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An-Nahl 16:5

Three functions, three benefits: (1) "fīhā difʾ" (in them is warmth) — wool, hide; (2) "manāfiʿ" (benefits) — transport, milk, labor; (3) "minhā taʾkulūn" (you eat from them).

وَٱلْأَنْعَـٰمَ خَلَقَهَا ۗ لَكُمْ فِيهَا دِفْءٌ وَمَنَـٰفِعُ وَمِنْهَا تَأْكُلُونَ

And the livestock—He created them for you. In them are warmth and benefits for you, and of them you eat

An-Nahl 16:5 · Translation: talal-itani

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The basic economic structure of the human-animal relation: heat (clothing) + work (transport + production) + food (eating). The verse situates this threefold use as **created for a purpose** — purposeful use, but not abuse.

Observation

Sheep, goats, and cattle were domesticated approximately 10,000–11,000 years ago in the Fertile Crescent region, and the camel much later on the Arabian Peninsula; these processes have been documented by zooarchaeology and genetic studies. Wool and hide, milk and muscular strength correspond to independent physiological systems; this versatility is one of the key factors explaining the widespread prevalence of these species.

Exegesis

Al-Qurṭubī (al-Jāmiʿ li-Aḥkām al-Qurʾān) holds that the order of the three benefits is "the basic ordering of daily life" — first warmth, then work, then food. Al-Rāzī (Mafātīḥ al-Ghayb) notes that "minhā taʾkulūn" (you eat) carries the meaning of bounded use, that this is **use** and not **abuse**.

Sources

Tafsīr: al-Qurṭubī · al-Jāmiʿ li-Aḥkām al-Qurʾān; al-Rāzī · Mafātīḥ al-Ghayb.

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