His saying, exalted and glorified is He:

﴿And We certainly gave Luqman wisdom, [saying], 'Be grateful to Allah.' And whoever is grateful - his gratitude is only for his own soul. And whoever is ungrateful - then indeed, Allah is Free of need and Praiseworthy.﴾

﴿And [mention] when Luqman said to his son while he was instructing him, 'O my son, do not associate [anything] with Allah. Indeed, association is great injustice.'﴾

Luqman is a wise man with the wisdom of Allah, the Most High. It is the correctness in beliefs, understanding in religion, and action. There is a difference of opinion on whether he was a prophet or just a righteous man.

Ikrimah and al-Sha'bi said he was a prophet. Mujahid and others said he was only righteous. Ibn Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, said: I heard the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, say: "Luqman was not a prophet, but he was a servant who thought a lot, had good certainty, loved Allah, so Allah loved him, and He bestowed upon him wisdom. He was given the choice to be made a vicegerent to rule with truth. He said: 'O Lord, if You give me a choice, I accept ease and leave hardship, and if You decide for me, then I hear and obey, for You will protect me.'" He was a judge among the Children of Israel, a Nubian man with split legs and large feet, as said by Sa'id ibn al-Musayyib, Mujahid, and Ibn Abbas. A man who had grazed sheep with him said to him: What has brought you to the state I see? He said: Truthful speech and silence about what does not concern me. Ibn al-Musayyib said: He was one of the black people of Egypt, from the Nubians. Khalid ibn al-Rabi' said: He was a carpenter, and it was said he was a tailor, and it was said he was a shepherd. The wisdom of Luqman is abundant and narrated. He was asked: Which of the people is the worst? He said: The one who does not care if he is seen by people as doing wrong.

And His saying, exalted and glorified is He: ﴿[saying], 'Be grateful'﴾ can be that the 'be' is in the accusative position due to the omission of the preposition, meaning: 'by being grateful to Allah.' It can also be that it is explanatory, meaning: his wisdom was centered on gratitude to Allah, the Most High, and its meanings. All acts of worship and beliefs are included in the gratitude to Allah, blessed and exalted is He. Then He informed that the grateful person’s share returns to him, and he is the one who benefits from that. And Allah, the Most High, is Free of need of gratitude, so the gratitude of the servants does not benefit Him. He is Praiseworthy in Himself, so the disbelief of the disbelievers does not harm Him. And 'Praiseworthy' means: deserving of praise, meaning: He is deserving of that due to His attributes and essence.

And His saying, exalted is He: "And when he said" can be interpreted as: and remember when he said, and this has been shortened for the indication of what precedes it, and the name of his son is Tarān. Nafi', Abu 'Amr, Ibn 'Amir, Hamzah, and Al-Kisai, and Abu Bakr from Asim read: "O my son" with emphasis and a kasrah on the 'ya' in the three, with the idgham of one of the two 'ya's into the other. Hafs and Al-Mufaddal from Asim read: "O my son" with emphasis and a fatha in the three, according to your saying: O my son, and O boy. Ibn Abu Burrah narrated from Ibn Kathir: "O my son" with a sukoon on the 'ya', and "O my son, indeed it" with a kasrah on the 'ya', and "O my son, establish the prayer" with a fatha on the 'ya', and Qunbul narrated from him with a sukoon in the first and third, and with a kasrah on the middle one. The apparent meaning of his saying: "Indeed, associating partners with Allah is a great injustice" is that it is from the words of Luqman. It is possible that it is a statement from Allah, exalted is He, disconnected from the words of Luqman, yet connected to it in emphasizing the meaning. This is supported by the narrated hadith: "When the verse was revealed: 'And they who do not mix their faith with injustice' [Al-An'am: 82], the companions of the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, were apprehensive and said: Which of us has not wronged? So Allah, exalted is He, revealed: 'Indeed, associating partners with Allah is a great injustice,' and their apprehension subsided."

The judge Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

Their apprehension indeed subsides by it being a statement from Allah, exalted is He, and it may subside by Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, mentioning that about a servant whom He has described with wisdom and sound judgment.