031 - Sūrat al-Luqmān

In the name of Allah (who is) Rahmān (and) Rahīm.

[For explanation, see Sūrat al-Fātiha: 1]

1

Alif lām mīm: Allahu ta’ālā knows best what He means by these [letters].

2

Those, namely, these āyāt, are the verses of the wise Book, the Qur'ān, the one containing wisdom (the genitive annexation [āyātu'l-kitābi'l-hakīm] has the [partitive] meaning of min, 'from');

3

it is, a guidance and a mercy (read nominative rahmatun; the popular accusative reading [rahmatan] would make it a circumstantial qualifier referring to āyāt, 'signs', the operator of which being the implicit demonstrative import of tilka, 'those') for the virtuous,

who maintain the prayer (alladhīna yuqīmūna'l-salāta, an explication of al-muhsinīna, 'the virtuous') and pay the alms and who are certain of the Hereafter (the repetition of hum, 'they' [here translated 'who'] is for emphasis).

Such follow guidance from their Rabb and it is they who are the successful, the winners

And among people there is he who buys the diversionary talk, in other words, that [part of it] which diverts [people] from its [true] significance, that he may lead [people] astray (read li-yadilla; or li-yudilla) from the way of Allahu ta’ālā, the religion of Islam, without knowledge and take it (read [subjunctive] wa-yattakhidhahā as a supplement to yudilla, 'that he may lead astray'; or [indicative] wa-yattakhidhuhā as a supplement to yashtarī, 'who buys') in mockery, as something to be mocked. For such there will be a humiliating chastisement, one of abasement.

And when Our verses, in other words, [in] the Qur'ān, are recited to such [a one] he turns away disdainfully as though he never heard them, as though there were a deafness in his ears (both comparisons constitute two circumstantial qualifiers referring to the subject of [the verb] wallā, 'turns away'; or it is that the second [comparison] is an explication of the first). So give him tidings of, inform him of, a painful chastisement. The use of [the expression] 'good tidings' meant derisively against such [a person] - this was al-Nadr b. al-Hārith. He used to visit al-Hīra for commerce and purchase books containing the stories of the non-Arab peoples and then recount these to the people of Mecca. He would say, 'Muhammad recounts to you the stories of 'ād and Thamūd, whereas I relate to you the stories of the Persians and the Byzantines!' They would thus [go to] enjoy his stories and neglect to listen to the Qur'ān

Surely those who believe and perform righteous deeds, for them there shall be Gardens of Bliss,

abiding therein (khālidīna fīhā, is a circumstantial qualification [of a future status]), in other words, their abiding therein will have been ordained once they enter it - a promise of Allahu ta’ālā in truth, that is to say, Allahu ta’ālā promised them this and realised it in truth; and He is the Mighty, Whom nothing can overwhelm and so prevent Him from fulfilling His promise and His threat [of chastisement], the Wise, the One Who assigns all things to their rightful places.

He created the heavens without any pillars that you can see ('amad is the plural of 'imād, which is an ustuwāna, 'a column') - this is the truth since there are no actual pillars - and cast high mountains into the earth, lest it shake with you, and He dispersed therein all kinds beasts. And We sent down (there is a shift from the third [to the second] person) water from the heaven and We caused to grow in it of every splendid kind, [every] fair specimen.

This is Allah’s creation, in other words, what is created by Him. Now show me, inform me, O people of Mecca, what those [you worship] besides Him, [those] other than Him, have created, namely, your gods, so that you have associated them with Him, exalted be He (mā is an interrogative of denial and a subject; dhā has the significance of alladhī, and what follows it of the relative clause is the predicate [of the subject mā]; arūnī glosses 'the action', and what follows it stands in place of two direct objects). Nay (bal, is for transition) but the evildoers are in manifest error, [error] that is evident because of their ascribing partners to Allahu ta’ālā: and you are like them.

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 Allahu ta’ālā, for the wisdom that He has given you. Whoever gives thanks 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 Allahu ta’ālā is Independent, [without need] of His creation, Praised', in what He does.

And, mention, when Luqmān said to his son, when he was admonishing him, 'O my son (yā bunayya is an affectionate diminutive [of yā ibnī]) do not ascribe partners to Allahu ta’ālā: idolatry is truly a tremendous wrong', so return to him [in repentance] and submit [to Him].

And We have enjoined man concerning his parents, We commanded him to be dutiful towards them - his mother bears him, and weakens, in weakness after weakness, that is to say, she is weakened by the pregnancy, the pains of labour and the delivery; and his weaning is in two years, and We said to him [to man]: 'Give thanks to Me and to your parents. To Me is the journey's end, the return.

But if they urge you to ascribe to Me as partner that whereof you have no knowledge, that accords with [any] reality, then do not obey them. And keep them company in this world honourably, in other words, with decency: dutifulness and kindness - and follow the way of him who returns to Me [in penitence], with [acts of] obedience. Then to Me will be your return, and I will inform you of what you used to do, and requite you for it (the [entire] sentence containing the 'enjoinder' [verse 14] and what comes after it constitutes a parenthetical statement).

'O my son! Even if it, namely, the evil trait, should be the weight of a grain of mustard-seed, and [even if] it be in a rock, or in the heavens, or in the earth, in other words, in the most concealed place therein, Allahu ta’ālā will bring it forth, and He will call [that person] to account for it. Truly Allahu ta’ālā is Subtle, in bringing it forth, Aware, of its location.

O my son! Establish prayer and enjoin decency and forbid indecency. And be patient through whatever may befall you, as a result of such enjoining and forbidding. Truly that, which is mentioned, is true constancy, in other words, that is one of those necessary things regarding which one must have firm resolve.

And do not turn your cheek disdainfully from people (tusa''ir: a variant reading has tusā'ir) do not turn your face away in disdain, and do not walk upon the earth exultantly, in other words, with haughtiness. Truly Allahu ta’ālā does not like any swaggering braggart, strutting in his step, [boasting] in front of people.

And be modest in your bearing, being moderate in it, neither dragging slowly nor rushing, but peaceful and dignified, and lower your voice; indeed the most hideous of voices is the donkey's voice', beginning [its hideous bray] with an exhalation and ending with an inhalation.

Do you not see, do you [not] realise, O you who are being addressed, that Allahu ta’ālā has disposed for you whatever is in the heavens, such as the sun, the moon, and the stars, that you may benefit from them, and whatever is in the earth, of fruits, rivers and animals, and He has showered, He has made abundant and made complete, His favours upon you, [both] outwardly, namely, [by giving you your] wholesome form, even limbs and otherwise, and inwardly?, that is, [by giving you] knowledge and so on. Yet among people, that is, [people such as] the Meccan disbelievers, there are those who dispute concerning Allahu ta’ālā without any knowledge or guidance, from a Messenger (rasūl), or an illuminating scripture, revealed by Allahu ta’ālā, rather [they dispute] by [blindly] imitating [others].

And if it is said to them: 'Follow what Allahu ta’ālā has revealed', they say, 'We will rather follow what we found our fathers following'. He, exalted be He, says: What! Would they follow such [things], even though Satan were calling them to the chastisement of the Blaze?, that is, to what will bring it about necessarily? No!

And whoever surrenders his purpose to Allahu ta’ālā, that is, [whoever] takes to obeying Him, and is virtuous, a believer in [His] Oneness, has certainly grasped the firmest handle, the stronger end, which is not in danger of being severed, and to Allahu ta’ālā belongs the sequel of all matters, their [ultimate] return.

And whoever disbelieves, then do not let his disbelief grieve you, O Muhammad "sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam", do not be concerned with his disbelief. To Us shall be their return and We shall inform them of what they did. Truly Allahu ta’ālā knows [best] what is in the breasts, just as [He knows] other things, and so He will requite [them] accordingly.

We will give them comfort, in this world, for a little [while], for the [duration of the] days of their lives, then We will drive them, in the Hereafter, to a harsh chastisement, namely, the chastisement of the Fire from which they will find no escape.

And if (wa-la-in, the lām is for oaths) you were to ask them, 'Who created the heavens and the earth?' they will surely say, 'Allahu ta’ālā.' (la-yaqūlunna, 'they will surely say', the indicative nūn has been omitted because of the like [sc. the nūn] coming after it, and likewise the wāw of the [plural] person, because of two unvocalised consonants coming together) Say: 'Praise be to Allahu ta’ālā', for the manifestation of the definitive argument against them by the affirmation of the Oneness [of Allahu ta’ālā]. Nay, but most of them do not realise, that this [affirmation] is an obligation upon them.

To Allahu ta’ālā belongs whatever is in the heavens and the earth, as possessions, creatures and servants, and so none other than Him deserves to be worshipped in them. Indeed Allahu ta’ālā, He is the Independent, [without need] of His creatures, the Praised, in His actions.

And if all the trees on earth were pens, and the sea (wa'l-bahru is a supplement to [mā] the subject of anna) replenished with seven more seas, were ink, the Words of Allahu ta’ālā would not be spent, [those words] expressing all the things He knows, written in those pens with that [amount of] ink or with even more [ink] than that [would not be spent], for His knowledge, exalted be He, is infinite. Truly Allahu ta’ālā is Mighty, nothing being beyond Him, Wise, from Whose knowledge and wisdom nothing escapes.

Your creation and your resurrection are only as [that of] a single soul, in terms of creation and resurrection, because it is the result of the words kun fa-yakūn, '“Be!” and it is!' Truly Allahu ta’ālā is Hearer, hearing everything that may be heard, Seer, seeing everything that may be seen, nothing able to distract Him from anything else.

Have you not seen, have you [not] realised, O you being addressed, that Allahu ta’ālā makes the night pass into the day and makes the day pass into the night, such that the increase of the one is relative to the decrease of the other, and He has disposed the sun and the moon, each, of the two, running, in its course, to an appointed term, namely, [to] the Day of Resurrection, and that Allahu ta’ālā is Aware of what you do?

That, which is mentioned, is [so] because Allahu ta’ālā, He is the Truth, the established [truth], and whatever they call on (read yad'ūna; or tad'ūna, 'you call on') whatever they worship, besides Him is, evanescent, falsehood, and because Allahu ta’ālā is the High [Exalted], above His creation by virtue of [His] subjugation [of them], the Great, the Mighty.

Have you not seen that the ships run upon the sea by the grace of Allahu ta’ālā, that He may show you, O you who are being addressed in this [statement], some of His signs? Surely in that there are signs, lessons, for every [servant who is] steadfast, [in abstaining] from acts of disobedience to Allahu ta’ālā, grateful, for His grace.

And if waves cover them, that is, [if] these rise above the disbelievers, like awnings, like mountains that act as awnings over those below them, they call on Allahu ta’ālā, sincere before Him in their faith, that is, [in their] supplication, that He may deliver them, in other words, they do not call on any other [god] with Him; but when He delivers them to land, some of them compromise, middling between belief and disbelief, while others persist in their disbelief. And none denies Our verses, an example of which is Our delivering [them] from [such treacherous] waves, except every perfidious ingrate, [ungrateful] for Allah’s graces, exalted be He.

O people, namely, [such as] the people of Mecca, fear your Rabb and fear a day when no parent shall avail a child, thereon in any way; and no child, thereon, shall avail its parent in any way. Surely Allah’s promise, of resurrection, is true. So do not let the life of this world deceive you, [and divert you] from Islam, and do not let the Deceiver, Satan, deceive you concerning Allahu ta’ālā, because of His forbearance and granting [people] respite.

Lo! Allahu ta’ālā, with Him lies knowledge of the Hour, when it will come to pass; and He sends down (read yunzilu, or yunazzilu) the rain, at times which [only] He knows; and He knows what is in the wombs, whether it is a male or a female; and not one of the three things is known by anyone other than Allahu ta’ālā, exalted be He. And no soul knows what it will earn tomorrow, of good or evil, but Allahu ta’ālā, exalted be He, knows this; and no soul knows in what land it will die, but Allahu ta’ālā, exalted be He, knows this. Truly Allahu ta’ālā is Knower, of all things, Aware, of the inward and outward aspects thereof. Al-Bukhārī reported [by way of an isnād] from ['Abd Allāh] Ibn ‘Umar the following hadīth: 'The Keys of the Unseen are five: Lo! Allahu ta’ālā, with Him lies knowledge of the Hour … to the end of the sūra' [above].¹

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