Luqman

الٓمٓ ۱

{ الم } الله أعلم بمراده به.

Alif lām mīm: God knows best what He means by these [letters].

تِلْكَ ءَايَـٰتُ ٱلْكِتَـٰبِ ٱلْحَكِيمِ ۲

{ تلك } أي هذه الآيات { ءاي تالكتب الحكيم } القرآن { الحكيم } ذي الحكمة، والإضافة بمعنى من.

Those, namely, these signs, are the signs 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’);

هُدًى وَرَحْمَةً لِّلْمُحْسِنِينَ ۳

هو { هدى ورحمة } بالرفع { للمحسنين } وفي قراءة العامة بالنصب حالا من الآيات العامل فيها ما في (تلك) من معنى الإشارة.

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,

ٱلَّذِينَ يُقِيمُونَ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ وَيُؤْتُونَ ٱلزَّكَوٰةَ وَهُم بِٱلْـَٔاخِرَةِ هُمْ يُوقِنُونَ ۴

{ الذين يقيمون الصلوة } بيان للمحسنين { ويؤتون الزكوة وهم بالأخرة هم يوقنون } «هم» الثاني تأكيد.

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).

أُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ عَلَىٰ هُدًى مِّن رَّبِّهِمْ ۖ وَأُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ هُمُ ٱلْمُفْلِحُونَ ۵

{ أولئك على هدى من ربهم وأولئك هم المفلحون } الفائزون.

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

وَمِنَ ٱلنَّاسِ مَن يَشْتَرِى لَهْوَ ٱلْحَدِيثِ لِيُضِلَّ عَن سَبِيلِ ٱللَّهِ بِغَيْرِ عِلْمٍ وَيَتَّخِذَهَا هُزُوًا ۚ أُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ لَهُمْ عَذَابٌ مُّهِينٌ ۶

{ ومن الناس من يشترى لهو الحديث } أي ما يلهي منه عما يعني { ليضل } بفتح الياء وضمها { عن سبيل الله } طريق الإسلام { بغير علم ويتخذها } بالنصب عطفا على يضل، وبالرفع عطفا على يشتري { هزوا } مهزوءا بها { أولئك لهم عذاب مهين } ذو إهانة.

And among people there is he who purchases idle 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 God, 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.

وَإِذَا تُتْلَىٰ عَلَيْهِ ءَايَـٰتُنَا وَلَّىٰ مُسْتَكْبِرًا كَأَن لَّمْ يَسْمَعْهَا كَأَنَّ فِىٓ أُذُنَيْهِ وَقْرًا ۖ فَبَشِّرْهُ بِعَذَابٍ أَلِيمٍ ۷

{ وإذا تتلى عليه ءايتنا } أي القرآن { ولى مستكبرا } متكبرا { كأن لم يسمعها كأن فى أذنيه وقرا } صمما، وجملتا التشبيه حالان من ضمير «ولى» أو الثانية بيان للأولى { فبشره } أعلمه { بعذاب أليم } مؤلم، وذكر البشارة تهكم به وهو النضر بن الحارث، كان يأتي الحيرة يتجر فيشتري كتب أخبار الأعاجم ويحدث بها أهل مكة ويقول: إن محمدا يحدثكم أحاديث عاد وثمود، وأنا أحدثكم أحاديث فارس والروم، فيستملحون حديثه ويتركون استماع القرآن.

And when Our signs, 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.

إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ وَعَمِلُوا۟ ٱلصَّـٰلِحَـٰتِ لَهُمْ جَنَّـٰتُ ٱلنَّعِيمِ ۸

{ إن الذين ءامنوا وعملوا الصلحت لهم جنت النعيم }.

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

خَـٰلِدِينَ فِيهَا ۖ وَعْدَ ٱللَّهِ حَقًّا ۚ وَهُوَ ٱلْعَزِيزُ ٱلْحَكِيمُ ۹

{ خلدين فيها } حال مقدرة أي مقدرا خلودهم فيها إذا دخلوها { وعد الله حقا } أي وعدهم ذلك وحقه حقا { وهو العزيز } الذي لا يغلبه شيء فيمنعه من إنجاز وعده ووعيده { الحكيم } الذي لا يضع شيئا إلا في محله.

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 God in truth, that is to say, God 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.

خَلَقَ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ بِغَيْرِ عَمَدٍ تَرَوْنَهَا ۖ وَأَلْقَىٰ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ رَوَٰسِىَ أَن تَمِيدَ بِكُمْ وَبَثَّ فِيهَا مِن كُلِّ دَآبَّةٍ ۚ وَأَنزَلْنَا مِنَ ٱلسَّمَآءِ مَآءً فَأَنۢبَتْنَا فِيهَا مِن كُلِّ زَوْجٍ كَرِيمٍ ۱۰

{ خلق السموات بغير عمد ترونها } أي العمد جمع عماد وهو الأسطوانة، وهو صادق بأن لا عمد أصلا { وألقى فى الأرض رواسى } جبالا مرتفعة ل { أن } لا { تميد } تتحرك { بكم وبث فيها من كل دآبة وأنزلنا } فيه التفات عن الغيبة { من السماء ماء فأنبتنا فيها من كل زوج كريم } صنف حسن.

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.

هَـٰذَا خَلْقُ ٱللَّهِ فَأَرُونِى مَاذَا خَلَقَ ٱلَّذِينَ مِن دُونِهِۦ ۚ بَلِ ٱلظَّـٰلِمُونَ فِى ضَلَـٰلٍ مُّبِينٍ ۱۱

{ هذا خلق الله } أي مخلوقه { فأرونى } أخبروني يا أهل مكة { ماذا خلق الذين من دونه } غيره أي: آلهتكم حتى أشركتموها به تعالى، وما استفهام إنكار مبتدأ، وذا بمعنى الذي بصلته خبره، وأروني معلق عن العمل لفظا، وما بعده سد مسد المفعولين { بل } للانتقال { الظلمون فى ضلل مبين } بين بإشراكهم وأنتم منهم.

This is God’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 God: and you are like them.

وَلَقَدْ ءَاتَيْنَا لُقْمَـٰنَ ٱلْحِكْمَةَ أَنِ ٱشْكُرْ لِلَّهِ ۚ وَمَن يَشْكُرْ فَإِنَّمَا يَشْكُرُ لِنَفْسِهِۦ ۖ وَمَن كَفَرَ فَإِنَّ ٱللَّهَ غَنِىٌّ حَمِيدٌ ۱۲

{ ولقد ءاتينا لقمان الحكمة } منها العلم والديانة والإصابة في القول، وحكمه كثيرة مأثورة كان يفتي قبل بعثة داود، وأدرك بعثته وأخذ عنه العلم وترك الفتيا، وقال في ذلك: ألا أكتفي إذا كفيت، وقيل له: أي الناس شر؟ قال: الذي لا يبالي إن رآه الناس مسيئا { أن } أي وقلنا له أن { اشكر لله } على ما أعطاك من الحكمة { ومن يشكر فإنما يشكر لنفسه } لأن ثواب شكره له { ومن كفر } النعمة { فإن الله غنى } عن خلقه { حميد } محمود في صنعه.

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 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.