Overview (Verses 12 - 13)

A Totally New Approach
 
The second presentation starts with a new construction, using narration and indirect advice. It takes up the question of gratitude to God alone, believing in His absolute oneness, and the question of the hereafter, reward and requital. We bestowed wisdom on Luqmān: Be grateful to God; for he who is grateful is only grateful for his own benefit. As for the one who is ungrateful; well, God is self- sufficient, ever to be praised. (Verse 12)
 
The sūrah chooses Luqmān as its spokesman on the questions of God’s oneness and the life to come. Reports on Luqmān’s identity vary, with some suggesting that he was a prophet, while others say that he was a devout person, but not a prophet. The majority of scholars prefer this second view. It is also suggested that he was an Abyssinian slave, while some reports say that he was from Nubia, the area stretching today from southern Egypt to northern Sudan. It is also said that he was one of the Children of Israel and that he was a judge. Whoever Luqmān truly was, the Qur’ān states that he was a man endowed with wisdom, embodied in gratitude to God: “We bestowed wisdom on Luqmān: ‘Be grateful to God.’“ (Verse 12) The verse thus contains an implicit directive to show gratitude to God, emulating this sage who is chosen as an example to be followed. This is coupled with another directive making it clear that being grateful to God is of benefit only to the person expressing such gratitude, while it is of no benefit to God, who is ever praised even though none of His creatures offers any such praise: “He who is grateful is only grateful for his own benefit. As for the one who is ungrateful; well, God is self-sufficient, ever to be praised.” (Verse 12) Thus, the person who abandons wisdom and who does not keep something for his future life betrays the worst type of stupidity.
 
The question of God’s oneness is then raised in the form of an admonition by Luqmān to his son: “Luqmān said to his son, admonishing him: My dear son! Do not associate any partners with God; for, to associate partners with Him is indeed a great wrong.” (Verse 13) This is a sincere piece of advice, for no parent wishes anything but good for his child. The sage, Luqmān, warns his son against associating partners with God, explaining that to do so is to be guilty of great wrongdoing. He emphasizes this fact twice: firstly, by explaining the reason, and secondly through the emphatic style employed. This is the truth that Muhammad presented to his people, but they argued and disputed with him, suspecting his motives and fearing that he might want to take power and place himself above them. What would they, then, say when they heard Luqmān, the sage, urging it upon his son? A father’s counsel is honest, sincere, free of suspicion. The fact is that God’s oneness is the old truth stated by everyone to whom God has imparted knowledge and wisdom. It aims to bring pure goodness and nothing else. This is the psychological effect intended here.