After Allah—Mighty and Majestic—had set forth in this surah the account of the Overwhelming Event, namely the Day of Resurrection, and explained that people will be divided into two groups—faces humbled, toiling and weary, entering a blazing Fire; and faces radiant, pleased with their striving—and had explained the recompense of each group, He said:

“Do they not look at the camels—how they were created?”

This question is one of rebuke. That is, Allah rebukes those who denied what He has revealed concerning the Day of Resurrection, reward, and punishment. He condemns them for turning away from considering the signs of Allah Most High that lie before them. He began with camels because camels were the animals with which people at that time had the greatest dealings: they rode them, milked them, ate their meat, benefited from their hair, and enjoyed many other uses. Thus He said, “Do they not look at the camels”—that is, the camels—“how they were created?” In other words, how Allah—Mighty and Majestic—created them.

Consider this immense, hardy creature: a camel travels long distances that a human being could cover only with the greatest difficulty, yet it endures them. A camel can also be loaded with heavy burdens while kneeling and then rise carrying them without assistance. Ordinarily, an animal can scarcely rise if it is loaded while kneeling, but Allah—Mighty and Majestic—has given these camels strength and ability for the benefit of human beings. Because of their height, people could not load them while they were standing; Allah Most High therefore made it easy for them to load camels while they are kneeling and then have them rise with their burdens. As Allah Most High says in Sūrah Yā Sīn:

“And they derive other benefits and drinks from them. Will they not then give thanks?” [Yā Sīn: 73]

Their benefits are too numerous to count, and those who own and work with camels know more about this than we do. Hence He said, “Do they not look at the camels—how they were created?” He did not mention other animals, such as sheep, cattle, gazelles, and the like, because camels provide the most wide-ranging benefits and serve the interests of people in the greatest number of ways.

“And at the sky—how it was raised?” That is, they should look at the sky and consider how it was raised, together with all it contains—the stars, the sun, the moon, and other