Tafseer of Luqman · Luqman · 31:20
Do you not see that Allah has made subject to you whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth and amply bestowed upon you His favors, [both] apparent and unapparent? But of the people is he who disputes about Allah without knowledge or guidance or an enlightening Book [from Him].
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
The discourse on the explanation of His statement, the Exalted: أَلَمْ تَرَوْا أَنَّ اللَّهَ سَخَّرَ لَكُمْ مَا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَا فِي الأَرْضِ وَأَسْبَغَ عَلَيْكُمْ نِعَمَهُ ظَاهِرَةً وَبَاطِنَةً وَمِنَ النَّاسِ مَنْ يُجَادِلُ فِي اللَّهِ بِغَيْرِ عِلْمٍ وَلا هُدًى وَلا كِتَابٍ مُنِيرٍ (20) (Have you not seen that Allah has made subservient to you what is in the heavens and what is on the earth, and that He has poured out His favors upon you in abundance, both visible and hidden? And among mankind is one who disputes about Allah without knowledge, without guidance, and without an illuminating book (31:20)).
He, exalted is His remembrance, says: (Have you not seen) O people (that Allah has made subservient to you what is in the heavens) of sun, moon, stars, and clouds, (and what is on the earth) of crawling creatures, trees, water, the sea, ships, and other benefits — all of that proceeds in the service of your benefits and your interests, for your nourishment, your provisions, your sustenance, and your pleasures; from some of it you take enjoyment, and from the whole of it you draw benefit — (and He has poured out His favors upon you in abundance, both visible and hidden).
The Qurʾān reciters differed over the reading of this. Some of the Meccans and the generality of the Kufans read it: (and He has poured out His favor — نِعْمَةً — upon you in abundance), in the singular, and they directed its meaning toward Islam, or toward the testimony of faith that there is no god but Allah. The generality of the reciters of Medina and Basra read it: (نِعَمَهُ — His favors), in the plural, and they directed its meaning toward the favors that Allah has made subservient for the servants from what is in the heavens and on the earth. As evidence for the correctness of their reading, they cited His statement: شَاكِرًا لأَنْعُمِهِ (grateful for His favors); they said: this is the plural of favors.
The correct view concerning this, in our opinion, is that they are two well-known readings among the reciters of the regions, which are close to one another in meaning. That is because the word "favor" (niʿma) can bear both the meaning of the singular and that of the plural, and the singular may be understood in the plural sense. The Exalted, praised be His praise, has said: وَإِنْ تَعُدُّوا نِعْمَةَ اللَّهِ لا تُحْصُوهَا (And if you would count the favor of Allah, you could not enumerate it). It is known that by this He did not intend a single favor. And He said in another place: وَلَمْ يَكُ مِنَ الْمُشْرِكِينَ * شَاكِرًا لأَنْعُمِهِ (and he was not among the polytheists (mushrikīn) * grateful for His favors), where He used the plural. So with whichever of the two readings the reciter reads this, he does correctly.
Mention of those who read it in the singular, and explained it as we have mentioned concerning those who read it that they explain it.
Aḥmad ibn Yūsuf related to me, saying: al-Qāsim ibn Sallām related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to us, saying: Mastūr al-Hināʾī related to me, on the authority of Ḥumayd al-Aʿraj, on the authority of Mujāhid, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, that he read it: (and He has poured out His favor upon you in abundance, both visible and hidden), and he explained it as: Islam.
It was related to me on the authority of al-Farrāʾ, he said: Sharīk ibn ʿAbdallāh related to me, on the authority of Khaṣīf, on the authority of ʿIkrima, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, that he read: (نِعْمَةً — favor), in the singular. He said: and had it been (نِعَمَهُ), then it would be "a favor upon a favor," or "a favor above a favor" — the doubt is from al-Farrāʾ.
ʿAbdallāh ibn Muḥammad al-Zuhrī related to me, saying: Sufyān related to us, saying: Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Mujāhid read: (and He has poured out His favor upon you in abundance, both visible and hidden). He said: there is no god but Allah.
Al-ʿAbbās ibn Abī Ṭālib related to me, saying: Ibn Abī Bukayr related to us, on the authority of Shibl, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid: (and He has poured out His favor upon you in abundance, both visible and hidden). He said: he used to say: it is "there is no god but Allah."
Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: my father related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of Ḥumayd al-Aʿraj, on the authority of Mujāhid: (and He has poured out His favor upon you in abundance, both visible and hidden). He said: there is no god but Allah.
Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Ibn ʿUyayna related to us, on the authority of Ḥumayd al-Aʿraj, on the authority of Mujāhid, he said: there is no god but Allah.
Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Yaḥyā ibn Ādam related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of ʿĪsā, on the authority of Qays, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: (a favor, both visible and hidden). He said: there is no god but Allah. And His statement (visible) — he says: visible upon the tongues in word, and upon the bodies and the limbs of the body in deed. And His statement (and hidden) — he says: and hidden in the hearts, in conviction and knowledge.
And His statement: (And among mankind is one who disputes about Allah without knowledge, without guidance) — He, exalted is His remembrance, says: and among mankind is one who disputes about the oneness of Allah and the keeping of obedience and worship purely for Him (without knowledge) with him concerning that about which he disputes, (without guidance) — he says: without any exposition by which he clarifies the correctness of what he says, (and without an illuminating book) — he says: and without a revelation from Allah that came with that which he claims, clarifying the truth of his claim.
As Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: (And among mankind is one who disputes about Allah without knowledge, without guidance, and without an illuminating book) — he has with him from Allah no proof and no book.
