31. MENTION OF ALL MODES OF CONVEYANCE IN THE HOLY QURAN
At the time of the revelation of the Holy Quran, there were four animals that were commonly used for carriage and conveyance- camels, horses, mules and donkeys. So these four animals that were used for the carriage and conveyance have been mentioned in the Holy Quran explicitly.
Apart from these four, Allah has implicitly mentioned about all other modes of carriage and conveyance in the Holy Quran that will come into being until the Day of Judgement. So, read the following Quranic verses of Surah An-Nahl carefully. Allah says:
And cattle He created in them are warm costume and benefits for you, and you eat from them. And in them is beauty for you, when you bring them back at evening, and when you leave them to graze. And they transport your loads to a town where you could not reach except extremely tired; indeed your Lord is Most Compassionate, Most Merciful. And horses, and mules, and donkeys so that you may ride upon them, and for adornment; and He will create what you do not know.
In the last sentence of this blessed verse there is a mention of all modes of transport and various types of carriage that would come into existence and that had not been invented at the time of the revelation of the Holy Quran. For example, bicycle, vehicles, rails, roads, ships, airplanes, helicopters, etc. By mentioning all the means of conveyances implicitly, Allah has revealed His attributes of Magnificence and All-Knowing.
Apart from the mention of the means of carriage and conveyance, this verse is so generalised that it contains the mention of every single thing of the entire universe that is yet to come into existence until the Day of Judgement.
Some of the qualities of the four animals that were commonly used in Arab at the time of the revelation of the Holy Quran are worth mentioning:
Camel
It is a mode of conveyance that was used by several Prophets. Even the Prophet of all the Prophets i.e. Prophet Muhammad used camel as a mode of conveyance.
Two of his she-camels are very famous. One is ‘Qaswa’ and the other is ‘Adba’. It is famous about the later one that no camel could ever defeated her during race. However, once she was defeated in a race by the camel of an A’raabi (villager). It grieved the holy companions a lot. On this occasion, the Holy Prophet said, ‘It is as per will of Allah that when He blesses a worldly thing with superiority, then He also drops it low.’
It is reported that after the apparent demise of the Beloved and Blessed Prophet his she-camel ‘Adba’ did not eat or drink anything out of grief and passed away. In some narrations, it has been mentioned that on the Day of Judgement, Sayyidatuna Fatimah will be riding on the same she-camel.
It is mentioned in Hayat-ul-Haywan that if camel’s hair are taken and burnt and its ash is applied on the bleeding organ, the bleeding would cease instantly. Meat of camel is a good supplement for virility.
Horse
Sayyiduna Isma’eel was the first one to ride a horse. Before him, horse was a brute and wild beast. That’s why the Holy Prophet said that you should ride horse as it is the legacy of your father (Sayyiduna) Isma’eel. It is reported by Sayyiduna Anas that after his wives, the most beloved to the Blessed Prophet was the horse. Sayyiduna Ibn ‘Abbas has reported that in the battlefield, horse invokes these words The Holy Prophet possessed a few horses, which he used to ride upon.
It is reported that Sayyiduna Musa asked Sayyiduna Khidr that what modes of conveyances did he like. He replied, ‘Horse, donkey and camel. Since horse had been the conveyance of prophets, camel had been the conveyance of Sayyiduna Hood, Sayyiduna Saalih, Sayyiduna Shu’ayb and Prophet Muhammad. Whereas, donkey was used by Sayyiduna ‘Isa and Sayyiduna ‘Uzayr and why should I not love that animal (donkey) that was resurrected after death by Allah
Mule
It is also a blessed mean of conveyance. It is narrated that the Holy Prophet had six mules in his possession. One among them was of the white colour whose name was ‘Daldal’. It was gifted to the Holy Prophet by Maquqas, the ruler of Egypt. The Holy Prophet used to travel within the city of Madinah as well as his outer journeys on the same very mule. It had so long age that it lost all its teeth. Food in the form of grinded barley cereal was served to it. It stayed alive for a very long time after the apparent demise of the Holy Prophet
Sayyiduna ‘Usman rode on it during his caliphate. Afterwards, Sayyiduna ‘Ali ۡ also rode on it to depart for the war against Khawarij. After him, his blessed sons, Sayyiduna Imam Hasan, Sayyiduna Imam Husayn and Sayyiduna Muhammad Bin Al-Hanfiyah also had the honour to travel on that blessed mule.
Donkey
This is also a mode of transportation that was used by the Prophets of Allah. Moreover, there were two donkeys in the possession of the Holy Prophet. One was named ‘Ufeer’ and the other was called ‘Ya’foor’. It is reported that the Holy Prophet got Ya’foor in the war of Khyber and it spoke to the Holy Prophet and said, ‘Ya Rasoolallah my name is Ziyad Bin Shahaab and among my parents and great grandparents, there have been sixty such donkeys that had the honour of being used as a mode of conveyance by
Prophets. You too are a Prophet of Allah. Therefore, I wish that no one else may sit on my back after you.’ Therefore, the wish of Ya’foor was fulfilled. After the blessed apparent demise of the Holy Prophet. Ya’foor was extremely grief stricken. In this state of melancholy, he fell in a well and passed away.
It has also been reported that the Holy Prophet used to send Ya’foor to call his blessed companions. So when Ya’foor would reach and knock the door of that particular companion with his head, the companion would understand that the Holy Prophet has called him. Therefore, the companion would come along with Ya’foor in the blessed court of the Beloved Prophet instantly. It has been mentioned in a Hadees that the one who wears substandard cloths, milks the goat and rides the donkey will be free of arrogance.
Moral:
We should not consider these four means of conveyance to be inferior because Allah has mentioned the creation of these animals as a favour and a bounty. Moreover, these four modes of transportation were used by the Prophets of Allah. Therefore, insulting and degrading these means of transportation is a grave offence. It is such a lethal offence that can lead towards unbelief. It is an obligation for every Muslim to thank Allah by considering these animals a Divine blessing. Moreover, one should respect these animals from the depth of his heart as they had an affiliation with the Prophets of Allah. Furthermore, one should not disrespect them at all as the protection of faith lies in respecting these blessings of Allah. In fact, the strengthening of our faith lies in abstaining from disrespecting these animals.
The other means of conveyances that have been invented after the aforementioned four means of conveyances, it is legitimate and permissible to travel on them. It is mandatory to maintain the belief that all these modes of transports have been created by Allah and these are all those modes that Allah promised to create by saying
Source: (QURANIC WONDERS) by ‘ABDUL MUSTAFA A’ZAMI.
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