Surat Luqman, Qur’an 31: Part I | Part II | Part III | Part IV | Part V

The next part of the ayah (verse) continues with أَنِ اشْكُرْ‌ لِلَّـهِ .  The word أن (an that/to) is called أن تفسيرية (an tafsireeyyah). That means that there is something going on that is not stated in the verse, but it is understood by someone who is strong in the language. The implied meaning is:

وَلَقَدْ آتَيْنَا لُقْمَانَ الْحِكْمَةَ …حين جعلناه شاكرا لله

“Indeed We gave Luqman wisdom when We made him grateful to Allah.”

And the reason the word أن is called أن تفسيرية (an tafsireeyyah) is because it is talking about the inner state of Luqman, not the outer state. Some scholars said this means Allah subhanahu wa ta`ala (exalted is He) commanded him by saying, “Be grateful to Allah.” However, most scholars said that the meaning is as we mentioned previously, since Allah (swt) knows the inner qualities of people. That is why in Islam we are not allowed to judge anyone’s intention. We are forbidden to do so because Allah (swt) is the only One who knows the intention.

The phrase أن اشكر لله also means, “We made him,” that is, Allah (swt) guided him, “to be شاكر  shaakir (grateful/thankful) to Allah.” The word شكر shukr (gratefulness/thankfulness) is only used when someone recognizes a favor. This is different than الحمد al-hamd. Al-hamd is used to describe something that is deserving of hamd (praise). This is why we say الحمد لله alhamdullilah (praise belongs to God). The Prophet ﷺ (peace be upon him) said: “الحمد رأس الشكر  Al-hamd (praise) is the head of giving thanks.” So hamd is praise and shukr is thanks. That is why when someone does something good to you, in Arabic you respond with shukran.

So here Allah (swt) says that Luqman is shaakir (grateful). The scholars explain that this shows the first stage of being a good servant of Allah (swt) is inner shukr. Being thankful to Him and feeling in your heart that thankfulness to Allah (swt).  The scholars explain this is because:

1. Being thankful to Allah (swt) means that one recognizes that all favors come from Allah (swt). That recognition is indicative of Allah (swt)’s existence. They recognize that He is the Master of all things.
2. Being thankful indicates that one’s belief in qadr (predestination determined by Allah) is strong.

Next, Allah (swt) says, “We gave him hikmah (wisdom).” This statement can have two meanings: the first meaning we already spoke of. The second meaning is that because he was grateful to Allah (swt), Allah (swt) gave him wisdom. As Allah (swt) says in the Qur’an:

“If you are grateful, I will surely increase you [in favor]…” (14:7).

The second meaning could be, “We bestowed upon him wisdom because he was thankful to us.” So for any student of knowledge who wants to increase knowledge, then besides studying he/she should make sure to be shaakir to Allah (swt). We ask Allah (swt) to make us from those who are grateful.

Then Allah (swt) says, “And whoever is grateful is grateful for [the benefit of] himself.” This is because Allah (swt) is not in need of our thanks. The ayah continues, “And whoever denies [His favor] – then indeed, Allah is Free of need and Praiseworthy,” (Qur’an, 14:8).

It is interesting to note that in the ayah the word يشكر  yashkur (to be grateful) is in the present-future tense, what is called المضارع  almudaariu. This present-future tense is used to show استمرار istimrar, consistency. When it is used, it brings with it the meaning of consistency. Sometimes we lose these things in translation. There is something beautiful here that we should notice. As Imam Ar-Raazi (may God have mercy on him) mentioned, when Allah (swt) talked about gratefulness He used the present-future tense. But when He talks about kufr (disbelief) He used the past tense: كفر kafara. The scholars noticed that when Allah (swt) speaks about the good qualities, He does so in the present-future tense. As if, Ar-Raazi says, Allah (swt) is telling you that you’re doing well, and you should stay this way. If you are grateful to Allah (swt) then continue being grateful.

But, on the other hand, Allah (swt) is not pleased that His servants are disbelievers. Allah (swt) uses the past tense when speaking of disbelief (although because it’s a شرط conditional statement it has to be in this form, but we don’t want to get into the grammar too much). Using the past tense is indicative of Allah (swt) saying, “If you are doing kufr stop immediately.” Once you realize that you are a disbeliever, and you realize that you believe in something other than Allah (swt), the Creator, then you should cut this away as fast as you can.  So Allah (swt) refers to it in the past tense as though you should leave it in the past.

Also, here كفر kafara is used as the opposite of شكر shukr. So instead of being grateful, one has rejected the favors of Allah (swt).

Now I have a question for you. Sometimes in the Qur’an we see similar wording, but the phrases are reversed. For example, in Surah Room, Allah (swt) says:

“Whoever disbelieves – upon him is [the consequence of] his disbelief. And whoever does righteousness – they are for themselves preparing,” (Qur’an, 30:44).

Why is it that in Surah Luqman Allah (swt) mentions thanks first, and then disbelief, but in other places of the Qur’an, Allah (swt) mentions disbelief first and then thanks?

Because here, Allah (swt) is speaking to us about the story of Luqman’s advice to his son, and Allah (swt) is praising the qualities of Luqman. Thus Allah (swt) is using this as an encouragement for the people who are grateful to Allah (swt) to continue to be thankful o Him. On the other hand, in the verse in Surah Room, Allah (swt) is commanding that we should turn towards the correct religion before a grievous day comes (i.e. the Day of Judgment), and then He mentions those who disbelieve versus those who are grateful. In Surah Room the order is reversed as a form of ترهيب tarheeb, to scare people and to wake up those people who are disbelievers.

Surat Luqman, Qur’an 31: Part I | Part II | Part III | Part IV

Then Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala (glorified is He) says, “If we had sent this Qur’an upon a mountain, you would see this mountain crumble and become weak from the fear of Allah,” (Qur’an 59:21). Imam Al Qurtubi said something remarkable about this mountain. He said, “If this is the state of a mountain, what about the heart of this believer whose heart Allah made such that it can hold the Qur’an?” Then Allah (swt) concludes the ayah (verse) by saying, “And these examples We present to the people that perhaps they will give thought.”

Here Allah (swt) says, “If We had sent this Qur’an…” As many of us know, when the word “we” is used in the Qur’an to refer to Allah (swt), it’s not implying that there are multiple gods. This is called نون التعظيم (noon at-ta’theem, the noon of greatness). It’s like the royal “we” in English. It’s used by someone who has a high position, like President Obama. If he were to send a letter to someone he would write “We” not “I”. It’s the same in the Arabic language, as we see in this ayah.

Next, we see the use of the word “هذا (haatha, this)”. Haatha is called an اسم  اشارة (ism ishaarah, demonstrative noun). It’s used to show closeness. So it indicates something close, not something far. But, think about the beginning of Surat al-Baqarah, where Allah (swt) says, “ذلك الكتاب (thaalika al-kitaab, that is the book).” “ذلك (thaalika, that)” is the opposite of “هذا (haatha, this)”. And the letter ل in ذلك is called the لام البعد (lam al-bu’d, laam of distance). It is talking about something far away. Why do you think that here, brothers and sisters, in Surat al-Hashr, Allah (swt) says, “هذا  القرآن (haathal Qur’an, this Qur’an),” indicating that it is as if the Qur’an is in front of the Companions, but in Surat al-Baqarah Allah (swt) said, “ذلك الكتاب (thaalikal kitaab, that is the book),” as if the Qur’an is far away? Why? Who knows?

<Audience gives an answer.>

Masha’Allah, that’s one of the interpretations. He said that in Surat al-Hashr “هذا (haatha, this)” is referring to the Qur’an that was around in the time of the Companions, it was close to them. And “ذلك الكتاب (thaalikal kitaabu, that is the book)” is talking about the Qur’an in لوح المحفوظ (lawhul mahfudth, the protected slate which is with Allah (swt)). Masha’Allah, nice job.

The scholars gave a few reasons. One of them is that “هذا القرآن (haathal Qur’an, this Qur’an)” is used to show the Companions of the Prophet ﷺ  how close the Qur’an is to them. Even though Allah (swt) sent the Qur’an, it’s close to you. You don’t get this in the translation, by the way. You find this in the Arabic language. Surat al-Baqarah is the beginning of the Qur’an. “ذلك الكتاب (thaalikal kitaabu, that is the book)” is used to make you feel that the Qur’an is something great, something far from you. Even though the Qur’an is in your hands you think, “SubhanAllah! I’m reading a book that’s amazing.” And Allah (swt) says, “If We had sent this Qur’an.” When Allah (swt) sent the Qur’an you weren’t holding it, but Allah (swt) wants to show you how close the Qur’an is to you.

After Allah (swt) talks about the mountain and the hearts, He says, “These parables We display for people so that they’ll think.” And here”يتفكر (yatafakkar, think)” means that the person tasks himself to think. Just like in the beginning we spoke of the hadith (narration) “خيركم من تعلم القرآن و علمه (The best of you is whoever learns the Qur’an and teaches it)”. “تعلم (ta’allama, learns)” means he/she tasks himself/herself to learn the Qur’an.

With that in mind we’ll start, insha’Allah (God willing), with Surat al-Luqman and the advice of Luqman to his son. Most people really like this part of the Qur’an so we’ll spend a few weeks explaining this advice. We ask Allah (swt) to let us benefit from the Qur’an. We ask Allah (swt) to help us. It’s not about quantity. Even if someone is able to sit, with his wife/family once a week, maybe on Saturday when there’s no work, reading the Qur’an and giving up some sleep for the Qur’an then masha’Allah, Allah (swt) will put good in it.

Surat Luqman, Qur’an 31: Part I | Part II | Part III | Part IV

That being said, the discussion today is about mountains and hearts. In Surah Hashr, Allah subhanahu wa ta`ala (exalted is He) says, “O you who have believed, fear Allah.” (Qur’an, 59:18)

The word يا (ya) is usually used to call someone far from you, however it can sometimes be used to talk to someone close as well if you want to honor them or indicate that what you’re talking about is very important. For example, if my daughter was doing something wrong I would say, “Ya Shifaa!” even though she’s right in front of me.

In this ayah (verse), ya is used as نداء التشريف (nidaa at-tashreef), a call that has honor in it. It also implies that what Allah (swt) is about to tell the believers is very important, so pay special attention to it. What does He say? “Oh you who believe, have taqwa of Allah (swt).”

Taqwa comes from the root letters و  ق  ي  (waw, qaf, ya). The word وَقَيَ means to protect. Also, in Arabic وِقاية (wiqayah) is a shield that someone uses in the battlefield. In Surah At-Tur, Allah (swt) uses the word وقاهُم (waqaahum/he protected them) when He says “and their Lord protected them from the punishment of Hellfire.” (Qur’an, 52:18).

The scholars said that taqwa has two meanings in sharia (Islamic jurisprudence). The first meaning of taqwa is to place a barrier of good deeds between yourself and the possibility of punishment. We say the “possibility of punishment” because we don’t say that someone who leaves what Allah (swt) has ordered will be punished, rather we say he becomes eligible for punishment. This is because Allah (swt) can forgive who He wants and He can punish who He wants. Punishment and forgiveness are in the hands of Allah (swt), and we ask Him to forgive us.

The second meaning of taqwa is to do your best in obeying Allah (swt). It’s very important to note this as one of the mercies of Islam. The Prophet ﷺ said “ و ما أمرتكم به فأتوا منه ما استطعتم What I’ve ordered you to do, do it to the best of your ability.” This is why we have an axiom in Islamic Law that states “الأوامر مبنية على الاستطاعة  “Orders are based on ability.” As long as someone tries their best Allah (swt) will accept from them.

We aim to do our best to observe the orders of Allah (swt), first we do those things that are obligatory, then we add those things which are recommended to polish it off. And then we avoid that which is prohibited and leave some of the doubtful issues. Unfortunately we have inverted this process now and we go to the Sheikh (scholar) and ask, “Sheikh, can you find a way out to make this thing permissible for me? Maybe there’s a strange opinion that I can follow?” It’s like shopping for a fatwa. But the muttaqi (the one who has taqwa) is careful. That’s why the Prophet ﷺ said “من وقع في الشبهات وقع في الحرام Whoever fell into the doubtful issues fell into haraam [something forbidden].”

So, at the beginning of 59:18, Allah (swt) commands the believers and orders them to have taqwa of Him. He (swt) has already mentioned the believers, so as the ayah (verse) continues, there is no need to mention the people being addressed again. Allah (swt) could use a pronoun. But Allah (swt) uses a common noun in a place where there should be a pronoun. Let’s look at an English example. If I were to say to you, “I saw Suhaib and Ahmed at the store. Suhaib and Ahmed were drinking water. Suhaib and Ahmed bought this…” you would tell me “You can say ‘they’. Why do you keep saying ‘Suhaib and Ahmed’”?

In Arabic this is done to show the importance of something. It’s called إظهار في مقام الإضمار (showing/naming in the place of a pronoun). If you remember last year when we talking about Surat-ul Kahf, the 18^th chapter of the Qur’an, we mentioned this. Allah (swt) continues to refer to the people of the cave by saying “the youth” and “they were youth” instead of using the pronoun “they”. This is done to emphasize the importance of youth in Islam.

Here also, Allah (swt) says, “And let every soul….” Instead of saying “and you all should look”. Also notice the word نفس (nafs, soul) is indefinite. The scholars mention something beautiful here. They say Allah (swt) said “every soul” to remind every single person – whether they are a scholar or not – that they are responsible to Allah (swt). As Allah (swt) tells us “And no bearer of burdens will bear the burden of another.” (Qur’an, 17:15).

Additionally, the Prophet ﷺ (peace be upon him) said in a sound hadith (narration): “Every soul is the barterer of itself. Either it will sell itself to destruction, or it will sell itself for success.” Allah (swt) also mentions: “Indeed, Allah has purchased from the believers their lives and their properties [in exchange] for that they will have Paradise.” (Qur’an, 9:111). Allah (swt) also mentions those people who sold their deen (their religion/faith) for a small paltry price (Qur’an, 2:41).

So Allah (swt) is warning us that every soul should look towards what it will send tomorrow. The word غدا (ghadan) means tomorrow, but here it is referring to the hereafter. Imam Ibn Ashur mentions that the reason Allah (swt) used the word “tomorrow” to refer to the hereafter is because when the Arabs wanted to speak of something that was as close to them as possible, they would use the word “tomorrow”. So Allah (swt) uses “tomorrow” to remind us that the Day of Judgment is near. As He (swt) says, “Indeed, they see it [as] distant, But We see it [as] near.” (Qur’an, 70:6-7). Don’t become negligent, the hour is close. That’s why Abdullah ibn Umar said, “If you live to see the evening don’t expect to see the morning, and if you live to see the morning don’t expect to see the evening.”

Then, Allah (swt) says و اتقوا الله (and be dutiful to and fear Allah). This is interesting because Allah (swt) opened the verse with this command and closed it with the same command. Twice, Allah (swt) mentions being dutiful to and fearing Allah (swt).

Why does Allah (swt) say this twice? There are two reasons, according to the scholars. The first, according to the scholars, is fear of Qur’an. The second is to ensure that you stay upright on this taqwa. For example, Allah (swt) says “Oh you who believe, believe in Allah!” Why does Allah (swt) say “believe” twice? (Qur’an, 4:136) To command us to stay as believers, to be firm in this belief. So, here the second command is to remind us to maintain that taqwa of Allah (swt). If you’re lucky enough to fear Allah (swt) the first time, then fear Allah (swt) again.

Finally Allah (swt) ends with “Indeed, Allah is Acquainted with what you do.” (Qur’an 59:18) This is the reason why Allah (swt) says “Fear Allah (swt)” in the beginning. The sentence in the middle is an independent clause, but the ending answers the question “Why should we fear Allah (swt)”?

The word إنَّ (inna) means surely, and in this verse it’s used for purposes of التعليل (at-ta’leel) to answer the question “why”. Why should we fear Allah (swt)? Because Allah (swt) is خبير (khabeer). This word form is the فعيل (faeel) word pattern used to speak of someone’s essence, something that comes naturally to them.  For example, when you talk about me, you would say “Suhaib is طويل (taweel/tall).” because it’s part of my nature, I can’t be short. So, when we say Allah (swt) is khabeer, it means that it is from His (swt) essence and attributes that He is well aware of everything that we do. We should ask ourselves, how does this attribute of Allah (swt) rectify our attitudes and behaviors when we are dealing with Him as our Lord?

This verse that we have been studying is from Surat ul-Hashr (Chapter 59). This surah (chapter) mentions two major events that happened in the life of the Prophet ﷺ in Madinah. The first is the victory Allah (swt) gave them over Banu Nadir. Secondly Allah (swt) describes the hypocrites to the Prophet ﷺ and his Companions, and how Allah (swt) gave them victory over these hypocrites.

So in the next ayah, Allah (swt) commands: “And do not be like those who forgot Allah (swt)…”(Qur’an, 59:19)

The word “those” is a definite article, so it is as though Allah (swt) is speaking about someone He already mentioned in the Surah, and the listener of the Qur’an who lives in Madinah and hears these words knows who Allah (swt) is talking about. The scholars say these people are those two groups who were mentioned previously in the Surah. The first are the followers of Musa (the Jews of Madinah) whose attributes Allah (swt) describes throughout the Qur’an, and He warns the Muslims not to acquire the main attribute of those followers of Musa, which was knowledge without practice. The second is the hypocrites: those people who expressed faith but internally had no faith. What is the result of these people forgetting Allah (swt)? Allah (swt) caused them to “forget themselves.”

Allah (swt) continues to say that indeed these people are the people of fisq. Fisq means something that’s abnormal. For example, if the inner part of a date comes out of the skin in a strange way, the Arab would say فَسَقَ (fasaqa), meaning it has come out abnormally. We know that everyone is born on fitrah (innate natural disposition towards virtue and oneness of God). So when a person leaves the fitrah and rebels against Allah (swt), we say he becomes a faasiq, he left the natural human disposition and became something strange.

Then Allah (swt) continues in the next ayah to explain this further. He says: “Not equal are the companions of the Fire and the companions of Paradise. The companions of Paradise – they are the attainers [of success].” (Qur’an 59:20) Thus, if we stay on the Qur’an and are amongst the people who mind their remembrance of Allah (swt), then we will be from the people of Paradise. However, those people who forgot Allah (swt) and did not fear Him will be from the people of Hellfire. And Allah (swt) says they are not the same. The people of Paradise are faaizoon.

The word فائز (faaiz/winner/successful) is called اسم فاعل (ism faa’il) and Allah (swt) uses this ism faa’il here to show certainty. “Definitely, for sure, there’s no doubt, that they are successful!.”

Surat Luqman, Qur’an 31: Part I | Part II | Part III | Part IV

The Prophet ﷺ  (peace be upon him) said in a hadith recorded in Bukhari, related by Uthman ibn Affan:

“.خيركم من تعلم القرآن و علمه”

“The best of you is the one who learns the Qur’an and teaches it.”

The word  تَعَلَّمَ  ta`allam is in a form which means takalluf (effort/exertion), meaning that the person struggled to learn the Qur’an, that their learning the Qur’an required effort and difficulty. Similarly, yesterday we talked about nations before us that struggled to carry the Torah. Allah subhanahu wa ta`ala (exalted is He) uses the word hummilu at-Torah (they struggled to carry it).

خيركم khayrukum means the best of the Muslims. This shows that the success, honor, respect and glory of this Ummah is with the book of Allah (swt). That’s why I encourage our brothers and sisters who become Muslim that, after learning prayer and other basics of Islam, they should focus on the Qur’an. Find someone who can teach you the Qur’an. I meet Muslim brothers who tell me all the bad things about a particular scholar. I ask the brother if he can read Surah Fatiha. I find that he cannot even read the Qur’an properly, but he was able to speak about a scholar of Islam. What kind of Islam is this? When the Companions of the Prophet ﷺ  became Muslim, the first thing they concentrated on was Qur’an and how to pray. Alhamdullilah (praise be to God), I thank my teacher in Oklahoma. He was a large man from Senegal. When I became Muslim he grabbed me and he said, “Listen, learn the Qur’an and learn Arabic. Don’t waste your time with groups.” I remember he told me some stories about Senegal that I want to share with you.

First he said: “In my town in Senegal (St. Louis, which is next to Mauritania) if someone amongst the people of knowledge wants to get married he must first memorize the Qur’an, pray taraweeh with the Qur’an and also memorize the Mu’wattah of Imam Maalik.” Of course this is difficult for us today—we have difficulty memorizing the 40 Hadith of Imam Nawawi, but this criteria shows us the level of their study.

Then, my teacher told me that he finished learning the 10 major qiraat (recitations) of the Qur’an and he learned that from his sister. He said, “My father considered the Qur’an to be a simple pre-requisite that had to be done, and so he didn’t teach it to me. My father was busy teaching usool al fiqh (philosophy of Islamic Law), lugha (language), hadith (traditions of the Prophet ﷺ ) etc. My father told me that for the examination to get the real ijaazah (certification) we would be given empty notebooks. Then we had to write from Surat Al-Fatiha to Surat An-Nas in two weeks. Every day you had to write a certain amount of Qur’an, which would then be given to the Sheikh. They read what you write and if you made even one mistake, you don’t get an ijaazah. Just one mistake. I asked my teacher, “Where is your book in which you wrote the Quran?” He said, “No, we don’t keep it. It is a gift for our Sheikh.”

The third story he told me is about his grandfather who was the Mufti of Senegal. He said one day a group of youth came to his grandfather and told him they wanted to study the philosophy of Islamic Law. He said, “No.” They asked, “Why?” He asked them, “How much Qur’an have you memorized?” They replied, “We’ve memorized twelve ajzaa (parts).” He said, “Start with Qur’an. Forget usool al-fiqh.”

The Qur’an is very important, and we should not neglect it. If you have the time and the resources of people available to teach you,,then you will be asked by Allah (swt) why you didn’t study and make the effort to learn. One of my teachers, Sh. Muhammed Al Mahdi from Al-Jazaair in Egypt, started to teach five subjects every day after Fajr. I stopped going to this class of his, and one day he came to me and said, “I’m going to bear witness against you on the Day of Judgment that you didn’t come to class.” Then, I started to come to class!

How many of us want to be the chosen people of Allah (swt)? The Prophet ﷺ  said,

“.أهل القرآن أهل الله و خاصته”

“The people of the Qur’an are the people of Allah (swt) and His chosen people.”