are of the category of the permissible (mubah), which are not directly related to His [specific] Will.

The meaning of His saying: "And upon them and upon the ships you are carried" (Ghafir: 80). You are not carried upon the cattle alone, but upon them and upon the ships, in both land and sea.

If you ask: Why was it not said, "And in the ships" (wa-fi al-fulk), just as He said, "We said, 'Load therein [in the ship] of each [creature] two mates'" (Hud: 40)?

I reply: The meaning of containment (i'a') and the meaning of being carried upon (isti'la') are both valid. The ship is a container for those within it, and it is a load that one rides upon. Since both meanings are correct, both expressions are correct. Furthermore, it is to correspond with and pair with His saying, "And upon them" (wa-'alayha).

"And He shows you His signs": The use of fa-ayya (which) comes according to the most widespread linguistic usage. Your saying fa-ayyat (feminine) for the signs of Allah is rare, because distinguishing between masculine and feminine in nouns—unlike adjectives—such as himar (donkey) and himarah (female donkey), is strange. In the case of ay (which), it is even stranger due to its inherent ambiguity.

"Have they not traveled through the land and observed how was the end of those before them? They were greater than them in number and stronger in power and in traces [left] in the land, but what they earned did not avail them at all. And when their messengers came to them with clear proofs, they rejoiced in what they had of knowledge, but they were enveloped by what they used to ridicule."