Tafsir of Luqman 31:26

Surah Luqman (31): Verse 26

لِلَّهِ مَا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ هُوَ الْغَنِيُّ الْحَمِيدُ

(To Allah belongs whatever is in the heavens and the earth. Indeed, Allah is the Self-Sufficient, the Praiseworthy.)

This verse establishes what is necessarily implied by the preceding statement (that all things belong to Him): that everything in the heavens and the earth belongs to Him, which is true both rationally and legally (by Sharia).

1. Rational Necessity (Aqlan):

• Whatever exists in the created heavens is created, and attributing its creation to the One from whom the heavens and the earth originated is rationally necessary.
• Since the heavens and the earth are contingent beings (possible), they cannot come into existence without a Necessary Existent (Wajib al-Wujud)—either directly (as the Sunnis hold) or through intermediaries (as others suggest).
• In either case, the ultimate source is Allah, because the cause of a cause is also a cause.

2. Legal Necessity (Shar'an):

• If someone owns a piece of land, anything produced from that land belongs to the owner of the land. Similarly, everything that exists in and comes from the heavens and the earth belongs to the Owner of the heavens and the earth.
• Once this is established, it is confirmed that all praise (Hamd) belongs entirely to Allah.

This phrase contains subtle meanings:

First Meaning:

• Since everything belongs to Allah, He is not in need of anything, nor does He benefit from anything.
• The things in creation have benefits, but these benefits are for you (humanity), whom He created.
• Therefore, He is Al-Ghani (Self-Sufficient) because of His lack of need, and Al-Hamid (Praiseworthy) because He dispels your needs through these creations.

Second Meaning:

• After mentioning the proofs that all praise belongs to Allah, and that worship is due only to Him, humankind is divided into two groups: the believer and the disbeliever.
• The disbeliever has not praised Allah, and the believer has praised Him.
• Allah is Al-Ghani of the praise of those who praise, so the disbelief of the disbelievers does not diminish Him.
• He is Al-Hamid in Himself, which validates the correctness of the believers' actions, and through His praise, the praisers are perfected.

Third Meaning:

• Since the heavens and earth and all within them belong to and were created by Allah, everything is needy.
• Therefore, there is no true Self-Sufficient Being except Allah—He is the Absolute Self-Sufficient (Al-Ghani al-Mutlaq).
• Every needy being is necessarily a praiser (Hamid) because of their need for the One who removes that need. Thus, the Absolute Praiseworthy (Al-Hamid al-Mutlaq) can only be the Absolute Self-Sufficient (Al-Ghani al-Mutlaq).

On the term Al-Hamid:

• Based on this, Al-Hamid can mean The Praised One (Al-Mahmoud). When applied to Allah, it means He describes Himself or His servants with praiseworthy attributes (He is the Possessor of Praise).
• When applied to a servant (Hamid), it can mean the one who praises (the worshipper, the thankful one).

Surah Luqman (31): Verses 27-28

وَلَوْ أَنَّمَا فِي الْأَرْضِ مِن شَجَرَةٍ أَقْلَامٌ وَالْبَحْرُ يُمْدُدُهُ مِن بَعْدِهِ سَبْعَةُ أَبْحُرٍ مَّا نَفِدَتْ كَلِمَاتُ اللَّهِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَزِيزٌ حَكِيمٌ * مَا خَلْقُكُمْ وَلَا بَعْثُكُمْ إِلَّا كَنَفْسٍ وَاحِدَةٍ إِنَّ اللَّهَ سَمِيعٌ بَصِيرٌ

(And if all the trees on earth were pens and the sea [was ink], replenished by seven more seas besides it, the words of Allah would not be exhausted. Indeed, Allah is Exalted in Might, Wise. Your creation and your resurrection are but as a single soul. Indeed, Allah is Hearing, Seeing.)

On the Exhaustion of Allah's Words (Verse 27):

• This verse serves as a powerful proof of Allah's absolute perfection and power, following the establishment of His absolute ownership and self-sufficiency.
• If every tree on earth were turned into pens, and the ink were the sea, supplemented by seven more seas, these resources would still be insufficient to write down the entirety of Allah's words.
• This demonstrates the infinite nature of Allah's knowledge, wisdom, and creative power, which cannot be encompassed by finite means.
• 'Aziz (Exalted in Might): He is Mighty enough that His words are infinite.
• Hakim (Wise): His words are perfectly ordered and wise.

On Creation and Resurrection (Verse 28):

• This verse shifts focus to the creation and resurrection of mankind, linking it back to the previous theme of Allah's comprehensive power.
• The creation and resurrection of all humankind—from the first to the last—is no more difficult for Allah than the creation or resurrection of a single soul (ka-nafsin wahidah).
• This simplicity underscores His absolute power over all contingent beings.
• Sami' (Hearing): He hears all utterances.
• Basir (Seeing): He sees all actions.