الحمدُ لله، الحمدُ لله الذي وهبنا نعمة الشكر وحفظنا من الكفر والشرك نحمده تعالى ونستعينه، ونشكره تعالى ونستغفره ونستغيثه، نعوذ بالله من شرور أنفسنا ومن سيئات أعمالنا، من يهد الله فهو المهتد ومن يضلل فلن تجد له وليا مرشدا، ونشهد أن لا إله إلا الله وحده لا شريك له، له الملك و له الحمد، يحيي ويميت، بيده الخير، وهو على كل شيء قدير، ونشهد أن سيدنا و مولانا محمداً عبده ورسوله، وحبيبه وصفيه، بلغ الرسالة وأدّى الأمانة ونصح الأمة، النبي الأمي الذي أرسله الله بالهدى والدين الحق، بشيرا ونذيرا بين يدي الساعة، صلى الله عليه وسلم وعلى آله وأصحابه ومن تبعهم بإحسان إلى يوم الدين.
أما بعد! فيا عباد الله اتقوا الله حق تقاته ولا تموتن إلا وأنتم مسلمون. يأيها الذين ءامنوا اتقوا الله وقولوا قولا سديدا يصلح لكم أعمالكم ويغفر لكم ذنوبكم. ومن يطع الله ورسوله فقد فاز فوزا عظيما. اتقوا الله فيما أمر وانتهوا عما نها عنه وزجر قال الله تعالى في كتابه الكريم: الم تِلْكَ آيَاتُ الْكِتاب الحكيم
These are the opening verses of surah Luqman. First Allah puts our intellect in its place by stating that which we cannot understand (الم) and then tells us “These are the miraculous signs of the Wise Book” (Luqman 31:2). All the chapters of the Qur’an that bear the names of individuals in their titles were for prophets and messengers: Nuh, Hud, Yunus, Yusuf, and Ibrahim, peace be upon them all. There, however, exists an exception for two. The first is a known exception for the name of the lady who represented all sacrifices and suffering of women throughout ages, Mariam (AS) and the second is Luqman. The presence of the name Mariam is completely understandable in all the miraculous contexts she experienced and her proximity to prophecy. But Luqman is something else, something entirely different, which compels us to pause for a long time. It’s never easy to be in this comparison, to have your name placed in a position meant only for prophets. Luqman wasn’t a great conqueror or a just, reformative leader. He didn’t attain his status because of his devotion, zuhd, or deeds of goodness. Perhaps all these things were there incidentally, but we don’t know because the Qur’an is silent on this, which means it isn’t important for that which Allah wishes to teach us.
Revealed in Makkah according to Ibn Abbas, the context being that some of the Quraysh knew about this figure known as Luqman, they wanted to challenge the Prophet, so they asked him: Do you know about this man, Luqman? Then Allah revealed this surah.
هُدٗى وَرَحۡمَةٗ لِّلۡمُحۡسِنِينَ
It is a great guidance and mercy for the doers of good. (Luqman:3) Interestingly, those who prompted its revelation did not benefit from it. These verses serve as a mercy from Allah, guiding those who adopt a particular attitude. How is this attitude nurtured?
خَلَقَ ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ بِغَيۡرِ عَمَدٖ تَرَوۡنَهَاۖ وَأَلۡقَىٰ فِي ٱلۡأَرۡضِ رَوَٰسِيَ أَن تَمِيدَ بِكُمۡ وَبَثَّ فِيهَا مِن كُلِّ دَآبَّةٖۚ وَأَنزَلۡنَا مِنَ ٱلسَّمَآءِ مَآءٗ فَأَنۢبَتۡنَا فِيهَا مِن كُلِّ زَوۡجٖ كَرِيمٍ
“He created the heavens without any visible support and has cast into the earth firmly set mountains, lest it should shift with you, and dispersed in it from every creature. And We sent down rain from the sky and made grow therein [plants] of every noble pair.” (Luqman: 10) Allah establishes his (Rububiyyah) Lordship in this Ayah by illustrating his power of creation, ownership and continuous sustenance over all things.
هَٰذَا خَلۡقُ ٱللَّهِ فَأَرُونِي مَاذَا خَلَقَ ٱلَّذِينَ مِن دُونِهِۦۚ بَلِ ٱلظَّـٰلِمُونَ فِي ضَلَٰلٖ مُّبِينٖ
“This is the creation of Allah. So show Me what those other than Him have created. Rather, the evil ones are in clear error.” (Luqman:11) Here Allah illustrates His Oneness [Uluhiyyah] This aspect pertains to the belief in the unique divine sovereignty and the exclusive right to worship and obedience that belongs to Allah alone, in other words ibadah– your inward feelings of love, hope, fear, reliance, these very intense human emotions, Allah alone is due the most intense of these feelings. Allah wants us to have our most intimate relationship with Him. This is tawheed. That’s why Allah gets so angry when you show such veneration to idols, to other than Him, that is why it garners the highest penalty. Now we come to the passage about Luqman: Who was Luqman? What did the Qur’an convey about him? What does he have to do with Uluhiyyah and Rububiyyah?
وَلَقَدۡ ءَاتَيۡنَا لُقۡمَٰنَ ٱلۡحِكۡمَةَ أَنِ ٱشۡكُرۡ لِلَّهِۚ
“And We gave Luqman wisdom [he used that wisdom to command himself to], “Be grateful to Allah.” Luqman was a believer, a father, an advisor. Or at least, that’s what the Qur’an showed of him, that’s the part it summed up that deserved his status. We might view it as merely a complementary or acquired role. But this role was so significant that it placed Luqman in that stature. Praised by Allah in the Glorious Qur’an. His wisdom captured for all to see. A figure that Allah uses to demonstrate to us the wisdom of gratitude for the favours bestowed by the Rab of everything. To show us how an intimate relationship with Allah is the only logical course of action. To show us that even if you do not have the wisdom of Luqman, you have the Book of Allah, full of Wisdom!
وَمَن يَشۡكُرۡ فَإِنَّمَا يَشۡكُرُ لِنَفۡسِهِۦۖ
And “whomsoever is grateful, is grateful only for his own benefit”. In other words, Allah does not benefit from your gratitude.
وَمَن كَفَرَ فَإِنَّ ٱللَّهَ غَنِيٌّ حَمِيدٞ
And whosoever is ungrateful “kafara”, interestingly the word kafara is used for someone who is ungrateful and for someone who disbelieves. Allah uses gratitude in the present tense and ingratitude in the past tense to allude to us that you may find yourself being ungrateful, but do not let yourself be in state of perpetual ingratitude as that will lead you to kufr. And indeed Allah is free of need and praiseworthy regardless of creation.
وَإِذۡ قَالَ لُقۡمَٰنُ لِٱبۡنِهِۦ وَهُوَ يَعِظُهُۥ يَٰبُنَيَّ لَا تُشۡرِكۡ بِٱللَّهِۖ إِنَّ ٱلشِّرۡكَ لَظُلۡمٌ عَظِيمٞ
Then, Luqman advised his son, “O my son, do not associate anything with Allah. Indeed, association with Him is a great evil.” Immediately after explaining what gratitude is and its importance –He advises his son not to associate partners with Allah. What is the nexus between Shirk and Shukr, besides differing by one placement of one letter? Shirk is the misplacement of Shukr! By associating gratitude with entities other than Allah, one commits a grave error. Instead, true gratitude recognises Allah as the ultimate source of blessings, while acknowledging others as the creation through which His favors are received. Because “Indeed, Shirk is a great evil”.
This chapter serves as a profound argument and demonstration to humanity about imbibing a particular attitude that allows one to live a life in harmony with everyone and everything, in other words to live in the worship and obedience of the One of who is worthy of our worship and obedience. And that attitude is the key Allah wishes to impart to us in this chapter in order to make us of those who are successful in this life and the hereafter. Live your live with gratitude, and you will ascend to the ranks of the most venerated.
“O Allah, grant us the wisdom of Luqman, the gratitude of the righteous, and the steadfastness upon Tawheed. Guide us on the path of righteousness and protect us from the pitfalls of shirk. Shower Your mercy upon us and grant us success in this life and the hereafter. Ameen.”
أقول قولي هذا وأستغفر الله لي ولكم ولسائر المسلمين من كل ذنب فاستغفروه إنه هو الغفور الرَّحيم
الحمد لله الحمد لله رب العالمين، وأشهد أن لا إله إلا الله وحده لا شريك له وأشهد أن محمداً عبده ورسوله، صلى الله وسلم وبارك عليه وعلى آله وصحبه، والتابعين وتابعي التابعين ومن تبعهم بإحسان إلى يوم الدين. أما بعد! فيأيها الذين ءامنوا اتقوا الله ما استطعتم واسمعوا وأطيعوا وأنفقوا خيرا لأنفسكم. يا عباد الله أوصيكم وإياي بتقوى الله وطاعته ” يقول الله لَئِن شَكَرۡتُمۡ لَأَزِيدَنَّكُمۡۖ
My dear brothers, sisters, honourable scholars and respected elders, let us explore the links between gratitude and sabr, gratitude and humility and gratitude and the Prophet ﷺ
For Gratitude and Sabr
The grateful one is with the increase because he is in witnessing the blessing. Allah, the Exalted, said: “If you are grateful, I will surely increase you.” (Ibrahim: 7). And the patient one is with Allah, the Exalted, because he is in witnessing the afflicted. Allah, glorified is He, said: “Indeed, Allah is with the patient.” (Al-Baqarah: 153). Ibn al Qayum used to say: There are two sides to a believer’s personality: Shukr and Sabr. When you’re having a hard time, you need to be patient. By focusing on the things that you are grateful for, it will help you to be patient. If you had a trillion Rands, would you be rich, yes? If you lost one eye and had to pay ½ trillion to get it back, would you give it? Yes. You are the expression of rahma. What has been gifted to you is beyond comprehension and so there is always a reason for shukr.
For Gratitude and humility
وَلَا تُصَعِّرۡ خَدَّكَ لِلنَّاسِ وَلَا تَمۡشِ فِي ٱلۡأَرۡضِ مَرَحًاۖ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَا يُحِبُّ كُلَّ مُخۡتَالٖ فَخُورٖ
“And do not turn your cheek [in contempt] toward people and do not walk through the earth exultantly. Indeed, Allah does not like all those who are self-deluded and boastful.” Gratitude and humility are closely intertwined. When you express gratitude, you acknowledge the contributions of other than yourself, fostering humility. Conversely, attributing gratitude solely to oneself may border on boastfulness.
For Gratitude and the Prophet :ﷺ
In a Sahih hadith Aisha (RA) was asked “Tell us about the most amazing thing you saw from the Messenger of Allah, ﷺ.” She cried and said, “What aspect of him was not amazing? One night… He stood up near a vessel of water, performed ablution, poured water over himself, then stood to pray. He cried until his tears wet his chest. Then he bowed and cried, then prostrated and cried, then raised his head and cried. He continued in this state until Bilal called the Athaan. It was said to him, ‘O Messenger of Allah, what makes you cry when Allah has forgiven your past and future sins?’ He said,
أفلا أكون عبداً شكوراً؟ ولمَ لا أفعل، وقد أنزل الله علي: إِنَّ فِي خَلۡقِ ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَٱلۡأَرۡضِ وَٱخۡتِلَٰفِ ٱلَّيۡلِ وَٱلنَّهَارِ لَأٓيَٰتٖ لِّأُوْلِي ٱلۡأَلۡبَٰبِ
‘Should I not be a grateful slave?’ And why should I not? Allah has revealed to me: “Indeed, in the creation of the heavens and the earth and the alternation of the day and night there are signs for people who see into the heart of the matter. “
إِنَّ اللهَ وَمَلَائِكَتَهُ يُصَلُّونَ عَلَى النَّبِيِّ، يَا أَيُهَا الذِينَ آمَنُواْ صَلُّواْ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلِّمُواْ تَسْلِيماً.
اللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ وَسَلِّمْ وَبَارِكْ عَلَيْهِ وَعَلَى آلِهِ وَصَحْبِهِ أَجْمَعِينَ. وَارْضَ اللَّهُمَّ عَنِ الْخُلَفَاءِ الرَّاشِدِينَ أَبِي بَكْرٍ وَعُمَرَ وَعُثْمَانَ وَعَلِيٍّ، وعن أم المومنين عائشة التي أمرنا الله في سورة النور أن ندافع عنها، وَعَنْ سَائِرِ الصَّحَابَةِ أَجْمَعِينَ، خُصُوصاً اِلأَنْصَارَ مِنْهُمْ وَالمُهَاجِرِينَ، وَعَنِ التَّابِعِينَ وَتَابِعِي التَّابِعِينَ وَمَنْ تَبِعَهُمْ بِإِحْسَانٍ إِلَى يَوْمِ الدِّينِ.
اللَّهُمَّ اهْدِ وُلَاةَ أُمُورِ المُسْلِمِينَ لِمَا يُرْضِيكَ وَلِاتِّبَاعِ سُنَّةِ نَبِيِّكَ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ، وَثَبِّتْ أَقْدَامَهُمْ عَلَى الصِّرَاطِ المُسْتَقِيمِ، وَأَصْلِحْهُمْ يَا رَبَّ الْعَالَمِينَ.
اللَّهُمَّ بَارِكْ عَلَى شُيُوخِنَا ، وَعَلَى رئيسنا، وَعَلَى أَمِيرِنَا، وَعَلَى جَمِيعِ أُمَرَاءِ وَزُعَمَاءِ المُسْلِمِينَ.
اللَّهُمَّ بَارِكْ عَلَى المُسْلِمِينَ فِي هَذِهِ المَدِينَةِ، وَوَفِّقْهُمْ لِمَا تُحِبُّهُ وَتَرْضَاهُ يَا أَكْرَمَ الأَكْرَمِينَ.
اللَّهُمَّ أَعِزَّ الإِسْلَامَ وَالمُسِْلمِينَ، وَاخْذُلِ الْكُفْرَ وَالْكَافِرِينَ، وَانْصُرِ المُجَاهِدِينَ فِي سَبِيلِ اللهِ. وَاجْعَلْ كَلِمََتَكَ هِيَ العُلْيَا وَكَلِمَةَ الْكُفْرِ هِيَ السُّفْلَى.
رَبَّنَا ءَاتِنَا فِي الدُّنْيَا حَسَنَةً وَفِي الآخِرَةِ حَسَنَةً وَقَِنَا عَذَابَ النَّارِ.
عِبَادَ اللَّهِ، رَحِمَكُمُ اللهُ، إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَأْمُرُ بِالْعَدْلِ وَالْإِحْسَانِ وَإِيتَاءِ ذِي الْقُرْبَى وَيَنْهَى عَنِ الْفَحْشَاءِ وَالْمُنْكَرِ وَالْبَغْيِ، يَعِظُكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَذَكَّرُونَ. أَذْكُرُوا اللَّهَ يَذْكُرْكُمْ، وَادْعُوهُ يَسْتَجِبْ لَكُمْ، وَلَذِكْرُ اللهِ تَعَالَى أَعْلَى وَأَوْلَى وَأَعَزُّ وَأَهمُ وَأَكْبَرُ.
