We bestowed wisdom on Luqman: ‘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.’ Luqman 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.’ We have enjoined upon man goodness to his parents: his mother bore him going from weakness to weakness, and his weaning takes place within two years. Be grateful to Me and to your parents. With Me is the end of all journeys. Yet should they endeavor to make you associate as partner with Me something of which you have no knowledge, do not obey them, but (even then) bear them company in this world’s life with kindness, and follow the path of those who turn toward Me. In the end, it is to Me that you shall all return, when I shall inform you about all that you were doing (in life). (Luqman: 31: 12-15)
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 Luqman: ‘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.” The surah chooses Luqman as its spokesman on the questions of God’s oneness and the life to come. Reports on Luqman’s identity vary, with some suggesting that he was a prophet, while others say that he was a devout person, but not a prophet. Whoever Luqman truly was, the Qur’an states that he was a man endowed with wisdom, embodied in gratitude to God : “We bestowed wisdom on Luqman: ‘Be grateful to God.'” 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.” Thus, the person who abandons wisdom and who does not keep something for his future life betrays the worst type of stupidity.