Surah Yaseen 36:71 — Meaning, Translation & Reflection
سُورَةُ يسٓ · Meccan · Verse 71 of 83
أَوَلَمْ يَرَوْا۟ أَنَّا خَلَقْنَا لَهُم مِّمَّا عَمِلَتْ أَيْدِينَآ أَنْعَٰمًۭا فَهُمْ لَهَا مَٰلِكُونَ
English: Can they not see how, among the things made by Our hands, We have created livestock they control,
Bengali: তারা কি দেখে না, তাদের জন্যে আমি আমার নিজ হাতের তৈরী বস্তুর দ্বারা চতুস্পদ জন্তু সৃষ্টি করেছি, অতঃপর তারাই এগুলোর মালিক।
Meaning & Reflection
'Have they not seen that We created for them, from what Our hands made, livestock that they own?' al-Saadi and Ibn Ashur note the phrasing 'what Our hands made' and 'they own': the animals that sustain human life were fashioned and *handed over* into our ownership — a granted dominion, not a conquest we achieved. Ask yourself: I hold the things I 'own' with a tight sense of entitlement — I earned them, they're mine. This verse traces even the most basic ownership back to a gift placed in my hands. If what I possess was fashioned by Another and entrusted to me, then I am less an owner than a caretaker. Does that soften my grip on my possessions — and my sense of who they ultimately answer to?
Grounded in classical tafsir: al-Saadi, Ibn Ashur, al-Biqa'i.
Reflect with the Five Lenses
Maani's framework for Tadabbur (heart-centred reflection) on Surah Yaseen 36:71:
- Wording. Look closely at the specific words and structure. Which word stands out, and why might Allah have chosen it here?
- Quranic Worlds. Place the verse in its context — what is happening around it, and what world does it open up?
- Personal Experience. Ask not just what this means, but what it means TO me and FOR me, right now in my life.
- Connections. How does this verse connect to other verses, to the Sunnah, or to themes across the Quran?
- General Lessons. What timeless lesson or action point can I carry away and live by?