Surah Luqman ayat 12 Tafsir Quran 31:12

﴿وَلَقَدْ آتَيْنَا لُقْمَانَ الْحِكْمَةَ أَنِ اشْكُرْ لِلَّهِ ۚ وَمَن يَشْكُرْ فَإِنَّمَا يَشْكُرُ لِنَفْسِهِ ۖ وَمَن كَفَرَ فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ غَنِيٌّ حَمِيدٌ﴾
[ لقمان: 12]

31:12 And We had certainly given Luqman wisdom [and said], "Be grateful to Allah." And whoever is grateful is grateful for [the benefit of] himself. And whoever denies [His favor] - then indeed, Allah is Free of need and Praiseworthy.

And verily We gave Luqmān wisdom comprising knowledge religiousness and right-mindedness in speech; his many wisdoms are well-known. He used to give legal opinions in matters of religion before David was summoned to prophethood but lived on into the latter’s summoning. He then took to acquiring knowledge from him David and refrained from giving any more legal opinions explaining this thus ‘Should I not be content if someone like the prophet David has spared me the trouble?’ He was once asked ‘What is the worst kind of person?’ He said ‘The one who does not care that people should see him doing evil’. In other words We gave him wisdom and We said to him ‘Give thanks to God for the wisdom that He has given you. Whoever gives thanks only for his own sake because the reward for his gratitude shall be his and whoever is ungrateful for a grace then surely God is Independent without need of His creation Praised’ in what He does.

We imparted to Loqman* wisdom and the capacity of judging rightly in matters relating to life and conduct and to the soundness of judgement in the choice of means and ends. And We exhorted him to impel himself to the feeling of gratitude and gratefulness, for he whose bosom surge forth and answers thanks, serves his own soul. He who denies Allahs favours must realize that Allah is Ghaniyun (Absolute and Independent) and Hamidun (worthy of all praise)

Luqman The Salaf differed over the identity of Luqman; there are two opinions: was he a Prophet or just a righteous servant of Allah without the prophethood The majority favored the latter view, that he was a righteous servant of Allah without being a Prophet.
Sufyan Ath-Thawri said, narrating from Al-Ash`ath, from `Ikrimah, from Ibn `Abbas, "Luqman was an Ethiopian slave who was a carpenter.
`Abdullah bin Az-Zubayr said, "I said to Jabir bin `Abdullah: `What did you hear about Luqman' He said: `He was short with a flat nose, and came from Nubia."' Yahya bin Sa`id Al-Ansari narrated from Sa`id bin Al-Musayyib that "Luqman was from the black peoples of ( southern ) Egypt, and had thick lips.
Allah gave him wisdom but withheld prophethood from him." Al-`Awza`i said, "`Abdur-Rahman bin Harmalah told me; `A black man came to Sa`id bin Al-Musayyib to ask him a question, and Sa`id bin Al-Musayyib said to him: "Do not be upset because you are black, for among the best of people were three who were black: Bilal, Mahja` the freed slave of `Umar bin Al-Khattab, and Luqman the Wise, who was a black Nubian with thick lips." Ibn Jarir recorded that Khalid Ar-Raba`i said: "Luqman was an Ethiopian slave who was a carpenter.
His master said to him, `Slaughter this sheep for us,' so he slaughtered it.
His master said: `Bring the best two pieces from it,' so he brought out the tongue and the heart.
Then time passed, as much as Allah willed, and his master said: `Slaughter this sheep for us,' so he slaughtered it.
His master said, `Bring the worst two morsels from it,' so he brought out the tongue and the heart.
His master said to him, `I told you to bring out the best two pieces, and you brought these, then I told you to bring out the worst two pieces, and you brought these!' Luqman said, `There is nothing better than these if they are good, and there is nothing worse than these if they are bad."' Shu`bah narrated from Al-Hakam, from Mujahid, "Luqman was a righteous servant, but he was not a Prophet." Allah's saying: وَلَقَدْ ءَاتَيْنَا لُقْمَانَ الْحِكْمَةَ ( And indeed We bestowed upon Luqman Al-Hikmah ) means, understanding, knowledge and eloquence. أَنِ اشْكُرْ للَّهِ ( saying: "Give thanks to Allah." ) means, `We commanded him to give thanks to Allah for the blessings and favors that Allah had given to him alone among his people and contemporaries.' Then Allah says: وَمَن يَشْكُرْ فَإِنَّمَا يَشْكُرُ لِنَفْسِهِ ( And whoever gives thanks, he gives thanks for (the good of ) himself.) meaning, the benefit of that will come back to him, and Allah's reward is for those who give thanks, as He says: وَمَنْ عَمِلَ صَـلِحاً فَلاًّنفُسِهِمْ يَمْهَدُونَ ( and whosoever does righteous good deeds, then such will prepare a good place for themselves.
) ( 30:44 ) وَمَن كَفَرَ فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ غَنِىٌّ حَمِيدٌ ( And whoever is unthankful, then verily, Allah is Rich, Worthy of all praise. ) He has no need of His servants and He will not be harmed by that, even if all the people of the earth were to disbelieve, for He has no need of anything or anyone besides Himself.
There is no God but He, and we worship none but Him.

(31:12) We *17 bestowed wisdom upon Luqman, (enjoining): 'Give thanks to Allah.' *18 Whoso gives thanks to Allah, does so to his own good. And whoso disbelieves (let him know that) Allah is All-Sufficient, Immensely Praiseworthy. *19

And We had certainly given Luqman wisdom meaning

*17) After presenting a rational argument to refute shirk the Arabs arc being told that this rational point of view is not being presented before them for the first time, but the wise and learned people before them also have been saying the same thing, including their own famous sage, Luqman.
Therefore, they cannot refute the Holy Prophet's message, saying, " If shirk was an irrational creed, why didn't it strike so to somebody else before? "
Luqman was well known as a wise and Iearned man in Arabia.
He has been mentioned in the poetry of the pre-Islamic poets like Imra'ul-Qais, Labid, A'asha, Tarafa and others.
Some educated Arabs also possessed a collection of the wise sayings of Luqman.
According to traditions, three years before the Hijrah the very first person of Madinah to be influenced by the Holy Prophet was Suwaid bin Samit.
He went to Makkah for Hajj.
There the Holy Prophet was as usual preaching Islam to the pilgrims coming from different places, at their residences.
When Suwaid heard his speech, he submitted, " I have also got a thing similar to what you preach, " When the Holy Prophet asked what it was, he said, " The roll of Luqman. " Then on the Holy Prophet's instance, he read out a portion of it, whereupon the Holy Prophet said, " This discourse is fine, but that which I have is better still.' Then he recited the Qur'an to him, and Suwaid admitted that that was certainly better than the wisdom of Luqman.
( Ibn Hisham, vol.
II, p.
3781.
According to the historians, this person (Suwaid bin Samit ) was known by the title of Kamil ( Perfect ) in Madinah on account of his ability, bravery, nobility and poetry.
Bet when after his meeting with the Holy Prophet he returned to Madinah.
He was killed in the battle of Bu'ath, which was fought some time afterwards.
His tribesmen were of the opinion that he had become a Muslim after his meeting with the Holy Prophet
Historically.
Luqman is a disputed personage.
In the dark centuries of ignorance there was no compiled history.
The only source of information were the traditions that were being handed down since centuries.
According to these, some people thought that Luqman belonged to the people of 'Ad and was a king of Yaman.
Relying on these traditions, Maulana Sayyid Suleman Nadvi has expressed the opinion in the Ard al-Qar'an that Luqman was a descendent of the believers who remained safe with the Prophet Hud after the destruction of the people of 'Ad by a Divine torment, and he was one of the kings of Yaman when it was ruled by the 'Ad.
But other traditions which have been reported from sane Iearned Companions and their immediate followers do not support this view.
Ibn 'Abbas says Luqman was a negro slave, and the same is the opinion of Hadrat Abu Hurairah, Mujahid, 'Ikrimah and Khalid ar-Rabi.
According to Hadrat Jabir bin'Abdullah Ansari, he belonged to Nirbah.
S'id bin al-Musayyib says that Ire was an Egyptian negro.
These three sayings closely resemble one another.
The Arabs generally called the black people negroes ( Habashis ) in those days, and Nirbah is the country south of Egypt and north of Sudan.
Therefore, calling the same person an Egyptian and a Nubian and a negro, in spite of the difference in words.
is one and the same thing.
Then the elucidations made by Suhayli in Raud al-Unuf nd Mas'udi in Muruj adh-Dhahab also throw some light on the question as to how the wisdom of this Sudanese slave spread in Arabia.
They both agree that this person though originally a Nubian was an inhabitant of Madyan and Aylah ( modern, 'Aqabah ).
That is why he spoke Arabic and his wisdom spread in Arabia.
Besides, Suhayli also elucidates that Luqman the Sage and Luqman bin 'Ad were two different persons, and it is not correct to regard them as one and the same man.
( Raud al-Unuf, vol.
I, p.
266; Mas'udi, vol.
I, p.
57 ).

Another thing may also be made clear here.
The Arabic manuscript from the Library of Paris, which the orintalist Derenbourg has published under the title Amthal Luqman Hakim ( Fables De Luqman Le Sage ) is a fabricated thing which has nothing to do with the Roll of Luqman.
These Fables were compiled by somebody in the 13th century A.D.
Its Arabic is poor, and a perusal shows that it is, in fact, a translation of some other book in a different language, which the author or translator has himself ascribed to Luqman the Sage.
The orientalists make such researches with a special object in view.
They bang out such forged and fake things in order to prove that the narratives of the Quran are unhistorical legends and therefore unreliable.
Anyone who reads B.
Helle's article on 'Luqman " in the Encyclopeadia of Islam will not fail to understand the real motive of these people.

*18) That is, " The very first demand of the wisdom and knowledge, insight and sagacity, granted by AIIah was that man should have adopted the attitude of gratefulness and obedience before his Lord, and not of ingratitude and thanklessness.
And this gratefulness should not have merely been lip-service but expressed and translated in thought and word and deed.
One should have the conviction in the depths of one's heart and mind that whatever one has got, has been given by God.
One's tongue should always be acknowledging the favours of God; and practically also one should be trying to prove by carrying out His Commands, by avoiding sins, by striving to achieve His good-will, by conveying His blessings and favours to His servants and by fighting those who have rebelled against Him that one is really a grateful servant of one's God. "
*19) That is," The one who is ungrateful and unbelieving, his unbelief is harmful to his own self.
Allah does not lose anything.
He is Independent and does not stand in need of anyone's gratitude.
The gratitude of someone dces not add anything to His Godhead, nor does anyone's ingratitude and disbelief change the factual reality that whatever the servants have got, has been granted by Him.
He is Self-Praiseworthy whether someone praises Him or not.
Every particle in the universe bears testimony to His Perfection and Beauty, His Creativity and Providence, and every creature is paying homage to His glory perpetually. "
 

Luqman The Salaf differed over the identity of Luqman; there are two opinions: was he a Prophet or just a righteous servant of Allah without the prophethood The majority favored the latter view, that he was a righteous servant of Allah without being a Prophet.
Sufyan Ath-Thawri said, narrating from Al-Ash`ath, from `Ikrimah, from Ibn `Abbas, "Luqman was an Ethiopian slave who was a carpenter.
`Abdullah bin Az-Zubayr said, "I said to Jabir bin `Abdullah: `What did you hear about Luqman' He said: `He was short with a flat nose, and came from Nubia."' Yahya bin Sa`id Al-Ansari narrated from Sa`id bin Al-Musayyib that "Luqman was from the black peoples of ( southern ) Egypt, and had thick lips.
Allah gave him wisdom but withheld prophethood from him." Al-`Awza`i said, "`Abdur-Rahman bin Harmalah told me; `A black man came to Sa`id bin Al-Musayyib to ask him a question, and Sa`id bin Al-Musayyib said to him: "Do not be upset because you are black, for among the best of people were three who were black: Bilal, Mahja` the freed slave of `Umar bin Al-Khattab, and Luqman the Wise, who was a black Nubian with thick lips." Ibn Jarir recorded that Khalid Ar-Raba`i said: "Luqman was an Ethiopian slave who was a carpenter.
His master said to him, `Slaughter this sheep for us,' so he slaughtered it.
His master said: `Bring the best two pieces from it,' so he brought out the tongue and the heart.
Then time passed, as much as Allah willed, and his master said: `Slaughter this sheep for us,' so he slaughtered it.
His master said, `Bring the worst two morsels from it,' so he brought out the tongue and the heart.
His master said to him, `I told you to bring out the best two pieces, and you brought these, then I told you to bring out the worst two pieces, and you brought these!' Luqman said, `There is nothing better than these if they are good, and there is nothing worse than these if they are bad."' Shu`bah narrated from Al-Hakam, from Mujahid, "Luqman was a righteous servant, but he was not a Prophet." Allah's saying: وَلَقَدْ ءَاتَيْنَا لُقْمَانَ الْحِكْمَةَ ( And indeed We bestowed upon Luqman Al-Hikmah ) means, understanding, knowledge and eloquence. أَنِ اشْكُرْ للَّهِ ( saying: "Give thanks to Allah." ) means, `We commanded him to give thanks to Allah for the blessings and favors that Allah had given to him alone among his people and contemporaries.' Then Allah says: وَمَن يَشْكُرْ فَإِنَّمَا يَشْكُرُ لِنَفْسِهِ ( And whoever gives thanks, he gives thanks for (the good of ) himself.) meaning, the benefit of that will come back to him, and Allah's reward is for those who give thanks, as He says: وَمَنْ عَمِلَ صَـلِحاً فَلاًّنفُسِهِمْ يَمْهَدُونَ ( and whosoever does righteous good deeds, then such will prepare a good place for themselves.
) ( 30:44 ) وَمَن كَفَرَ فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ غَنِىٌّ حَمِيدٌ ( And whoever is unthankful, then verily, Allah is Rich, Worthy of all praise. ) He has no need of His servants and He will not be harmed by that, even if all the people of the earth were to disbelieve, for He has no need of anything or anyone besides Himself.
There is no God but He, and we worship none but Him.

( And verily We gave Luqman wisdom ) knowledge, understanding and right words and actions, ( saying: Give thanks unto Allah ) by declaring His Oneness and obeying Him; ( and whosoever giveth thanks ) for His blessings through declaring His divine Oneness and obeying Him, ( he giveth thanks for (the good of ) his soul) for the reward of his soul. ( And whosoever refuseth ) and whoever is ungrateful towards His blessings, ( lo! Allah is Absolute ) free of need for his thanks, ( Owner of Praise ) for His actions.

And indeed We bestowed upon Luqman Al-Hikmah (wisdom and religious understanding, etc.) saying: "Give thanks to Allah," and whoever gives thanks, he gives thanks for (the good of) his ownself. And whoever is unthankful, then verily, Allah is All-Rich (Free of all wants), Worthy of all praise.

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