ﱛ ﱜ ﱝ ﱞ ﱟ ﱠ ﱡ ﱢ ﱣ ﱤ ﱥ ﱦ ﱧ ﱨ ﱩ ﱪ ﱫ ﱬ ﱭ ﱮ
That you may settle yourselves upon their backs and then remember the favor of your Lord when you have settled upon them and say. "Exalted is He who has subjected this to us, and we could not have [otherwise] subdued it.
Tafsir
Verse range: 43:12-14
{الْأَزْوَاجَ}: The species/types.
{مَا تَرْكَبُونَ}: Meaning, what you ride.
If you ask: It is said, "They rode the livestock" (rakibū al-an‘ām) and "They rode in the ship" (rakibū fī al-fulk). Since both categories are mentioned, why does it say "what you ride" (mā tarkabūnahu)?
I reply: The transitive verb that takes a direct object (without a preposition) is given precedence over the one that requires a preposition due to its strength. Thus, it is said: tarkabūnahu (you ride it).
{عَلَىٰ ظُهُورِهِ}: Upon the backs of what you ride, which are the ships and the livestock.
The meaning of mentioning this blessing from God upon them is that they should remember it in their hearts, acknowledging it and regarding it as immense, then praise Him for it with their tongues. This is what is narrated from the Prophet (ﷺ):
When he placed his foot in the stirrup, he would say: "In the name of God" (Bismillāh). When he was firmly seated on the animal, he would say: "Praise be to God in every state. Glory be to Him who has subjected this to us... to His saying: 'And indeed we are to our Lord returning.'" He would then say Allāhu Akbar three times and Lā ilāha illā Allāh three times.
It is said that when he boarded a ship, he would say: {In the name of God is its course and its anchorage. Indeed, my Lord is Forgiving, Merciful} (Hud: 41).
It is narrated from al-Hasan ibn ‘Alī (may God be pleased with them both) that he saw a man riding an animal and saying: "Glory be to Him who has subjected this to us." He asked him, "Is this what you were commanded to do?" The man replied, "And what were we commanded to do?" He said, "To remember the blessing of your Lord." The man had neglected the praise, so he alerted him to it. This is part of their excellent observance of God’s etiquette and their preservation of both its subtle and manifest aspects. May God make us among those who follow them and walk in their path. How excellent it is for the rational person to contemplate the subtleties of craftsmanship, so how much more so the subtleties of religion?
{مُّقْرِنِينَ}: Capable/able. It is said, "He aqrana the thing," meaning he was able to handle it. Ibn Harma said: I was able to bear what you laid upon me, though rarely Is the endurance of separation and abandonment, O Da‘d, possible.
The reality of aqranahu is: he found it to be his equal (qarīnah) and something he could manage, for the difficult cannot be an equal to the weak. Do you not see their saying regarding the weak: "The difficult is not matched (lā yuqranu) by him"? It is also recited as muqarrinīn, and the meaning is the same.
If you ask: How does the phrase {And indeed we are to our Lord returning} connect to this?
I reply: How many a rider of an animal has been tripped by it, or it became stubborn, or it bolted, or he fell from its back and perished? And how many riders in a ship have seen it break apart, causing them to drown? Since riding is a direct engagement with a risky matter and a connection to a cause of destruction, it is the duty of the rider—having connected himself to a cause of destruction—not to forget his final day, and that he is inevitably perishing and returning to God, unable to escape His decree. He should not cease to remember this in his heart and on his tongue, so that he may be prepared to meet God by reforming himself, and wary that his riding might be a cause of his death in the knowledge of God while he is heedless of it.
He should seek refuge in God from the state of those who say to their companions: "Come, let us go for an outing on horses or in some boats." They ride, carrying with them vessels of wine and musical instruments, drinking until their heads sway while they are on the backs of animals or in the hulls of ships as they move, remembering nothing but Satan and obeying nothing but his commands. It has reached me that some sultans would ride while drinking from one city to another—a journey of a month—and would not regain their senses until they had settled at their destination, unaware of their journey and feeling nothing of it. How great is the distance between the actions of those riders and what God has commanded in this verse!
It is also said: At the time of riding, they should remember the riding of the funeral bier.
