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wa-lakum fīhā jamālun ḥīna turīḥūna wa-ḥīna tasraḥūna
There is in them a beauty for you when you bring them home for rest and when you drive them forth to pasture.
— Ali Quli Qarai
16An-NaḥlالنحلVerse 6 of 128
The Bee16. An-Naḥlالنحل
Al Naḥl
The Bee
MeccanVerse 6 of 128
Surah An-Nahl – Verse 6
6. “And there is beauty in them for you when you drive them (home in the evening), and when you send them forth to pasture (in the morning).”
The Qur’anic term /tasrahūn/ is derived from /saraha/ which signifies sending livestock to the pastureland; and the Arabic term /turihūn/, which is derived from /rauh/, means the time when the cattle return to their stable. Allah, the Gracious, does not confine Himself to the mentioning of the ordinary advantages provided by the useful animals, but He also insists on the psychological benefits which can be drown out of them. The verse says:
“And there is beauty in them for you when you drive them (home in the evening), and when you send them forth to pasture (in the morning).”
This, in fact, provides the beauty of the self-sufficiency for the society, as this is a way of the provision for the needs by a society which are to be fulfilled. In other words this provides a picture for the beauty laid out in the process for achieving economic independence as well as the stoppage of all source of dependence.
Explanations
The four-footed animals are (just like other creatures,) created for the sake of man. Vegetarianism is not a value in itself. Allah recounts the eating of the meat of lawful animals as one of their advantages:
“…of them you eat.”
Certainly, indulgence in consumption of meat is not recommended. The perfection of the glory of a society resides in its independence, self-sufficiency, production and expanding of its livestock breeding industry. ‘Beauty and decoration’ is one of the natural needs of the individual and society. The perfection in beauty of a society rests with the struggle, and not with stagnation and impasse; the struggle which is achieved through mass movement, and not through individualistic achievements.
Beauty in perfection requires being of service to the people; it is not attained through only filling up of one’s own stomach. That kind of beauty makes perfect in case of being under the umbrella of a shepherd which is coupled with one’s own wisdom, and not being left alone and to oneself.