Surah An-Nahl Ayat 5 (16:5 Quran) With Tafsir

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Surah Nahl Ayat 5 in Arabic Text

وَٱلۡأَنۡعَٰمَ خَلَقَهَاۖ لَكُمۡ فِيهَا دِفۡءٞ وَمَنَٰفِعُ وَمِنۡهَا تَأۡكُلُونَ

Wal an ‘amaa khalaqahaa; lakum feehaa dif’unw wa manaafi’u wa minhaa taakuloon

English Translation

Here you can read various translations of verse 5

Sahih International
And the grazing livestock He has created for you; in them is warmth and [numerous] benefits, and from them you eat.

Yusuf Ali
And cattle He has created for you (men): from them ye derive warmth, and numerous benefits, and of their (meat) ye eat.

Abul Ala Maududi
He created the cattle. They are a source of clothing and food and also a variety of other benefits for you.

Muhsin Khan
And the cattle, He has created them for you; in them there is warmth (warm clothing), and numerous benefits, and of them you eat.

Pickthall
And the cattle hath He created, whence ye have warm clothing and uses, and whereof ye eat;

Dr. Ghali
And the cattle-He created them for you; in them is warmth and (various) uses (i.e., profits) and of them you eat;

Abdel Haleem
And livestock––He created them too. You derive warmth and other benefits from them: you get food from them;

Muhammad Junagarhi
اسی نے چوپائے پیدا کیے جن میں تمہارے لیے گرمی کے لباس ہیں اور بھی بہت سے نفع ہیں اور بعض تمہارے کھانے کے کام آتے ہیں

Quran 16 Verse 5 Explanation

For those looking for commentary to help with the understanding of Surah Nahl ayat 5, we’ve provided two Tafseer works below. The first is the tafseer of Abul Ala Maududi, the second is of Ibn Kathir.

Ala-Maududi

(16:5) He created the cattle. They are a source of clothing and food and also a variety of other benefits for you.

There is no commentary by Abul Maududi available for this verse.

Ibn-Kathir

5. And the cattle, He has created them for you; in them there is warmth (warm clothing), and numerous benefits, and you eat from them. 6. And there is beauty in them for you, when you bring them home in the evening, and as you lead them forth to pasture (in the morning). 7. And they carry your loads to a land that you could not reach yourselves except with great trouble. Truly, your Lord is full of kindness, Most Merciful.

The Cattle are part of the Creation of Allah and a Blessing from Him

Allah reminds His servants of the blessing in His creation of An`am, this term includes camels, cows and sheep, as was explained in detail in Surat Al-An`am where the “eight pairs” are mentioned. The blessings include the benefits derived from their wool and hair, from which clothes and furnishings are made, from their milk which is drunk, and their young which are eaten. Their beauty is a kind of adornment, thus Allah says,

﴿وَلَكُمْ فِيهَا جَمَالٌ حِينَ تُرِيحُونَ﴾

(And there is beauty in them for you, when you bring them home in the evening.) which is when they are brought back from the pasture in the evening. This is a reference to how their flanks become fat, their udders fill with milk and their humps become bigger.

﴿وَحِينَ تَسْرَحُونَ﴾

(and as you lead them forth to pasture (in the morning).) meaning when you send them out to the pasture in the morning.

﴿وَتَحْمِلُ أَثْقَالَكُمْ﴾

(And they carry your loads) meaning the heavy burdens that you cannot move or carry by yourselves

﴿إِلَى بَلَدٍ لَّمْ تَكُونُواْ بَـلِغِيهِ إِلاَّ بِشِقِّ الأَنفُسِ﴾

(to a land that you could not reach except with great trouble to yourselves) meaning journeys for Hajj, `Umrah, military campaigns, and journeys for the purpose of trading, and so on. They use these animals for all kinds of purposes, for riding and for carrying loads, as Allah says:

﴿وَإِنَّ لَكُمْ فِى الاٌّنْعَـمِ لَعِبْرَةً نُّسْقِيكُمْ مِّمَّا فِى بُطُونِهَا وَلَكُمْ فيِهَا مَنَـفِعُ كَثِيرَةٌ وَمِنْهَا تَأْكُلُونَ – وَعَلَيْهَا وَعَلَى الْفُلْكِ تُحْمَلُونَ ﴾

(And verily, there is indeed a lesson for you in the An’am (cattle). We give you to drink (milk) of that which is in their bellies. And there are numerous (other) benefits in them for you. Of them you eat, and on them and on ships you are carried.) (23:21-22)

﴿اللَّهُ الَّذِى جَعَلَ لَكُمُ الاٌّنْعَـمَ لِتَرْكَـبُواْ مِنْهَا وَمِنْهَا تَأْكُلُونَ – وَلَكُمْ فِيهَا مَنَـفِعُ وَلِتَـبْلُغُواْ عَلَيْهَا حَاجَةً فِى صُدُورِكُمْ وَعَلَيْهَا وَعَلَى الْفُلْكِ تُحْمَلُونَ – وَيُرِيكُمْ ءَايَـتِهِ فَأَىَّ ءَايَـتِ اللَّهِ تُنكِرُونَ ﴾

(Allah, it is He Who has made cattle for you, so that some you may ride, and some you may eat. And you find (many other) benefits in them; you may reach by their means a desire that is in your breasts (i.e. carry your goods, loads), and on them and on ships you are carried. And He shows you His Ayat. Which, then of the Ayat of Allah do you deny) (40:79-81). Thus here Allah says, after enumerating these blessings,

﴿إِنَّ رَبَّكُمْ لَرَؤُوفٌ رَّحِيمٌ﴾

(Truly, your Lord is full of kindness, Most Merciful.) meaning, your Lord is the One Who has subjugated the An`am (cattle) to you. This is like the Ayat:

﴿أَوَلَمْ يَرَوْاْ أَنَّا خَلَقْنَا لَهُم مِمَّا عَمِلَتْ أَيْدِينَآ أَنْعـماً فَهُمْ لَهَا مَـلِكُونَ – وَذَلَّلْنَـهَا لَهُمْ فَمِنْهَا رَكُوبُهُمْ وَمِنْهَا يَأْكُلُونَ ﴾

(Do they not see, that of what Our Hands have created, We created the An’am (cattle) for them, so that they may own them, and We subdued them so that they may ride some and they may eat some.)(36:71-72).

﴿وَالَّذِى خَلَقَ الأَزْوَجَ كُلَّهَا وَجَعَلَ لَكُمْ مِّنَ الْفُلْكِ وَالاٌّنْعَـمِ مَا تَرْكَبُونَ – لِتَسْتَوُواْ عَلَى ظُهُورِهِ ثُمَّ تَذْكُرُواْ نِعْمَةَ رَبِّكُمْ إِذَا اسْتَوَيْتُمْ عَلَيْهِ وَتَقُولُواْ سُبْحَـنَ الَّذِى سَخَّرَ لَنَا هَـذَا وَمَا كُنَّا لَهُ مُقْرِنِينَ – وَإِنَّآ إِلَى رَبِّنَا لَمُنقَلِبُونَ ﴾

(And He made mounts for you out of ships and cattle. In order that you may ride on their backs, and may then remember the favor of your Lord when you mount upon them, and say: “Glory be to the One Who subjected this to us, and we could never have it (by our efforts). And verily, to Our Lord we indeed are to return!”) (43:12-14) Ibn `Abbas said,

﴿لَكُمْ فِيهَا دِفْءٌ﴾

(In them there is warmth) refers to clothing;

﴿وَمَنَـفِعُ﴾

(and numerous benefits) refers to the ways in which they derive the benefits of food and drink from them.”

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