Surah Luqman 31:1-11 - Quran Translation Commentary

6. And there are some people who buy literature⁶ of pleasure so that they may mislead (people) from Allah’s way, without knowledge,⁷ and may make fun of them (ayah); for such people there is shameful punishment.

7. And when to such a person Our revelations are recited, he turns away in pride as if he did not hear them, as if his ears were sealed⁸. So give him tidings of a painful punishment.

8. Verily, for those who believed and perform good acts, for them are Gardens of Delight,⁹

9. Wherein they will dwell for ever. This is Allah’s definite promise. He is the Mighty, the Wise.

10. He created the heavens without pillars as you see it ¹⁰, and set into the earth mountains so that it may not shake with you¹¹, and dispersed therein all kinds of animals. And we sent down water from the sky and We caused (plants) of every goodly kind to grow therein.

11. This is the creation of Allah. Now show me what those beside Him (whom you worship) have created ? Nay, but the wrong-doers are in open error.

Commentary

1. For the explanation of separate letters, please see Surah Baqarah Note No.1 and Surah Yunus Note No.1.

In this Surah “Alif” points to Ayat (Revelations), which are mentioned in ayat Nos. 2, 7, 31 and 32.

“Lam” hints at Luqman, whose mention occurs in ayat Nos. 11 and 13. And “Meem” refers to ‘Muhsineen’ (righteous), mentioned in Verse No.3.

2. For explanation, please see Surah Yunus Note No.2.

3. ’Muhsineen’, i.e. righteous, means those persons who not only follow diligently Allah’s command, having faith in them, but also fulfill their responsibilities efficiently and make their acts charming.

4. For explanation, please see Surah Baqarah Note No, 10.

5. For explanation, please see Surah Baqarah Notes Nos. 11,12.

6. ‘Lahval hadith’ (words that make one negligent) refers to, as is evident from reference to the context, that kind of composition (written or spoken) which makes people negligent of God and the Hereafter and which diverts attention from His signs and His revealed verses, And buying such a composition means to accept it as true and to adopt it in practice. Accordingly it is stated in Surah Baqarah :

“These are the people who have bartered guidance for darkness but their trade was not profitable and they have lost true direction.” -Surah Baqarah -16).

That is: They have given up guidance and have adopted misguidance or straying. In comparison with Quran, the thing which they had made their hobby and the material for their straying was the poetry that incited them to pleasure seeking in the world and fanned the flames of love and romance (As for poets, the erring follow them. -Shua’ra 224), aimless story-telling (talking nonsense by night-Surah Muminoon 67), and songs which the professional female slaves used to sing. These three things are included in the’ Lahval hadith’, for they are the things which make one negligent of God and the Hereafter. And Quran and songs are opposing and contrary things, Therefore, those who love songs have no interest in hearing Quran, although there is such a sweetness in Quran that it has no peer, and by hearing it such ecstasy and pleasure is experienced that the spirit is elevated, but this blissful taste can be enjoyed by only those who have a liking to hear Quran.

General commentators have taken ‘lahval hadith’ to mean song, and Hazrat Abdullah Bin Masood (R) says it means song and like things (Tafseer Tabari Vol.21, page 39- 40). Besides these other companions and Tabi’een also say the same thing. In the present time, the fondness and fascination for singing has taken the form of an epidemic. What a difference between the Islamic teachings concerning modesty which teaches that women should not talk with men with womanly charm (Surah Ahzab -32)

“and that they should not walk in such a way that the sound of their trinkets in the feet may be heard by men.” (Surah Noor-31)and the present practice of the women singing and dancing freely before men and men’s singing obscene songs with various kinds of musical instruments. Then the modern media of propagation: cinema, radio, television and video, etc., have completely won over the people and all this has created an ambience of such a nature that every house has become a cinema hall, and every child sings film songs. This has resulted in the elimination of the sense of shame and modesty, which has made illegal sex a common thing and women’s chastity is not safe. And the second loss is this that seriousness and sobriety are Missing and people have become vulgar. The third loss is that the sense of responsibility has been wounded drastically and carelessness has taken its place, and the greatest loss is that man has become neglectful of his purpose of life. Now he is neither prepared to listen to the Divine words nor talk of His remembrance or counsel. He is terribly involved in worshipping worldliness, and the fact is that the intoxication of singing is worse than the intoxication of wine. If the people had heard the Quran with the ears of their heart, they would have come to their senses.

7. The words which make one neglectful of God and the Hereafter have no relation with the real knowledge; it is the product of ignorance and ‘jahiliyah’ (unIslamic) .

8. For explanation, please see Surah An’am, Note No.44.

9. Points to the fact that those who devoted their time in collecting the wealth of faith and in bejewelling themselves with righteous acts, instead of wasting it in listening to singing and music and in aimless pastime, they will be rewarded with Gardens of Delight in the Hereafter where they will have happiness unlimited.

But if they press you to associate with Me what you know nothing of, do not obey them, be kind to them in this world, and follow the path of those who turn to Me. To Me you all will return, then I will inform you what you had been doing. (AL-Quran)

10. For explanation, please see Surah Ra’d Note No.5.

11. For explanation, please see Surah Nahl, Note No.26.