LUQMAN
In the Name of God,1 the Gracious, the Merciful 2
1 A. L. M.3
2 Those4 are verses of the wise book,
3 A guide and a mercy to the doers of good,
4 Those who establish regular prayer, and give regular charity, and have assurance of the hereafter.
5 These are on guidance from their Lord; and these are the ones who will prosper.
6 But there are, among men, those who purchase idle tales, without knowledge, to mislead men from the path of God and throw ridicule: for such there will be a humiliating penalty.
7 When our signs are rehearsed to such a one, he turns away in arrogance, as if he heard them not, as if there were deafness in both his ears: announce to him a grievous penalty.
8 For those who believe and work righteous deeds, there will be gardens of bliss,
9 To dwell in them. The promise of God is true: and he is exalted in power, wise.
10 He created the heavens without any pillars that you can see; he set on the earth mountains standing firm, lest it should shake with you; and he scattered through it beasts of all kinds. We send down rain from the sky, and produce on the earth every kind of noble creature, in pairs.
11 Such is the creation of God: now show me what is there that others besides him have created: no, but the transgressors are in clear error.
12 We bestowed wisdom on Luqman: Show gratitude to God. Anyone who is grateful does so to profit of his own soul: but if any is ungrateful, truly God is free of all wants, worthy of all praise.
13 Behold, Luqman said to his son by way of instruction: O my son join not in worship others with God: for false worship is indeed the highest wrong doing.
14 And we have enjoined on man gratitude to his parents: in travail upon travail did his mother bear him, and in years twain was his weaning: hear the command, show gratitude to me and to your parents: to me is your final goal.
15 But if they strive to make you join in worship with me things of which you have no knowledge, obey them not; yet bear them company in this life with justice, and follow the way of those who turn to me: in the end the return of you all is to me, and I will tell you the truth of all that you did.
16 O my son, if there be the weight of a mustard seed and it were in a rock, or in the heavens or on earth, God will bring it forth: for God understands the finest mysteries, and is well acquainted with them.
17 O my son establish regular prayer, enjoin what is just, and forbid what is wrong: and bear with patient constancy whatever betide you; for this is firmness of purpose in the conduct of affairs.
18 And swell not your cheek for pride at men nor walk in insolence through the earth; for God loves not any arrogant boaster.
19 And be moderate in the pace, and lower your voice; for the harshest of sounds without doubt is the braying of the ass.
20 Do you not see that God has subjected to your use all things in the heavens and on earth, and has made his bounties flow to you in exceeding measure, both seen and unseen? Yet there are among men those who dispute about God, without knowledge and without guidance, and without a book to enlighten them.
21 When they are told to follow what God has sent down, they say: no, we shall follow the ways that we found our fathers following. What? Even if it is Shaitan beckoning them to the penalty of the fire?
22 Whoever submits his whole self to God, and is a doer of good, has grasped indeed the most trustworthy hand hold: and with God rests the end and decision of all affairs.
23 But if any reject faith, let not his rejection grieve you: to us is their return, and we shall tell them the truth of their deeds: for God knows well all that is in men’s hearts.
24 We grant them their pleasure for a little while: in the end shall we drive them to a chastisement unrelenting.
25 If you ask them, who it is that created the heavens and the earth. They will certainly say, God. Say: Praise be to God! But most of them understand not.
26 To God belong all things in heaven and earth: truly God is he that is free of all wants, worthy of all praise.
27 And if all the trees on earth were pens and the ocean were ink, with seven oceans behind it to add to its supply, yet would not the words of God be exhausted: for God is exalted in power, full of wisdom.
28 And your creation or your resurrection is in no wise but as an individual soul: for God is he who hears and sees all things.
29 Do you not see that God merges night into day and he merges day into night; that he has subjected the sun, and the moon to his law, each running its course for a term appointed; and that God is well acquainted with all that do?
30 That is because God is the only reality, and because whatever else they invoke besides him is falsehood; and because God, he is the most high, most great.
31 Do you not see that the ships sail through the ocean by the grace of God that he may show you of his signs? Truly in this are signs for all who constantly persevere and give thanks.
32 When a wave covers them like the canopy of clouds, they call to God, offering him sincere devotion. But when he has delivered them safely to land, there are among them those that halt between right and wrong. But none reject our signs except only a perfidious ungrateful wretch.
33 O mankind do your duty to your Lord, and fear a day when no father can avail anything for his son, nor a son avail anything for his father. Truly, the promise of God is true. Let not then this present life deceive you, nor let arrogance deceive you about God.
34 Truly the knowledge of the Hour is with God. It is he who knows rain, and he who knows what is in the wombs. Nor does anyone know what it is that he will earn on the morrow: nor does anyone know in what land he is to die. Truly with God is full knowledge and he is acquainted with all things.
- God, in Arabic allah, referring to the one true God, as opposed to an idol or “god.” It is the Arabic equivalent of elohim and eloah (Hebrew), alaha (Syriac), and theos (Greek), all of which accurately translate into English as “God.” This translation choice is consistent with respected English Quran translations including those of A. Yusuf Ali (original edition), S.H. Nasr (Study Quran), T.B. Irving, and T. Itani (Clear Quran). ↩︎
- the Gracious, the Merciful, the highlighting of God’s grace and mercy predates the Quran, coming down from the many hundreds of references in the Taurat, Zabur, and Injil. A few samples follow:
Taurat, Exodus 34:6 — …YAHWEH, a merciful and gracious God, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness and truth.
Zabur 145:8 — YAHWEH is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great loving kindness.
Taurat, Joel 2:13 — Tear your heart, and not your garments, and turn to YAHWEH your God; for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness, and relents from sending calamity.
Taurat, Yunus 4:2 — …I knew that you are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness, and you relent of doing harm.”
Injil, 1 Timothy 1:2 — …Grace, mercy, and peace from God our Father and AL-MASIH ‘ISA our Lord.
Injil, Hebrews 4:16 — Let us therefore draw near with boldness to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace for help in time of need. ↩︎ - 31:1 meaning unknown. ↩︎
- 31:2 Those, possibly referring to the previous scriptures, such as the wisdom of Prophet Sulayman’s Book of Proverbs. ↩︎