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13 Jumada al-awwal 1448 AH Saturday, 24 October 2026
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Scholarly commentary explaining a verse — its context, its meaning and how the scholars have understood it.

Luqman 31:32

Word by word

وَإِذَا غَشِيَهُم مَّوْجٌ كَٱلظُّلَلِ دَعَوُا۟ ٱللَّهَ مُخْلِصِينَ لَهُ ٱلدِّينَ فَلَمَّا نَجَّىٰهُمْ إِلَى ٱلْبَرِّ فَمِنْهُم مُّقْتَصِدٌ ۚ وَمَا يَجْحَدُ بِـَٔايَـٰتِنَآ إِلَّا كُلُّ خَتَّارٍ كَفُورٍ

And when waves come over them like canopies, they supplicate Allāh, sincere to Him in religion [i.e., faith]. But when He delivers them to the land, there are [some] of them who are moderate [in faith]. And none rejects Our signs except everyone treacherous and ungrateful.

Ibn Kathir (Abridged)

Hafiz Ibn Kathir

Allah tells us that He is the One Who has subjugated the sea so that ships may sail on it by His com"See the full heading"Allah tells us that He is the One Who has subjugated the sea so thatships may sail on it by His command, i.e. , by His grace and power

For if He did not give the water the strength to carry the ships, they would not sail. So he says:لِيُرِيَكُمْ مِّنْ ءَايَـتِهِ(that He may show you of His signs) meaning, by His power.إِنَّ فِى ذلِكَ لآيَـتٍ لِّكُلِّ صَبَّارٍ شَكُورٍ(Verily, in this are signs for every patient, grateful.) means, every person who bears difficulty with patience and who gives thanks at times of ease.

Then Allah says:وَإِذَا غَشِيَهُمْ مَّوْجٌ كَالظُّلَلِ(And when waves cover them like shades,) meaning, like mountains or clouds,دَعَوُاْ اللَّهَ مُخْلِصِينَ لَهُ الدِّينَ(they invoke Allah, making their invocations for Him only.) This is like the Ayah,وَإِذَا مَسَّكُمُ الْضُّرُّ فِى الْبَحْرِ ضَلَّ مَن تَدْعُونَ إِلاَ إِيَّاهُ(And when harm touches you upon the sea, those that you call upon vanish from you except Him) (17:67).فَإِذَا رَكِبُواْ فِى الْفُلْكِ(And when they embark on a ship...) (29:65) Then Allah says:فَلَمَّا نَجَّـهُمْ إِلَى الْبَرِّ فَمِنْهُمْ مُّقْتَصِدٌ(But when He brings them safe to land, there are among them those that stop in between.) Mujahid said, "This refers to the disbelievers -- as if he interpreted the word Muqtasid to mean denier as in the Ayah,فَلَمَّا نَجَّاهُمْ إِلَى الْبَرِّ إِذَا هُمْ يُشْرِكُونَ(but when He brings them safely to land, behold, they give a share of their worship to others) (29:65).وَمَا يَجْحَدُ بِـَايَـتِنَآ إِلاَّ كُلُّ خَتَّارٍ كَفُورٍ(And Our Ayat are not denied except by every Khattar Kafur.) Khattar means one who betrays or stabs in the back.

This was the view of Mujahid, Al-Hasan, Qatadah and Malik, narrating from Zayd bin Aslam. This word describes a person who, whenever he makes a promise, breaks his promise, and it refers to the worst form of treachery.كَفُورٌ(Kafur) means, one who denies blessings and does not give thanks for them, rather he forgets them and does not remember them.

Ma'arif al-Qur'an

Mufti Muhammad Shafi

This has been stated in the verse: وَلَوْ أَنَّمَا فِي الْأَرْ‌ضِ مِن شَجَرَ‌ةٍ أَقْلَامٌ (27) through a similitude. Says the similitude: 'If all trees that are on the earth were to be pens (or pens were to be made of all branches on them) and the ocean (converted into ink) is supported by seven seas following it, the words of Allah would (still) not come to an end.' The expression: کلمات اللہ (kalimatul-lah, i.e. the words of Allah) means His knowledge and wisdom (Ruh ul-Maani and Mazhari) which includes the manifestations of Divine power and Divine blessings. Then, the 'seven seas', referred to here, do not mean that there are seven seas present elsewhere. Instead of that, this is a manner of saying: Suppose if this ocean were to be replenished with seven more oceans, still then, all these words of Allah could not be committed to writing. Even the number of 'seven' appears here as a part of the example. No restriction is intended. Another verse of the Qur'an proves it.

There it was said:قُل لَّوْ كَانَ الْبَحْرُ‌ مِدَادًا لِّكَلِمَاتِ رَ‌بِّي لَنَفِدَ الْبَحْرُ‌ قَبْلَ أَن تَنفَدَ كَلِمَاتُ رَ‌بِّي وَلَوْ جِئْنَا بِمِثْلِهِ مَدَدًاSay, 'If the ocean were to be ink for the Words of my Lord, the ocean would have been consumed before the Words of my Lord are exhausted, even though we were to bring another one, like it, in addition' - Al-Kahf, 18:109.

In this verse, by saying: بِمِثْلِهِ (bimithlihi: like it), a clear hint has been given that, no matter how many oceans are supposed, their collective writing fluid cannot circumscribe the Words of Allah. Rationally, the reason is obvious. The oceans may be added one after the other and be they seven or seven thousand, they shall still remain limited while the Words of Allah (knowledge) are unlimited. How, then, can something limited make an all-encompassing coverage of what is unlimited?

As it appears in some narratives, this verse was revealed in response to a question posed by Jewish priests. The reason which prompted them to ask this question was the verse of the Qur'an where it has been said: وَمَا أُوتِيتُم مِّنَ الْعِلْمِ إِلَّا قَلِيلًا (and you are not given but a little from the knowledge - A1-'Isra', 17:85). When the Holy Prophet ﷺ came to the blessed city of Madinah, some Jewish priests visited him and it was about this verse that they confronted him by saying, "You say that you have been given a little from the knowledge. Is this what you are saying about your people, or have you included us too therein?" The Holy Prophet ﷺ said, "I mean all," that is, 'our people and the Jews and Christians as well.' Thereupon, increasing the tempo of their opposition, they said, "To us, Allah Ta’ ala has given the Torah which stands out as: تِبْيَانًا لِّكُلِّ شَيْءٍ (an explanation of everything)." He said, "That too is but a little as compared to Divine Knowledge.

Then, even the total knowledge contained in the Torah is not known to you either - what you go by is no more than a certain measure of what you need. Therefore, as compared to the Divine Knowledge, the collective knowledge of all Scriptures and Prophets is also nothing but a little." It was to support this statement that the verse: وَلَوْ أَنَّمَا فِي الْأَرْ‌ضِ مِن شَجَرَ‌ةٍ أَقْلَامٌ (And if all trees that are on the earth were to be pens... - 27) was revealed. (Ibn Kathir)

Tafsir Muyassar

Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Saudi Arabia

وإذا ركب المشركون السفن وعَلَتْهم الأمواج مِن حولهم كالسحب والجبال، أصابهم الخوف والذعر من الغرق ففزعوا إلى الله، وأخلصوا دعاءهم له، فلما نجاهم إلى البر فمنهم متوسط لم يقم بشكر الله على وجه الكمال، ومنهم كافر بنعمة الله جاحد لها، وما يكفر بآياتنا وحججنا الدالة على كمال قدرتنا ووحدانيتنا إلا كل غدَّار ناقض للعهد، جحود لنعم الله عليه.

Tafsir Ibn Kathir

Hafiz Ibn Kathir

ثم قال : ( وإذا غشيهم موج كالظلل ) أي : كالجبال والغمام ، ( دعوا الله مخلصين له الدين ) ، كما قال تعالى : ( وإذا مسكم الضر في البحر ضل من تدعون إلا إياه ) [ الإسراء : 67 ] ، وقال ( فإذا ركبوا في الفلك دعوا الله مخلصين له الدين ) [ العنكبوت : 65 ] .ثم قال : ( فلما نجاهم إلى البر فمنهم مقتصد ) قال مجاهد : أي كافر . كأنه فسر المقتصد هاهنا بالجاحد ، كما قال تعالى : ( فلما نجاهم إلى البر إذا هم يشركون ) [ العنكبوت : 65 ] .وقال ابن زيد : هو المتوسط في العمل .وهذا الذي قاله ابن زيد هو المراد في قوله : ( فمنهم ظالم لنفسه ومنهم مقتصد ومنهم سابق بالخيرات ) [ فاطر : 32 ] ، فالمقتصد هاهنا هو : المتوسط في العمل . ويحتمل أن يكون مرادا هنا أيضا ، ويكون من باب الإنكار على من شاهد تلك الأهوال والأمور العظام والآيات الباهرات في البحر ، ثم بعدما أنعم عليه من الخلاص ، كان ينبغي أن يقابل ذلك بالعمل التام ، والدؤوب في العبادة ، والمبادرة إلى الخيرات . فمن اقتصد بعد ذلك كان مقصرا والحالة هذه ، والله أعلم .وقوله : ( وما يجحد بآياتنا إلا كل ختار كفور ) : فالختار : هو الغدار .

قاله مجاهد ، والحسن ، وقتادة ، ومالك عن زيد بن أسلم ، وهو الذي كلما عاهد نقض عهده ، والختر : أتم الغدر وأبلغه ، قال عمرو بن معديكرب :وإنك لو رأيت أبا عمير ملأت يديك من غدر وختروقوله : ( كفور ) أي : جحود للنعم لا يشكرها ، بل يتناساها ولا يذكرها .

Tafsir is provided for educational reference. Paragraph breaks are added for readability — the wording of each commentary is unchanged. For religious guidance, consult a qualified scholar.