Luqman · Makki · ayah 12 of 34

Luqman 31:12

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

“And We had certainly given Luqmān wisdom [and said], "Be grateful to Allāh." And whoever is grateful is grateful for [the benefit of] himself. And whoever denies [His favor] - then indeed, Allāh is Free of need and Praiseworthy.”

Saheeh International

Essence

Luqman's famous wisdom is defined in its first sentence as one thing: gratitude, which benefits only the one who gives it.

A reflection

Free of need, and worthy of praise

The ayah ends with two names: ghaniyyun ḥamīdun. Free of all need. Praiseworthy. They answer a question the ego asks without admitting it: what happens to Allah if I do not thank Him?

Nothing. One commentary says it directly. He is free of His servants; He is not harmed in the least. Even if everyone on earth refused to thank Him, He would remain free of need of everyone besides Himself. Another commentary explains ḥamīd as praised for His actions, praiseworthy whether anyone praises Him or not.

This takes apart a quiet arrogance. Many people treat their gratitude, and their worship generally, as a favour done for God. A donation is a gift to the religion. A prayer is attendance that ought to be noticed. The ayah removes the audience. Allah does not need your thanks. He is not waiting for it, wounded by its absence, or enlarged by its arrival.

A sceptic might hear arrogance here instead: a God who says He needs no one. But the ayah's point runs the other way. Whoever is grateful is grateful for his own soul. The thanks does not travel to a needy recipient. It returns to the one who gives it. Sahih Muslim records the same truth in a hadith qudsi: the devotion of every human being would add nothing to His dominion.

What shrinks here is not the worshipper but the worshipper's self-importance. A person who knows that Allah needs nothing from them can stop performing gratitude and start feeling it. And feeling it, the ayah promises, is entirely for their own good.

The full entry has 6 more reflections, questions to sit with, and "Live it today" - with the words, the roots and the tafsir alongside. Free, no account, works offline.