Luqman

The Salaf differed over the identity of Luqman; there are two opinions: was he a Prophet or just a righteous servant of Allah without the prophethood The majority favored the latter view, that he was a righteous servant of Allah without being a Prophet. Sufyan Ath-Thawri said, narrating from Al-Ash`ath, from `Ikrimah, from Ibn `Abbas, "Luqman was an Ethiopian slave who was a carpenter. `Abdullah bin Az-Zubayr said, "I said to Jabir bin `Abdullah: `What did you hear about Luqman' He said: `He was short with a flat nose, and came from Nubia."' Yahya bin Sa`id Al-Ansari narrated from Sa`id bin Al-Musayyib that "Luqman was from the black peoples of (southern) Egypt, and had thick lips. Allah gave him wisdom but withheld prophethood from him." Al-`Awza`i said, "`Abdur-Rahman bin Harmalah told me; `A black man came to Sa`id bin Al-Musayyib to ask him a question, and Sa`id bin Al-Musayyib said to him: "Do not be upset because you are black, for among the best of people were three who were black: Bilal, Mahja` the freed slave of `Umar bin Al-Khattab, and Luqman the Wise, who was a black Nubian with thick lips." Ibn Jarir recorded that Khalid Ar-Raba`i said: "Luqman was an Ethiopian slave who was a carpenter. His master said to him, `Slaughter this sheep for us,' so he slaughtered it. His master said: `Bring the best two pieces from it,' so he brought out the tongue and the heart. Then time passed, as much as Allah willed, and his master said: `Slaughter this sheep for us,' so he slaughtered it. His master said, `Bring the worst two morsels from it,' so he brought out the tongue and the heart. His master said to him, `I told you to bring out the best two pieces, and you brought these, then I told you to bring out the worst two pieces, and you brought these!' Luqman said, `There is nothing better than these if they are good, and there is nothing worse than these if they are bad."' Shu`bah narrated from Al-Hakam, from Mujahid, "Luqman was a righteous servant, but he was not a Prophet." Allah's saying:

وَلَقَدْ ءَاتَيْنَا لُقْمَانَ الْحِكْمَةَ

Commentary

Who was Luqman (علیہ السلام) mentioned in verse 12: وَلَقَدْ آتَيْنَا لُقْمَانَ الْحِكْمَةَ (And We gave wisdom to Luqman)? According to a report of Wahb Ibn Munnabih, Luqman, (علیہ السلام) was a nephew of Sayyidna Ayyub (Job) (علیہ السلام) while Muqatil identifies him as his brother from his maternal aunt. It appears in Tafsir ul-Baidawi and elsewhere that he lived long, as long as the time of Sayyidna Dawud (علیہ السلام) . It is proved by other reports too that Luqman (علیہ السلام) appeared during the time of Sayyidna Dawud علیہ السلام .