Surah Luqman 31:12-19 - Quran Translation Commentary

12. We bestowed wisdom on Luqman¹² (saying): “Give thanks¹³ to Allah; and whoever gives thanks, gives it for (the good of) his soul. And whoever refuses, verily Allah is Self-Sufficient, Worthy of Praise.¹⁴

13. And (recall) when Luqman said to his son, when he was admonishing him: “O my son! Do not ascribe partners to Allah. Verily , ascribing partners (to Him) is a tremendous wrong.”¹⁵

14. And We¹⁶ enjoined upon man concerning his parents; his mother bore him in hardship upon hardship, and it took two years for weaning him; give thanks to Me and to your parents.¹⁷ (Ultimately) to Me is the return.

15. But if they press you to associate with Me what you know nothing of¹⁸, do not obey them¹⁹,be kind to them²⁰ in this world, and follow the path of those who turn to Me²¹. To Me you all will return, then I will inform you what you had been doing.

16. (And Luqman said): “O my son! If a thing were as small as a grain of mustard seed, and if it were in a rock or in the heavens, or in the earth, Allah will bring it forth. Verily, Allah sees the minutest thing, is Aware²².

17. “O my son ! establish salat ²³, enjoin good and forbid evil ²⁴, and endure with patience whatever befalls you²⁵. Verily, it is of brave deeds²⁶.

18. “Do not turn away from men with scorn ²⁷, nor walk proudly on the earth.²⁸ Verily Allah does not like the arrogant²⁹ and the vainglorious³⁰.

19. ”Be modest in your gait ³¹ and keep your, voice low³². Verily the harshest of all voices is the voice of the ass.” ³³

Commentary

12. Luqman is that personality of Arabia, which is famous for wisdom and sagacity. He is mentioned by the poets of Arabia. But since there was no custom of writing history among Arabs, his life history could not be compiled. As for the traditions, contradictory points have been narrated therein. Therefore, we have to rely on what is stated in Quran only, which shows that:

1. Luqman was a grateful slave of Allah.

2. Allah had given him wisdom and sagacity in abundance.

3. According to him polytheism was the greatest wrong.

4. He believed in perfect knowledge and perfect might of Allah, and in recompense for one’s acts.

5. The counsels which he gave to his son were very valuable and in fact they were a precious property for the Arabs, and now Quran has made its utility common for all.

6. His counsels also contain direction for establishing salat, which testify that these counsels of Luqman are taken from the teachings of prophets, and that they are not the result of mere thinking. Allah had given him wisdom, that is why he had absorbed the prophetic teachings in himself and related them in an effective manner.

By wisdom is meant that understanding which makes truth and justice as a foundation for creed and practice. Luqman was blessed with this understanding. For this reason such wise counsels were uttered by him. By this those Arabs who were the addressees of the Quran were supposed to be made to understand that among their forefathers was a wise man like Luqman, who was admired by them, and who was also disseminating the same teachings which the Quran was doing. Then why they do not follow this virtuous forefather of theirs and why do they insist on following those forefathers who have gone astray?

13. That is: The greatest wisdom is that man should become a grateful slave of the Lord. Gratefulness is this that man should admit from his heart the blessings and favours of Allah bestowed on himself, should admit it by his mouth, and should adopt an attitude according to it. Then knowledge, understanding and wisdom are great virtues and whoever has them he should appreciate them fully.

14. Allah does not in any way benefit from anybody’s becoming a grateful slave, nor does He lose anything from anybody’s becoming ungrateful to Him, because He does not need anything nor does His being worthy of praises depend on your praising Him. He is an epitome of best attributes, therefore, worthy of praises, whether anybody praises Him or not. However if anybody thanks Him and praises Him, then he does his duty and in this way he provides for his own success, and whoever refuses to thank Him, he provides a proof of his own disability to appreciate his duty, and he digs his own grave.

15. Polytheism is a great wrong, for it is opposed to that justice on which the system of the earth and the heavens has been established. Moreover it is a great dishonesty against the rights of Allah, because worship is the right of Allah alone and none else, as the polytheist considers some one other than Allah as worthy of worship. Besides, one who commits polytheism commits a very severe sin and thus commits a great wrong against one’s own self.

For further explanation, please see Surah An’am Note No.147. From the counsels of Luqman to his son for not committing polytheism it is not correct to think that his son was a polytheist, because further on he advises his son to establish prayer, which Shows that he was a Muslim, and Luqman advised him with emphasis to avoid polytheism so that there may develop in his son a firm religious awareness and his belief may be further strengthened. Thus we learn a lesson that first of all a father should give such a teaching to his children that would keep them away from polytheism and would strengthen the creed of monotheism in their minds.

16. The text of this ayah and that of the following one is the statement of Allah and is an addition to what Luqman has said. He would not have considered it fit to advise his son about meting out kind treatment to himself. But since it was a very important point, Allah stated it in His own words and filled in the gap.

17. Since mother undergoes suffering after suffering, during her days of pregnancy and later on, she is more deserving of kind treatment at the hands of her children. In a Hadith it is state:

“A person came to the Messenger of Allah, Sallal Lahu Alaihi Wa Sallam, and said:

‘O Messenger of Allah! who is most worthy of kind treatment at my hands?

He replied: ‘Your mother.’ He asked: ‘After that who?’

He replied: ‘Your mother.’ He asked: ‘ After that, who?’

He replied: ‘Your mother.’ He asked’ After that, who?’

He replied: ‘Your father.’

“ In the ayah, direction is given to thank the parents, while at other places emphasis is laid on giving them kind treatment. From this it becomes clear that the parents are to be treated kindly in such a way that there should be emotional attachment with them and kind words should also flow from the tongue in their favour. But Allah’s thanks take precedence as is clear from the ayah.

18. For explanation, please see Surah Ankaboot, Note No.10.

19. For explanation, please see Surah Ankaboot Note. No.11.

20. Here the world means that circle of lawful things which are permitted by the Shariah, If the parents are Non-Muslims or infidels, this kind treatment can be meted out to them too, provided it does not necessitate going against any Shariah law.

21. That is: In the matter of faith, parents are not to be obeyed that it is not necessary that the children should also have the same religion which the parents have. The reality of religion is to turn towards Allah, therefore, the children should follow that path which the people of faith have followed by turning to Allah, and that path is the path of the prophets of Allah (Peace be upon them).

“O my son ! establish salat, enjoin good and forbid evil, and endure with patience whatever befalls you. Verily, it is of brave deeds. “Do not turn away from men with scorn, nor walk proudly on the earth. Verily Allah does not like the arrogant and the vainglorious. ”Be modest in your gait and keep your, voice low. Verily the harshest of all voices is the voice of the ass.”(AL-Quran)

22.That is : Allah is such a Being who can see the minutest of things and knows every thing, and if a minute thing like the seed of the mustard grain is hidden at any place in the universe, it is known to Him, and whenever He would like it, He would take it out. And when nothing is hidden from him, then the lightest of man’s action is not unknown to Him, and on the Day of Resurrection He will, surely bring it forth. In the Surah Zilzal it is stated:

“Then whosoever has done an atom’s weight of good, wil1 see it. And whosoever has done an atom’s weight of evil, will see it.” -(Surah Zilzal-7-8).

23. As we have stated above, to establish salat is according to the teachings of the prophets. The wise sayings of Luqman are also derived from the prophetic teachings.

That is why the direction for establishing prayer was also included in that.

24. It is learnt that enjoining good and forbidding evil is the responsibility of every individual, and not merely the responsibility of the ulema or the learned people. As for the method of its fulfillment, it depends on an individual’s personal capability and circumstances.

25. Whoever will come forward to propagate virtue and prevent evil, will automatically encounter opposition, for people generally are not prepared to accept reform easily, and subject the reformers to trials and sufferings. Therefore in this field there is great need for patience and perseverance.

26. Since this work is very difficult, therefore it needs courage and determination. If a person has courage, he can unhesitatingly jump into the fire of Namrood (Nimrod), and if he has no courage, then he cannot even utter the truth for fear of ordinary dangers. A man’s firm determination can cut the chains of steel while his cowardice binds him into chains.

27. Turning away from the people is the sign of man’s pride and arrogance. If a man suffers from, superiority complex, then he does not care for others, and this is terrible bad manners.

28. For explanation please see Surah Bani Israil, Note No.50.

29. ‘Mukhtal’ means proud and self-conceited, These bad trails develop in a man as a result of his having wealth, power. Leadership, knowledge, technical knowledge, which affects his behaviour and also his way of walking. Therefore, in the hadith a severe warning is given on walking arrogantly, drawing his clothes.’

“Whoever will draw his clothes with him while walking. Allah will not look at him on the Day of Resurrection.” -(Sahihul Bukhari, Kitabul Libas).

This is the manner of the kings and proudy people that they let fall the lower part of their royal gowns to the ground and while walking draw it with them in an arrogant way. If the trousers or pants are also below the ankle, it also creates a sense of pride in the wearer. For this reason the Shariah has prescribed the limit that the said dress should not be below the ankle. The prophet, Sallal Lahu Alaihi Wa Sallam has said:

“The part of the loin cloth which will be below the ankles will be in the Hellfire.” -(Mishkat-quoted by Bukhari).

From this we get the guideline that man should not wear such clothes as display a sense of pride in him.

30.’Fakhoor’ means one who displays his superiority over others. Only those people who are shallow recount their achievements before others, so that it may be appreciated by them. This is a mean habit, which is severely disliked by Allah.

31. Being modest in bearing means that man in his behaviour, movements and walking should be dignified. Man should not appear to be so lazy in an artificial manner nor should be so active as to appear undignified.

In a hadith running to join prayer has also been forbidden as it shows indignity:

“When you hear ‘Iqamah’(call for prayer), go with dignity and calmness for salat, do not run, then whatever part of the salat you get to join, offer that part of the salat, and whatever part is missed, complete it.” -(Sahih Bukhari -Kitab-ul- Azan).

This guideline is from the moral point of view, that is it should be man’s habit to be modest and balanced in his bearing, otherwise when necessity calls for it a man must run, e.g. for extinguishing fire, or for saving some one’s life or for capturing a Criminal, etc. For further explanation, please see Surah Furqan, Note No.91.

From this it is clear that dancing is an evil act, because it is totally contrary to modest bearing and is an open manifestation of indignity, whether it is a man’s dance or a woman’s dance, or whether it is accompanied by obscene songs or by qawwall, or in a state of semi-consciousness.

32. That is: In conversation your voice should be low. Talking in a loud voice is not a thing to be appreciated, but is a sign of insensibility, and shouting appears to be indulging in quarrel.

Lowness in the voice is a good attribute which has its own effectiveness. Lowness in the voice as part of the bearing or habit is from the point of view of general behaviour, otherwise when needed there is nothing wrong in raising the voice, e.g. when announcing something or giving lecture, or performing Azan, etc.

33. By calling it similar to the voice of the donkey, the unseemly and harsh voice has been put in a bad light for being hated. Nobody likes to hear the voice of a donkey, then a man, who has a moral existence, why should he sound like a donkey.

It may be noted that in Islam external and internal, both have significance, and both interact on one another. Good behaviour which is connected with man’s external parts, like low voice, low sight, modest bearing, etc. become the means of creating good and righteous feelings in his internal self, and bad behaviour becomes the means of creating evil feelings and passions in his internal self and mind. Similarly those attributes which are related to the inner self, like sincerity, love, sympathy, etc., improve and beautify habits and manners, while bad attributes like jealousy, rancour, etc., develop bad character.