Surah Ya-Sin 36:72
سُورَةُ يسٓ · Meccan · Verse 72 of 83
وَذَلَّلْنَٰهَا لَهُمْ فَمِنْهَا رَكُوبُهُمْ وَمِنْهَا يَأْكُلُونَ
Translation
and made them obedient, so that some can be used for riding, some for food,
English translation: M.A.S. Abdel Haleem.
Meaning and reflection
'And We subdued them for them, some they ride, and some they eat.' Ibn Ashur and al-Saadi note the marvel of the subduing: powerful animals, many times a person's strength, made gentle and useful to weak human hands, a docility that is designed, not earned. The ox does not calculate that it could refuse. Ask yourself: I move through a world quietly bent to serve me, creatures, forces, systems far stronger than I am, made compliant. I read it as the natural order and my due. This verse reads it as an active subduing, a mercy arranged on my behalf. When did I last notice how much stronger-than-me power has been gentled for my sake, and thank the One who gentled it?
Grounded in classical tafsir: Ibn Ashur, al-Saadi, al-Biqa'i.
Topics that discuss this verse
Surah Ya-Sin 36:72 is discussed in 7 study guides on Maani. Each guide gathers the key verses, Arabic words and lessons of one Quranic topic.
Reflect on this verse
Open Surah Ya-Sin 36:72 in Maani to reflect on it through the Five Lenses: its wording, its context, what it means for you, its connections across the Quran and its lessons, grounded in classical tafsir.