Tafsir for verse: 88:17
أَفَلَا يَنظُرُونَ إِلَى ٱلۡإِبِلِ كَيۡفَ خُلِقَتۡ ١٧ ﴿17
17So, do they not look at the camels how they are created,
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Commentary

And when He, glorified and exalted is He, completed what He intended from the depiction of that abode in accordance with these short surahs, and they were denying to the utmost degree, He reprimanded them with what would protect them from deviation from the true beliefs in an interrogative denial, reminding them of their affairs in utmost clarity in themselves. This is because the revelation of these surahs occurred at the very beginning before they had trained themselves on the knowledge that indicates His ability to resurrect and His ability regarding what He mentioned, which are these matters that He has placed in the gardens for the pleasure of mankind. This is due to what is in these matters that He, glorified and exalted is He, mentioned of the wonders of creation, with the variation in making some of them with choice in lowering and raising, while some are in one manner with no ability for them to detach from it, whether in elevation or descent, with ease or difficulty. So He said, causing to follow what has passed of the news about the conditions of the two groups in the Hereafter and about His ability regarding what He mentioned: 'Do they not reflect?' That is, the deniers from this nation regarding His, glorified and exalted is He, ability over Paradise and what He mentioned in it [and Hell and what He mentioned in it -] as a reflection of consideration.

And when they had from the association with camels what they did not have from the association with others, and it was unique among the creations, having no likeness to it, along with the many benefits it possesses - as Al-Hasan, may Allah have mercy on him, said - along with its eating of every pasture and its grazing with the easiest thing, especially in water, and its long patience without it, along with the greatness of its creation and the size of its body and the strength of its power, it was the clearest evidence of the completeness of ability and action by choice. He mentioned it to draw attention to reflection on the verses scattered in the animals that are the noblest of mounts and the most crafted after he indicated its evidence of resurrection in the heavens by mentioning Thamud after he explicitly stated it in the Surah of glorified and exalted is He, as explained in both places and will come, if Allah wills, in the morning and the sun. He clarified the expression about it here in a way that indicates the mixture that inclines and turns appropriate to the meaning of Al-Ghashiyah, unlike the expression in Surah An-Nahl with the animals, because it is the Surah of blessings. He alerted that the wonder of its creation is something that should prompt the reasons for inquiry and questioning about it with the tool of inquiry. He said, building for the action, indicating that the indicator is the contemplation of its mere creation, which indicates the encompassing knowledge of Allah and His great kindness and ability, glorified and exalted is He, and His action by choice and the goodness of His management in creating it to carry burdens to distant lands, making it great and blessed for carrying, rising with it without any assistance, obedient to whoever leads it along the necks to bear heavy burdens, grazing every plant and enduring thirst for ten and more, so that it can traverse the vastness. It is the ships of the land with what it has of other benefits. Al-Baydawi said: And for this reason, it was singled out for mention to clarify the verses scattered in the animals that are the noblest of mounts and the most crafted, because it is the most astonishing thing among the Arabs - it has ended. And it can be affected by the expansion and finds in its movement that it is greatly affected by beautiful sounds. And among its wonders is that it does not lie at all, for it does not kneel due to inability to carry, except when there is nothing of strength in it, and there is nothing in it that is generally disliked except for its excessive desire. Perhaps He, glorified and exalted is He, negated from Paradise the idle talk for that reason, and perhaps it is like the flowing eye and its closeness to its flow, and the raised couches which He narrated that they lower until the one benefiting from them can appear, then they rise with him to the heavens in their height with what they are accustomed to from the kneeling of camels for carrying and riding, then their rising for the completeness of benefit, and the proximity of the setting of cups with their humps and the cushions with their remains while they are kneeling. Then he separated what the camels indicated of the cups with the mountains that cannot be climbed like the mountain of Al-Sadd, and the cushions with that which can be climbed, and he spread the carpets with the smoothness of the earth. Abu Hayyan, may Allah have mercy on him, said: And 'how' is a question about a state, and the action in it is 'was created.' If the action is suspended from what is in the inquiry, the inquiry does not remain on its reality.

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