Quran Universe
36:36

سُبۡحَٰنَ ٱلَّذِي خَلَقَ ٱلۡأَزۡوَٰجَ كُلَّهَا مِمَّا تُنۢبِتُ ٱلۡأَرۡضُ وَمِنۡ أَنفُسِهِمۡ وَمِمَّا لَا يَعۡلَمُونَ

Subhana allathee khalaqa alazwaja kullaha mimma tunbitu alardu wamin anfusihim wamimma la yaAAlamoona

Exalted is He who created all pairs - from what the earth grows and from themselves and from that which they do not know.

Word by word
  1. سُبۡحَٰنَGlory be
  2. ٱلَّذِي(to) the One Who
  3. خَلَقَcreated
  4. ٱلۡأَزۡوَٰجَ(in) pairs
  5. كُلَّهَاall
  6. مِمَّاof what
  7. تُنۢبِتُgrows
  8. ٱلۡأَرۡضُthe earth
  9. وَمِنۡand of
  10. أَنفُسِهِمۡthemselves
  11. وَمِمَّاand of what
  12. لَاnot
  13. يَعۡلَمُونَthey know
Ya-Sin · 36:36Makkah

Glory to Him who made everything in pairs.

Plants, people, and what we do not know

Pairs
what the earth growscrops, fruits
ourselvesmale and female
what we do not knowcreation beyond us
all by
Subhan Allah
Limits of knowledge
we know it allscience has mapped it
and what they know notmore than we see

After listing gifts of the earth, the verse turns to praise. Ibn Kathir explains pairs as crops and plants, male and female among people, and kinds of creatures they know nothing of. He links it to: of everything We created pairs.

A documentary shows a new deep-sea creature no one had seen before. This verse already said there is more we do not know. Every discovery is another reason to say subhanallah.

Humans have pretty much figured out the natural world.

Creation is far larger than my knowledge, and all of it praises its Maker.

Try this

Say subhanallah 33 times today while thinking about something in nature that amazes you.

Related51:49
Simplified reflection. Read the tafsir for scholarship.draft
Tafsir Ibn Kathir (shared passage from 36:33)

And a sign for them is the dead land. We give it life, and We bring forth from it grains, so that they eat thereof (33)And We have made therein gardens of date palms and grapes, and We have caused springs of water to gush forth therein (34)So that they may eat of the fruit thereof – and their hands made it not. Will they not then give thanks (35)Glory be to Him Who has created all the pairs of that which the earth produces, as well as of their own kind, and of that which they know not (36)

Proof of the Creator of the Universe and of Life after Death

Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, says:

وَآيَةٌ لَهُمُ

(And a sign for them) means, evidence for them of the existence of the Creator and His perfect power and ability to resurrect the dead,

 الْأَرْضُ الْمَيْتَةُ

(is the dead land.) means, when it is dead and arid, with no vegetation, then Allah sends water upon it, it is stirred (to life), and it swells and puts forth every lovely kind (of growth). Allah says:

 أَحْيَيْنَاهَا وَأَخْرَجْنَا مِنْهَا حَبًّا فَمِنْهُ يَأْكُلُونَ

(We give it life, and We bring forth from it grains, so that they eat thereof.) meaning, 'We have made it a provision for them and their cattle.'

وَجَعَلْنَا فِيهَا جَنَّاتٍ مِنْ نَخِيلٍ وَأَعْنَابٍ وَفَجَّرْنَا فِيهَا مِنَ الْعُيُونِ

(And We have made therein gardens of date palms and grapes, and We have caused springs of water to gush forth therein.) means, 'We have created therein rivers which flow to the places where they are needed, so that they may eat of their fruits.' When Allah reminds them of the blessing that He bestows upon His creation by creating crops and plants, He mentions the different types and kinds of fruits. Allah says:

 وَمَا عَمِلَتْهُ أَيْدِيهِمْ

(and their hands made it not.) means, all of that could only come about by the mercy of Allah towards them, not by their own efforts and labor and strength. This was the view of Ibn 'Abbas and Qatadah. Allah says:

أَفَلَا يَشْكُرُونَ 

(Will they not then give thanks?) meaning, will they not then give thanks for the innumerable blessings that He has bestowed upon them.

Ibn Jarir, however, understood the word Ma to mean Alladhi (i.e., a relative pronoun). In this case the meaning of the Ayah would be that they eat from the fruits provided by Allah's bounty and from what their own hands have done, i.e., by planting the seeds and tending the plants. Ibn Jarir mentioned other possible interpretations in his Tafsir, but this is the interpretation that he favored. This interpretation also fits with the recitation of Ibn Mas'ud:

لِيَأْكُلُوا مِنْ ثَمَرِهِ وَمِمَّا عَمِلَتْهُ أَيْدِيهِمْ ۖ أَفَلَا يَشْكُرُونَ 

(So that they may eat of the fruit thereof – and from what their own hands have done.) Then Allah says:

سُبْحَانَ الَّذِي خَلَقَ الْأَزْوَاجَ كُلَّهَا مِمَّا تُنْبِتُ الْأَرْضُ

(Glory be to Him Who has created all the pairs of that which the earth produces,) meaning, of crops and fruits and plants.

وَمِنْ أَنْفُسِهِمْ

(as well as of their own (human) kind,) means, He made them into male and female.

وَمِمَّا لَا يَعْلَمُونَ 

(and of that which they know not.) means, different kinds of creatures of which they know nothing. This is like the Ayah:

وَمِنْ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ خَلَقْنَا زَوْجَيْنِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَذَكَّرُونَ

(And of everything We have created pairs, that you may remember.)(51:49)