وَٱلْبُدْنَ جَعَلْنَٰهَا لَكُم مِّن شَعَٰٓئِرِ ٱللَّهِ لَكُمْ فِيهَا خَيْرٌ ۖ فَٱذْكُرُوا۟ ٱسْمَ ٱللَّهِ عَلَيْهَا صَوَآفَّ ۖ فَإِذَا وَجَبَتْ جُنُوبُهَا فَكُلُوا۟ مِنْهَا وَأَطْعِمُوا۟ ٱلْقَانِعَ وَٱلْمُعْتَرَّ ۚ كَذَٰلِكَ سَخَّرْنَٰهَا لَكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُونَ
Important Words:
البدن (sacrificial camels) is the plural of بدنة which means, a she-camel or a male camel; a cow and a bull (preferably the first and the second) that is slaughtered at Mecca or brought there for sacrifice, so called because of its fatness, بدن (badana) as a verb meaning, he was or became big, bulky, big-bodied or corpulent or fat (Lane & Aqrab).
صواف (stand tied up in rows) is the plural of صافة which is derived from صوف. They say صوف القوم i.e. the people stood in rows. صواف means, standing in rows (Lane).
وجبت (they fall down). They say وجب الحائط i.e. the wall fell down. وجب الرجل means, the man fell down and died. وجب الشمس means, the sun set. فاذا وجبت جنوبھا means, when their sides fall upon the ground; when they die and fall down (Lane).
قانع (contented) is active participle from قنع (qania‘) which means, he was contented with his lot; and also from قنع(qana‘a) which means, he asked, he begged. قنع الجبل means, he ascended the mountain. القانع means, one who is contented with his lot; one who asks or begs; one of a people (Aqrab).
المعتر (one who supplicates) is derived from عر (‘arra). They say عرہ i.e. he vexed him; he did evil to him; he addressed or applied himself to obtain favour without asking; he came to him and sought his bounty. المعتر means, one who applies oneself to obtain favour without asking; one who comes to another to ask for a favour; a poor man (Lane & Aqrab).
Commentary:
The verse signifies that the slaughtering of camels which are brought to Mecca for sacrifice is but a symbol of man’s readiness to lay down his life for the sake of his Creator and Master just as camels lay down their lives for their own masters. This is the supreme object and purpose of sacrifice, other objects mentioned in the verse being of secondary importance. The pilgrim is reminded of the significance of sacrifice when he slaughters an animal and thus the animal serves as a sign of God.
The slaughtering of camels which are brought to Mecca for sacrifice is but a symbol of man’s readiness to lay down his life for the sake of his Creator and Master just as camels lay down their lives for their own masters. This is the supreme object and purpose of Sacrifice, other objects mentioned in the verse being of secondary importance. The pilgrim is reminded of the significance of Sacrifice when he slaughters an animal which serves as a Sign of God. The verse also shows that the flesh of the slaughtered animal should be properly distributed and not wasted.