Surah 16

Surah 16:8

"(He also created) horses and mules and donkeys for you to ride, and for display. And He creates what you do not know."
Tafsir Ibn Kathir Verses 16:8
Show Full Scripture Context (16:8) — 1 Verse
Verse 8

وَٱلۡخَيۡلَ وَٱلۡبِغَالَ وَٱلۡحَمِيرَ لِتَرۡكَبُوهَا وَزِينَةٗۚ وَيَخۡلُقُ مَا لَا تَعۡلَمُونَ

(He also created) horses and mules and donkeys for you to ride, and for display. And He creates what you do not know.

Quoted Scripture
"8. And (He has created) horses, mules and donkeys for you to ride, and as an adornment. And He creates (other) things of which you have no knowledge."

This refers to another category of animals that Allah has created as a blessing for His servants; horses, mules and donkeys, all of which He made for riding and adornment. This is the main purpose for which these animals were created. It was reported in the Two Sahihs that Jabir bin 'Abdullah said: "The Messenger of Allah forbade us to eat the meat of domestic donkeys, but he allowed us to eat the meat of horses."

Imam Ahmad and Abu Dawud reported with two chains of narration, each of which meet the conditions of Muslim, that Jabir said: "On the day of Khaybar we slaughtered horses, mules and donkeys. The Messenger of Allah forbade us from eating the mules and donkeys, but he did not forbid us from eating the horses."

According to Sahih Muslim, Asma' bint Abi Bakr (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: "At the time of the Messenger of Allah we slaughtered a horse and ate it when we were in Al-Madinah."

About this Source & Scholarly Authority (Tafsir Ibn Kathir)

Universal Sunni Consensus: Tafsir al-Qur'an al-Azim by Hafiz Ibn Kathir (701–774 AH / 1301–1373 AD) is universally regarded across all major schools of Sunni Islam (traditional, Salafi, Ash'ari) as the most authoritative classical exegesis. It is prized because it relies on Tafsir bil-Ma'thur—interpreting the Quran using the Quran itself, authentic Hadiths of Prophet Muhammad, and recorded statements of the early Companions (Sahabah).

Standard English Edition: This text is from the standard 10-volume English abridgment published by Dar-us-Salam Publications (supervised by Shaykh Safiur-Rahman Al-Mubarakpuri), which is the official, most widely distributed English Quranic commentary in mosques and Islamic libraries worldwide today.