all His creation, and so declaring His transcendence is the most fitting expression in this situation, even though the Sunnah also instructs us to say, “Praise be to Allah.” Our discussion here, however, concerns this particular verse: “Glory be to Him who has subjected this for us; we could never have mastered it on our own.” That is, we would not have been able to cope with it had Allah not placed it under our control—had He not subdued it—just as He says elsewhere: “We have subdued them for them: some they ride, and some they eat.” Think about it: if these large-framed, powerful, energetic camels had not been tamed, could we ride them? Could we overpower them? The answer is no. There are wild beasts far smaller than they that we are unable to dominate, yet Allah has subdued these mounts for us. A small child can take hold of a camel’s lead rope and guide it wherever he wishes. This is part of Allah’s subjugation and softening of them.

“Glory be to Him who has subjected this for us; otherwise we could not have mastered it. And surely to our Lord we shall return.”

This last statement is momentous. When a traveller mounts his docile beast or boards a vessel, it is as though he is reminded of the final journey from this world—the journey to Allah when he dies and people carry him on their shoulders. He remembers and says, “And surely to our Lord we shall return.” The return is to Allah, and Allah the Exalted says in His Noble Book: “O mankind, you are laboring toward your Lord with great exertion…”—laboring toward your Lord, not merely for your Lord, but toward Him, meaning that your destination and the end-point of all your striving is Allah, the Mighty and Majestic.