Al-Qur'an Surah Luqman Verse 12

Mufti Taqi Usmani

We gave wisdom to Luqmān, and said, “Be grateful to Allah;” and whoever is grateful is, in fact, grateful for his own benefit, and whoever is ungrateful, then Allah is free of all needs, worthy of all praise.

Dr. Mustafa Khattab, the Clear Quran

Indeed, We blessed Luqmân with wisdom, ˹saying˺, “Be grateful to Allah, for whoever is grateful, it is only for their own good. And whoever is ungrateful, then surely Allah is Self-Sufficient, Praiseworthy.”[[ Luqmân is believed to have been a righteous, wise man who lived around the time of Prophet David (ﷺ).]]

Ruwwad Translation Center

Indeed, We endowed Luqmān with wisdom, [saying], “Be grateful to Allah.” Whoever is grateful, it is only for his own good; and whoever is ungrateful, then Allah is Self-Sufficient, Praiseworthy.

A. J. Arberry

Indeed, We gave Lokman wisdom: 'Give thanks to God. Whosoever gives thanks gives thanks only for his own soul's good, and whosoever is ungrateful -- surely God is All-sufficient, All-laudable.'

Abdul Haleem

We endowed Luqman with wisdom: ‘Be thankful to God: whoever gives thanks benefits his own soul, and as for those who are thankless––God is self-sufficient, worthy of all praise.’

Abdul Majid Daryabadi

And assuredly We vouchsafed unto Luqman Wisdom, saying: give thanks unto Allah; and whosoever giveth thanks giveth thanks for his soul; and whosoever is unthankful--then verily Allah is self-sufficient, praiseworthy

Abdullah Yusuf Ali

we bestowed (in the past) Wisdom on Luqman; "Show (thy) gratitude to Allah." Any who is (so) grateful does so to the profit of his own soul; but if any is ungrateful, verily Allah is free of all wants, Worthy of all praise.

Abul Ala Maududi

We bestowed wisdom upon Luqman, (enjoining): “Give thanks to Allah.” Whoso gives thanks to Allah, does so to his own good. And whoso disbelieves (let him know that) Allah is All-Sufficient, Immensely Praiseworthy.

Ahmed Ali

We bestowed wisdom on Luqman that he may be grateful to God. Whosoever is grateful is so for his own good, and whoever is ungrateful (should remember) that God is above all concern, worthy of praise.

Ahmed Raza Khan

And indeed We bestowed wisdom to Luqman (saying) that, “Be grateful to Allah”; and whoever is grateful, is grateful for his own good; and whoever is ungrateful – then indeed Allah is the Absolute, the Most Praiseworthy.

Ali Quli Qarai

Certainly We gave Luqman wisdom, saying, ‘Give thanks to Allah; and whoever gives thanks, gives thanks only for his own sake. And whoever is ungrateful, [let him know that] Allah is indeed all-sufficient, all-laudable.’

Ali Ünal

We surely granted wisdom to Luqman and said: "Give thanks to God." Whoever gives thanks to God, gives thanks but for (the good of) his own soul; and whoever is ungrateful, surely God is the All-Wealthy and Self-Sufficient (absolutely independent of the whole creation), All-Praiseworthy.

Amatul Rahman Omar

Behold! We bestowed wisdom on Luqmân and said, `Give thanks to Allâh, for he who gives thanks does it only for his own good; and he who shows ingratitude (should know that) Allâh (needs no gratitude, He) is Self- Sufficient, Praiseworthy (in His own right).

English Literal

And We had given/brought Lukman the wisdom that (E) thank/be grateful to God, and who thanks/is grateful, so but he thanks/is grateful to/for his self, and who disbelieved, so then God (is) rich, praiseworthy/commendable.

Faridul Haque

And indeed We bestowed wisdom to Luqman (saying) that, “Be grateful to Allah”; and whoever is grateful, is grateful for his own good; and whoever is ungrateful – then indeed Allah is the Absolute, the Most Praiseworthy.

Hamid S. Aziz

This is the Creation of Allah; show me that which others beside Him have created. Nay, the unjust are in obvious error.

Hilali & Khan

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.

Maulana Mohammad Ali

He created the heavens without pillars that you see, and cast mountains on the earth lest it should be convulsed with you, and He spread on it animals of every kind. And We send down water from the clouds, there cause to grow therein of every nobel kind.

Mohammad Habib Shakir

And certainly We gave wisdom to Luqman, saying: Be grateful to Allah. And whoever is grateful, he is only grateful for his own soul; and whoever is ungrateful, then surely Allah is Self-sufficient, Praised.

Mohammed Marmaduke William Pickthall

And verily We gave Luqman wisdom, saying: Give thanks unto Allah; and whosoever giveth thanks, he giveth thanks for (the good of) his soul. And whosoever refuseth - Lo! Allah is Absolute, Owner of Praise.

Muhammad Sarwar

We gave wisdom to Luqman so that he would give thanks to God. Those who give thanks to God do so for their own good. Those who are ungrateful should know that God is Self-sufficient and Praiseworthy.

Qaribullah & Darwish

We gave wisdom to Lokman (saying): 'Give thanks to Allah. He who gives thanks, thanks only for himself, but whosoever is ungrateful, surely, Allah is the Rich, the Praised'

Safi-ur-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri

And indeed We bestowed upon Luqman Al-Hikmah saying: "Give thanks to Allah." And whoever gives thanks, he gives thanks for (the good of) himself. And whoever is unthankful, then verily, Allah is All-Rich, Worthy of all praise.

Wahiduddin Khan

We bestowed wisdom on Luqman, saying, "Be grateful to God: he who is grateful, is grateful only for the good of his own soul. But if anyone is ungrateful, then surely God is self-sufficient and praiseworthy."

Talal Itani

We endowed Luqman with wisdom: “Give thanks to God.” Whoever is appreciative—is appreciative for the benefit of his own soul. And whoever is unappreciative—God is Sufficient and Praiseworthy.

Tafsir jalalayn

And verily We gave Luqmn 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.

Tafseer Ibn Kathir

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 اتَيْنَا لُقْمَانَ الْحِكْمَةَ

And indeed We bestowed upon Luqman Al-Hikmah,

means, understanding, knowledge and eloquence.

أَنِ اشْكُرْ لِلَّهِ

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 فَلًّنفُسِهِمْ يَمْهَدُونَ

and whosoever does righteous good deeds, then such will prepare a good place for themselves. (30;44)

وَمَن كَفَرَ فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ غَنِيٌّ 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