Surah Yaseen 36:42 — Meaning, Translation & Reflection
سُورَةُ يسٓ · Meccan · Verse 42 of 83
وَخَلَقْنَا لَهُم مِّن مِّثْلِهِۦ مَا يَرْكَبُونَ
English: and We have made similar things for them to ride in.
Bengali: এবং তাদের জন্যে নৌকার অনুরূপ যানবাহন সৃষ্টি করেছি, যাতে তারা আরোহণ করে।
Meaning & Reflection
'And We created for them the like of it, in which they ride.' al-Biqa'i and Ibn Ashur note the verse extends the gift beyond the ship to everything since that serves the same function — every mount and vessel by which Allah lets us travel is 'the like of it,' a continuation of the same mercy of carriage. Ask yourself: the car, the plane, the countless machines that move me — I experience them as my own cleverness, monuments to human ingenuity. The verse reframes them as *provided* — 'We created for them' the means to ride. How much of what I call my mastery of the world is really a set of gifts I was handed, and forgot to receive as gifts?
Grounded in classical tafsir: Ibn Ashur, al-Biqa'i, al-Saadi.
Reflect with the Five Lenses
Maani's framework for Tadabbur (heart-centred reflection) on Surah Yaseen 36:42:
- Wording. Look closely at the specific words and structure. Which word stands out, and why might Allah have chosen it here?
- Quranic Worlds. Place the verse in its context — what is happening around it, and what world does it open up?
- Personal Experience. Ask not just what this means, but what it means TO me and FOR me, right now in my life.
- Connections. How does this verse connect to other verses, to the Sunnah, or to themes across the Quran?
- General Lessons. What timeless lesson or action point can I carry away and live by?