Surah 39. Az-Zumar, Ayah 6

See 4:1 and the corresponding note [1].

Lit., "eight [in] pairs", i.e., the male and the female of four kinds of cattle (sheep, goats, camels and bovine cattle). For an explanation of my rendering, see note [130] on {6:143-144}, where the same kinds of domesticated cattle are spoken of in connection with certain meaningless, superstitious taboos of pre-Islamic times, whereas here they are mentioned as "bestowed upon you" by God, and therefore lawful. Beyond this, the mention of cattle in this context is meant to remind man that it is God who provides his sustenance and that, therefore, man is utterly dependent on Him.

Lit., "by creation after creation, in three darknesses": an allusion to the successive stages of embryonic development, repeatedly spoken of in the Qur'an (cf. 22:5 and {23:12-14}), and to the darkness of the womb, the membrane enveloping the embryo, and its pre-natal blindness.

Lit., "how, then, are you turned away?" - i.e., from the truth.

 i.e., Adam (ﷺ).

 i.e., Eve.

 The four pairs (males and females), as listed in 6:143-144, are: a pair of sheep, a pair of goats, a pair of camels, and a pair of oxen.

 The three layers of darkness are: the belly, the womb, and the amniotic sac.

See vi. 143-4, where four kinds of cattle are mentioned in pairs in connection with certain Arab superstitions which are there condemned. Here the, same four kinds are mentioned as representative of domesticated cattle given by Allah as useful to man. These are sheep, goats, camels, and oxen. In Arab idiom the horse is not included among "cattle". For the wisdom and goodness of Allah in granting man dominion over cattle, see xxxvi. 71-73.

Cf. iv. 1, and n. 504.

See xxii. 5, where the gradual physical growth of man in several successive stages is mentioned as one of the Signs of Allah's creative Power and cherishing care.

The three veils of darkness which cover the unborn child are: the caul or membrane, the womb, and the hollow in which the womb is enclosed.

It is clear that you owe your very existence and your maintenance, growth, and preservation, to Allah; How is it that you are turned away by chance things from Him?