Transliteration:( Litastawoo 'alaa zuhoorihee summa tazkuroo ni'mata Rabbikum izastawaitum 'alaihi wa taqooloo Subhaanal lazee sakhkhara lana haaza wa maa kunnaa lahoo muqrineen )
18. During the journey at sea ships are not under our control and you sit on the back of the conveyance, eg on the back of the camel
19. Remember the bounties of Allah Almighty sincerely. This tells us that for every favour granted, we should remember Allah Almighty This is one form of expressing gratitude.
20. From which we are deriving benefits. If He had not made this possible how would we make use of them to have our work done? Observe, the buck, the white antelope, lion, cheetah, in fact even the ant, fly, mosquito, etc. are not under our control nor are we able to make them of service to us.
21. Allah Almighty has not joined strength and courage together in the animals. Animals and reptiles do have strength but they lack courage. Because of this, we are safe from them. On the other hand, the fly and mosquito are daring, but they lack strength. Therefore they are not able to cause harm to us The cattle and camels have the strength to serve but they lack the courage to oppose us. Thus, they are utilized for our service. Such is the amazing arrangement in nature.
The tafsir of Surah Zukhruf verse 13 by Ibn Kathir is unavailable here.
Please refer to Surah Zukhruf ayat 9 which provides the complete commentary from verse 9 through 14.
13. That is, only man from among all the creatures of the earth has been given this power by Allah to use boats and ships and animals as conveyance. Should he never think and be grateful as to who it is who created possibilities for him to run boats in the mighty oceans, and who created some animals, among the countless kinds of animals, with a nature that they become his servants in spite of being far stronger than him in power, so he ride on them and drive them wherever he likes. To benefit by these blessings and to forget the Benefactor is a sign of the heart’s becoming dead and the conscience’s being insensitive. For, when a man endowed with a living heart and a sensitive conscience will sit on these conveyances, he will be filled with the feelings of the blessings and with the gratitude for it, and will cry out: Glorified is the Being Who subjected these things to me. Glorified is He from that another should be His associate in His Being and attributes and powers. Glorified is He and free from the weakness that He should become helpless of performing the functions of His Godhead by Himself and should stand in need of other associate gods. Glorified is He that I should make another an associate with Him in rendering thanks for these blessings.
The best practical commentary of the intention and meaning of this verse are the words that the Prophet (peace be upon him) used to pronounce at the time he sat on the conveyance. Abdullah bin Umar says that whenever the Prophet (peace be upon him) sat on a conveyance for a journey, he would pronounce Allahu-Akbar three times, then would recite this verse, and then pray: O God, I implore You to grant me in this journey the grace of goodness and piety and such acts as may please You. O God, make the journey easy and roll up the long distance for us. O God, You alone are the Companion during the journey and Guardian of the family in our absence. O God, take care of us during the journey and our household in our absence. (Musnad Ahmed, Muslim, Abu Daud, Nasai, Darimi, Tirmidhi).
Ali says: Once the Prophet (peace be upon him) put his foot in the stirrup with Bismillah, and then, after riding, said: Alhamdu-lillah subhan-alladhi sakhkhara lana hadha…., then pronounced Alhamdu-lillah three times, and Allahu- Akbar three times; then said: Subhana-ka la-ilaha illa anta, qad zalamtu nafsi faghfir-li. Then he laughed. I asked: What made you laugh. O Messenger of Allah? He replied: When a servant says: Rabb-ighfir-li, Allah Almighty is very pleased with this. He says: My servant knows that there is none beside Me who can forgive sins. (Ahmed, Abu Daud, Tirmidhi, Nasai, and others)
Abu Mijlaz says: Once I rode on my animal and recited this verse: Subhan-alladhi sakhkhara lane hadha…, Hasan said: Have you been commanded to say so? I said: What should I say then? He replied: Say, thank God, Who guided us to Islam: Thanks to Him, Who did us a favor by sending Muhammad (peace be upon him): Thanks to Him Who admitted us into the best community that has been raised for the people; then recite this verse. (Ibn Jarir, Ahkam al- Quran by Jassas).
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