(80–83) “And Allah has made your houses places of rest for you, and He has made tents for you from the hides of livestock, which you find light to carry when you travel and when you encamp. And from their wool, fur, and hair He has provided you with furnishings and useful goods for a time. * And from what He has created, Allah has made shade for you; He has made shelters for you in the mountains; and He has made garments that protect you from the heat and garments that protect you in battle. Thus does He perfect His favor upon you, so that you may submit. * But if they turn away, your duty is only to convey the message clearly. * They recognize Allah’s favor, yet they deny it, and most of them are disbelievers.”
Allah Most High reminds His servants of His blessings and calls upon them to give thanks for and acknowledge them. He says: “And Allah has made your houses places of rest for you”—houses, palaces, and the like that shelter you from heat and cold and conceal you, your children, and your belongings. Within them, you make rooms (1) and chambers suited to your various needs and interests; they safeguard your property and your families and provide other evident benefits. ⦗446⦘ “And He has made for you from the hides of livestock”—either from the hides themselves or from what grows upon them: wool, hair, and fur.
“Tents which you find light to carry”—that is, light and portable tents for your journeys and temporary stopping places where you do not intend to settle permanently. They protect you from heat, cold, and rain, and protect your belongings from the rain. He also “made for you from their wool”—meaning that of the livestock—“their fur and their hair, furnishings.” This includes everything made from them, such as vessels, containers, bedding, clothing, canopies, and other things.
“And useful goods for a time”—that is, you enjoy and benefit from them in this world. These are among the things that Allah has enabled His servants to manufacture and make.
“And from what He has created, Allah has made”—that is, from created things in whose production you had no hand—“shade,” such as the shade of trees, mountains, hills, and the like. “He has made shelters for you in the mountains”—that is, caves that shelter you from heat, cold, rain, and enemies.
“And He has made garments for you”—that is, clothing and apparel—“that protect you from the heat.” Allah did not mention the cold because, as previously explained, the beginning of this surah discusses essential blessings, while its latter part discusses their complements and completion. Protection from the cold is an essential blessing and a necessity, and He mentioned it near the beginning in His words: “In them you have warmth and other benefits.”
“And garments that protect you in battle”—that is, garments such as armor, chain mail, and the like, which protect you from weapons during combat and war. Thus does He perfect His favor upon you, lavishing upon you blessings too numerous to count, “so that you may”—when you remember Allah’s blessing and see it encompassing you in every respect—“submit” to His greatness, comply with His command, and use those blessings in obedience to the One who granted and bestowed them. An abundance of blessings is among the means that lead His servants to greater gratitude and to praise Allah Most High for them. Yet the wrongdoers refuse anything but rebellion and obstinate defiance.
Allah therefore says of them: “But if they turn away” from Allah and from obeying Him after being reminded of His blessings and signs, “your duty is only to convey the message clearly.” You are not responsible for bringing them to guidance or enabling them to accept it. Rather, you are required to exhort, remind, warn, and caution them. Once you have fulfilled your duty, their reckoning rests with Allah. They see His kindness and recognize Allah’s favor, yet they deny and reject it. “Most of them are disbelievers”: there is no good in them, and no succession of signs benefits them because their faculties are corrupt and their intentions are evil. They will behold Allah’s recompense for every arrogant, obstinate ingrate who rebels against Allah and His messengers.