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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.
Tafsir
Verse range: 31:12
{وَلَقَدْ آتَيْنَا لُقْمَانَ الْحِكْمَةَ أَنِ اشْكُرْ لِلَّهِ}
When Allah clarified the corruption of their beliefs—stemming from their obstinacy—by associating partners with the One who created everything (by saying: {هَٰذَا خَلْقُ اللَّهِ فَأَرُونِي مَاذَا خَلَقَ الَّذِينَ مِن دُونِهِ}), and showed that the polytheist is unjust and misguided, He then mentioned what indicates that their misguidance and injustice are contrary to wisdom, even if prophecy were absent.
This points to a meaning: following the Prophet (peace be upon him) is obligatory concerning matters whose meaning cannot be grasped by reason, as an act of worship. How much more so when the matter is not exclusive to prophecy but is grasped by intellect, and what the Prophet brought is understood through wisdom.
He mentioned the story of Luqman, who attained wisdom through his own efforts.
The statement {وَلَقَدْ آتَيْنَا لُقْمَانَ الْحِكْمَةَ} (And We certainly gave Luqman wisdom) is an expression for the alignment of action with knowledge. Whoever is granted the success to act according to their knowledge has been given wisdom.
If we wish to define it more precisely within the scope of God's wisdom, we say: It is the attainment of action that conforms to what is known.
What supports this is that someone who learns something but does not know its benefits and harms is not called wise; rather, they are considered fortunate (or lucky). Do you not see that if someone throws themselves from a high place, lands on a spot where the ground sinks, and discovers a treasure while remaining safe, they are not called wise, even if their action resulted in a benefit without harm, due to their initial ignorance of the outcome? Similarly, one who knows that throwing oneself from that place leads to self-destruction and yet throws themselves, resulting in broken limbs, is not called wise, even if they knew the consequence of their action.
Furthermore, what supports our definition is His statement: {أَنِ اشْكُرْ لِلَّهِ} (that be grateful to Allah). The particle an (that) in this context is explanatory (mufassirah), meaning Allah explained the giving of wisdom by commanding gratitude to Him. This is correct because a component of wisdom is that action conforms to knowledge. If a person knows two matters, one more important than the other, and engages in the more important one, their action conforms to their knowledge, and this is wisdom. If they neglect the more important matter, their action contradicts their knowledge and is not wisdom at all. Since thanking Allah is the most important of all things, wisdom first necessitates it.
Then, Allah clarified that only the grateful benefit from gratitude, saying: {وَمَن يَشْكُرْ فَإِنَّمَا يَشْكُرُ لِنَفْسِهِ} (And whoever is grateful, he is grateful for himself). He also clarified that no one is harmed by ingratitude except the ungrateful: {وَمَن كَفَرَ فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ غَنِيٌّ حَمِيدٌ} (And whoever disbelieves—then indeed, Allah is free of need and worthy of praise). This means Allah is not in need of gratitude such that the ingratitude of the ungrateful harms Him. He is inherently praiseworthy whether people thank Him or not.
In this verse, there are several issues and subtleties:
Allah explained the giving of wisdom by commanding gratitude. However, the disbeliever and the ignorant are also commanded to be grateful, so it seems they should have been given wisdom.
The Answer: His statement {أَنِ اشْكُرْ لِلَّهِ} here is a command of Takwīn (creation/causation), meaning: We gave him wisdom by making him one of the grateful ones. As for the disbeliever, the command to be grateful is a command of Taklīf (obligation/law).
He used the future tense for gratitude: {وَمَن يَشْكُرُ} (And whoever is grateful), but the past tense for disbelief: {وَمَن كَفَرَ} (And whoever disbelieves), even though the conditional particle (man) can apply to both past and future, like saying, "Whoever enters my house is free," or "Whoever will enter my house is free."
We say there is a subtle indication and guidance here: Gratitude should be repeated at all times because blessings are continually renewed. Therefore, whoever is grateful should repeat it. Disbelief, however, should cease; whoever disbelieves should stop disbelieving.
Furthermore, the gratitude of the grateful person is never complete; there is always something lacking that the grateful person desires to bring into existence, as He says: {رَبِّ أَوْزِعْنِي أَنْ أَشْكُرَ نِعْمَتَكَ} (My Lord, enable me to be grateful for Your favor) and {وَإِن تَعُدُّوا نِعْمَتَ اللَّهِ لَا تُحْصُوهَا} (And if you should count the favors of Allah, you could not enumerate them). He indicated this with the future tense to signal that complete gratitude has not yet occurred. As for disbelief, every instance of it that occurs is complete in itself, so He used the past tense.
Here, He stated: {وَمَن يَشْكُرْ فَإِنَّمَا يَشْكُرُ لِنَفْسِهِ وَمَن كَفَرَ} (And whoever is grateful, he is grateful for himself, and whoever disbelieves...), mentioning gratitude before disbelief. However, in Surah Ar-Rum: {وَمَن كَفَرَ فَعَلَيْهِ كُفْرُهُ وَمَنْ عَمِلَ صَالِحًا فَلِأَنفُسِهِمْ يَمْهَدُونَ} (And whoever disbelieves, upon him is his disbelief, and whoever does righteousness, then for themselves they are preparing [a place]).
We say that in Surah Ar-Rum, the mention was for deterrence, given the preceding verse: {فَاسْتَقِمْ كَمَا أُمِرْتَ وَمَن تَابَ مَعَكَ...} (So remain established as you have been commanded, and [so, too,] those who turned back with you...). Here, the mention is for encouragement, as the father's admonition to his son is typically through kindness and promise.
His statement {وَمَنْ عَمِلَ صَالِحًا} confirms what we mentioned earlier. In Surah Ar-Rum, since the context followed the mention of the Day from which there is no turning back, the deeds mentioned would have already occurred, so He used the past tense (wa man 'amila). Here, since the mention is at the beginning, He used the future tense (wa man yashkur).
His statement {فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ غَنِيٌّ} means He is free from the praise of those who praise Him. He is {حَمِيدٌ} (Worthy of Praise) in His essence, independent of their praise. The rank of the praiser is only elevated by virtue of their praising Allah.
{وَإِذْ قَالَ لُقْمَانُ لِابْنِهِ وَهُوَ يَعِظُهُ يَا بُنَيَّ لَا تُشْرِكْ بِاللَّهِ ۖ إِنَّ الشِّرْكَ لَظُلْمٌ عَظِيمٌ}
And [mention] when Luqman said to his son while he was instructing him, "O my son, do not associate [anything] with Allah. Indeed, association [with Him] is great injustice."
