تسخير
Taskhīr
The act of subjecting or subduing; the verbal noun of sakhkhara, used of Allah making nature serviceable to human beings
What it means
Taskhīr is the verbal noun of sakhkhara, to subject or press into service. In the Quran Allah is the one who subjects things: He has made what is in the heavens and on the earth subject to humanity (45:13), and the sun, the moon, the night and the day (14:32-33). Muslim writers read these verses as saying that the natural world is open to human understanding and use, and so as a basis for the study of nature. The same verses present the subjection as a favour from Allah, and they call for gratitude and responsibility from those who benefit from it.
Often misunderstood as
That the subjection of nature is a licence for unlimited exploitation, when the verses present it as a favour that carries responsibility.
Term and Arabic as listed in Ismail al Faruqi, Toward Islamic English (International Institute of Islamic Thought, 1995), p. 34, listed as TASKHĪR. The definition is restated here.