Tafsir of Luqman 31:12

Luqman is a non-Arabic (foreign) name, not an Arabic one derived from al-luqm (morsel). It is said that he was the son of Ba‘ura. Wahb said: He was the son of the sister of Job, upon him be peace. Muqatil said: He was the son of his maternal aunt. Abd al-Rahman al-Suhayli said: He was the son of ‘Anqa’ ibn Sarun. It is also said that he was of the descendants of Azar, that he lived for a thousand years, lived to see David, upon him be peace, and acquired knowledge from him. He used to issue legal rulings (fatwa) before David’s mission; when David was sent, he ceased issuing them. When asked about this, he replied, "Should I be satisfied when I have been sufficed?" It is also said he was a judge among the Children of Israel, a view reported from al-Waqidi, though he stated that his era was between Muhammad and Jesus, may peace be upon them both. ‘Ikrimah and al-Sha‘bi said he was a prophet. The majority hold that he lived in the time of David, upon him be peace, and was not a prophet. There is disagreement as to whether he was a free man or a slave; the majority hold that he was a slave. They differed on his origin; it is said he was Abyssinian, and this is narrated from Ibn Abbas and Mujahid. Ibn Mardawayh reported this from Abu Hurayrah in a marfu‘ (elevated) hadith. Mujahid described him as having thick lips and wide, flat feet. It is also said he was Nubian, with cleft feet and large lips, which appears in a narration from Ibn Abbas, Ibn al-Musayyib, and Mujahid.

Ibn Abi Hatim reported from Abdullah ibn al-Zubayr that he said, "I asked Jabir ibn Abdullah, 'What has reached you regarding the matter of Luqman?' He replied, 'He was a short, flat-nosed man from Nubia.'" He, along with Ibn Jarir and Ibn al-Mundhir, reported from Ibn al-Musayyib that he said: "Luqman was a black man from the Sudanese of Egypt, with large lips; Allah, the Exalted, granted him wisdom and withheld prophethood from him." There is disagreement regarding the occupation he engaged in. Khalid ibn al-Rabi‘ said he was a carpenter (najjār). In Ma‘ani by al-Zajjaj, it is written as najjād (with a 'd'), meaning one who processes mattresses and pillows and sews them. Ibn Abi Shaybah, Ahmad in al-Zuhd, and Ibn al-Mundhir reported from Ibn al-Musayyib that he was a tailor, which is more general than a mattress-maker. From Ibn Abbas—may Allah be pleased with them both—it is narrated he was a shepherd. It is also said he used to gather firewood for his master every day. I place no reliance on any of these reports, and I have only transmitted them by way of following those interpreters who recorded them. However, I choose the view that he was a righteous, wise man and not a prophet.

Wisdom (al-hikmah), according to what Ibn Mardawayh reported from Ibn Abbas, is reason, understanding, and sagacity. Al-Firyabi, Ahmad in al-Zuhd, Ibn Jarir, and Ibn Abi Hatim reported from Mujahid that it is reason, jurisprudence, and hitting the mark in speech. Al-Raghib said: It is the knowledge of existents and the performance of good deeds. The Imam said: It is an expression for the reconciliation of action with knowledge. Then he added: If we seek a definition that includes the wisdom of Allah, the Exalted, we say: It is the attainment of action according to what is known. Abu Hayyan said: It is the logic by which one is admonished, awakened, and which people circulate for that reason. It is also said to be the perfection of something in both knowledge and action. It is also described as the completion attained by the perfection of the human soul through the acquisition of theoretical sciences and the attainment of the full faculty for virtuous actions according to one’s capacity. Many sages interpreted it as knowing the realities of things as they truly are, to the extent of human capacity. They have other interpretations, and the pros and cons of them regarding criticism and authentication are mentioned in their books.

Among his wisdom is his saying to his son: "O my son, the world is a deep sea, and many people have drowned in it. So let your ship in it be the fear of Allah, the Exalted; its cargo, faith; and its sail, reliance upon Allah, the Exalted, that perhaps you might be saved—though I do not see you as one who will be saved." And his saying: "Whoever has an admonisher from within himself has a protector from Allah, the Mighty and Majestic. Whoever treats people with fairness from himself, Allah, the Exalted, increases him in honor through that. Humiliation in the obedience of Allah is closer than seeking honor through disobedience." And his saying: "A father hitting his child is like fertilizer for the crops." And his saying: "O my son, beware of debt, for it is humiliation by day and anxiety by night." And his saying: "O my son, hope in Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, with a hope that does not embolden you to His disobedience, and fear Allah, the Glorified, with a fear that does not make you despair of His mercy." And his saying: "Whoever lies loses the freshness of his face, and whoever has a bad character increases his grief. Moving rocks from their places is easier than making one who does not understand comprehend." And his saying: "O my son, I have carried boulders and iron and everything heavy, yet I have not carried anything heavier than a bad neighbor. And I have tasted bitterness, yet I have tasted nothing more bitter than poverty. O my son, do not send a fool as your messenger; if you cannot find a wise one, be your own messenger. O my son, beware of lying, for it is appetizing like the meat of a sparrow, yet it soon boils the one who consumes it. O my son, attend funerals and do not attend weddings, for funerals remind you of the Hereafter, while weddings make you crave the world. O my son, do not eat while you are already full, for throwing it to a dog is better than eating it. O my son, do not be sweet so that you are swallowed, nor bitter so that you are spat out." And his saying to his son: "Let only the pious eat your food, and consult the scholars regarding your affairs." And his saying: "There is no good for you in learning what you do not know while not acting upon what you already know. The likeness of that is a man who gathered firewood, carried a bundle, and when he tried to carry it and failed, he added another to it." And his saying: "O my son, if you want to befriend a man, make him angry before that; if he treats you fairly in his anger, then keep him, otherwise beware of him." And his saying: "Let your word be kind and your face cheerful; you will be more beloved to people than those who give them gifts." And his saying: "O my son, place yourself in relation to your companion as one who has no need of him, yet you cannot do without him. O my son, be like one who does not seek the praise of people nor earn their blame; his soul is at rest while the people are safe from him." And his saying: "O my son, restrain what comes out of your mouth, for as long as you are silent, you are safe. You should only speak what benefits you," along with other sayings beyond count.

In ashkur lillah (that he should show gratitude to Allah): An is explanatory (tafsiriyyah), and what follows it is an explanation of the "giving of wisdom." It contains the meaning of speech without its letters, whether by inspiration, revelation, or teaching. It is also permitted that it be an explanation of "wisdom," considering what the command contains. Al-Zajjaj made an a verbal noun (masdariyyah) with an implied lam of causality (ta‘lil), and the meaning of the command is not lost, as previously verified. Sibawayh recounted: "I wrote to him bi-an qum (that he should stand)." The preposition is connected to atayna (We gave). It is also permitted that it be a verbal noun without an implication, such that the noun phrase is a badal ishtimal (appositional substitute of inclusion) for al-hikmah, but this is far-fetched.

And whoever is grateful... is an initiation confirming the content of what preceded it, necessitating compliance with the command. That is: whoever is grateful to Him, the Exalted, then he is only grateful for his own soul—because its benefit, in terms of binding the restriction and securing more [bounties] and winning the Garden of Eternity, is confined to himself. And whoever disbelieves, then surely Allah is Rich—beyond needing anything, so He does not need gratitude to be harmed by the disbelief of one who disbelieves—Praiseworthy—worthy of praise, even if no one praises Him, or praised in action, as all creatures speak His praise through the language of their state. Thus, Hamid (Praiseworthy) is a fa‘il form meaning Mahmud (praised) in both interpretations. The lack of explicit mention that He, the Glorified and Exalted, is the object of gratitude is because praise implies gratitude; in fact, it is its essence, as the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—said: "Praise is the head of gratitude; a servant has not thanked Allah if he has not praised Him." Thus, establishing praise for Him is definitively establishing gratitude for Him. Regarding the choice of the past tense in this second part, it is said: it is an indication of the ugliness of disbelief and that it should not exist, except that it is counted among the khabar of kana (past states). It is also said: it is an indication that it is frequent and realized, unlike gratitude (But few of My servants are the grateful).

The response to the conditional statement is omitted, replaced by His saying, the Exalted: Then surely Allah is Rich... The original was: "Whoever disbelieves, he only disbelieves against his own soul, because Allah is Rich, Praiseworthy." The summary is: whoever disbelieves, the harm of his disbelief returns to him, because He, the Exalted, is Rich and does not need gratitude to be harmed by disbelief, and is Praiseworthy by virtue of merit or the speech of the tongues of state. Thus, both attributes relate to the second part. It is also permitted that Rich be an explanation for His saying, the Exalted: Then he is only grateful for his own soul, and His saying, the Mighty and Majestic: Praiseworthy be an explanation for the implicit response to the second condition, by analogy of the contrast—which is: "he only disbelieves against his own soul." It is also possible that each of them relates to both. The forced nature of this, for which there is no necessity and upon which no evidence rests, is not hidden. So reflect.