وَلَهُم فيها مَنافِعُ وَمَشارِبُ ۖ أَفَلا يَشكُرونَ

There are other benefits for them therein, and drinks. Will they not then give thanks?

EXEGESIS

Yashkurūn (give thanks) is from the root shukr, which signifies someone who thanks, praises, eulogises a benefit or benefits, thus acknowledging beneficence and speaking broadly of it. When being thankful to God, one should act in a manner incumbent on him in rendering Him obedience and abstaining from disobedience in return for His favours. Linguistically, praising (ḥamd) is considered to be broader than being thankful, for every shukr is ḥamd, but the reverse is not the case because ḥamd is praising God’s beauty, knowledge, power, and other qualities, while shukr is praise for receiving blessings. Being thankful to God can also manifest in seeking His forgiveness, being content with Him, and being satisfied and pleased with His will.^{‎[1]Lane, p. 1585.}

Mashārib (drinks) is the plural of mashrab, which initially means source of drink. It is a noun of place and time signifying a place or a time of drinking.^{‎[2]Lane, p. 1526.} This verse indicates that the cattle are the source of various types of drink. Derivatives of the word mashrab have been used in the Quran thrice, including this verse, twice to indicate the source of water that Prophet Moses (a) arranged miraculously for his people, as in verses 2:60 and 7:160.^{‎[3]Sh r b in the online Quranic Arabic Corpus, < https://corpus.quran.com/qurandictionary.jsp?q=%24rb >.}

EXPOSITION

Besides the transportation and food source mentioned in the previous verse, humans consume the milk of cattle as a nourishing drink. The way milk is made is one of the great wonders of life. There is indeed a moral for you in the cattle: We give you to drink of that which is in their bellies from between [intestinal] waste and blood, as pure milk, pleasant to those who drink (16:66).

Other benefits of cattle for humans are their wool, hair, skin, and so on. They are an indispensable source for human life used for various kinds of clothing, shoes, carpets, water bags, tents, serums, and vaccines to protect from diseases, and other beneficial things. Even the cattle dung, which seems worthless, is used as fertiliser that makes plants and trees grow.^{‎[4]Amthal, 14/239.} Just imagine how life would have been without the cattle; that is probably why, among many different blessings surrounding us, some of which were mentioned in verses 33-44, the Quran here singles out the blessing of cattle because they are permanently present in our daily life.

Will they not then give thanks? God reminds humankind that He created cattle to support them and manage their affairs in this world, but would they be thankful to Him and acknowledge Him as their Lord?^{‎[5]Mizan, 17/110.} What is expected from man in return for all His bounties is merely to be grateful. Gratefulness has two pillars. The first is acknowledging the blessing and its bestower in a way that creates some reverence in the heart, and the second is using the blessing in a way that would not displease its bestower. Disobedience of God using the blessings He has bestowed on us is open ungratefulness. A higher form of gratefulness is worship, which should be offered to God alone and not to any other bestower because whatever others give, in essence, belongs to God and is His blessing.

INSIGHTS FROM HADITH

1. Imam al-Ṣādiq (a) said to Mufaḍḍal ibn ʿUmar: ‘Then He made its back levelled flat on four legs so that it can be mounted.’^{‎[6]Tawhid, p. 58.}
2. The companions asked the Messenger of God whether they should take medicine. He replied: ‘Yes, have medicine, for there is no disease that God, the blessed and the exalted, has caused except that He has descended its medicine as well. You should have cow’s milk, for it is produced from every plant [the cow consumes].’^{‎[7]Mustadrak.W, 16/374.}
3. The Messenger of God said: ‘You should use milk for it wipes away heat from the heart as a finger wipes away sweat from the forehead, it tightens the back, increases the intellect, purifies the mind, clears the sight, and removes amnesia.’^{‎[8]Mustadrak.W, 16/374.}
4. Imam al-Ṣādiq (a) said to someone with weakness in the body: ‘You should have milk, for sure. It grows the flesh and strengthens the bones.’^{‎[9]Wasail, 25/110.}
5. Imam al-Ṣādiq (a) said: ‘Milk is the food of the messengers (a).’^{‎[10]Wasail, 25/109.}

REVIEW OF TAFSĪR LITERATURE

There are two probabilities for drinks (mashārib) in this verse; the first is milk, and the second is the skin water containers, which are means of drinking made from the skin of cattle. Rāzī mentions that the meaning depends on the predication; if the sentence in the verse is predicated on female cattle, then it refers to milk, and if it is predicated on cattle in general, regardless of its gender, then it refers to the containers made from the skin of cattle as means of drinking.

The whole aim is to remind humans to be thankful so that He will increase their bounties, And when your Lord proclaimed: ‘If you are grateful, I will surely enhance you [in blessing], but if you are ungrateful, My punishment is indeed severe’ (14:7).^{‎[11]Razi, 26/106.}

INSIGHTS FROM OTHER TRADITIONS

1. Be sure you know the condition of your flocks, give careful attention to your herds; for riches do not endure forever, and a crown is not secure for all generations. When the hay is removed, new growth appears, and the grass from the hills is gathered in. The lambs will provide you with clothing and the goats with the price of a field. You will have plenty of goats milk to feed your family and to nourish your female servants.^{‎[12]Proverbs 27:23-27.}

[1] Lane, p. 1585.
[2] Lane, p. 1526.
[3] Sh r b in the online Quranic Arabic Corpus, < https://corpus.quran.com/qurandictionary.jsp?q=%24rb >.
[4] Amthal, 14/239.
[5] Mizan, 17/110.
[6] Tawhid, p. 58.
[7] Mustadrak.W, 16/374.
[8] Mustadrak.W, 16/374.
[9] Wasail, 25/110.
[10] Wasail, 25/109.
[11] Razi, 26/106.
[12] Proverbs 27:23-27.