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Beautiful Reminder: Luqman's Advice to His Son, Part 1

One of the beautiful reminders that Allah sets for us in the Qur'an is the story of Luqman and the advice he gave to

his son. This story can be found in Surah Luqman, Chapter 31.

Who was Luqman?

According to the tafsir of Ibn Kathir (taken from tafsir.com), his full name was Luqman bin 'Anqa' bin Sadun andhis son's name was Tharun. The majority of the salaf considered Luqman to be a righteous servant of Allah, but not

a Prophet. Sufyan Ath-Thawri was quoted as having said, "Luqman was an Ethiopian slave who was a carpenter." Itwas also narrated from Mujahid that "Luqman was a righteous servant but he was not a Prophet."

Allah, the Most High, speaks of the virtue of Luqman in the Qur'an. In verse 12 of Surah Luqman, it says, "Andindeed we bestowed upon Luqman Al-Hikmah (wisdom and religious understanding) saying: 'Give thanks to Allah.'

And whoever gives thanks, he gives thanks for the (good of) his own self. And whoever is thankful, then verily,

Allah is All-Rich (free of need), Worthy of all praise."

What was Luqman's Advice to His Son?

In verse 13, Luqman began his advice: "And remember when Luqman said to his son when he was advising him, 'Omy son! Join not in worship others with Allah. Verily, joining others in worship with Allah is a great Zulm (wrong)

indeed.'"

After this, Allah says in verses 14 and 15, "And We have enjoined on man (to be dutiful and good) to his parents.

His mother bore him in weakness and hardship upon weakness and hardship, and his weaning is in two years - give

thanks to Me and to your parents. Unto Me is the final destination.""But if they both strive with you to make you join in worship with Me others that of which you have no knowledge,then obey them not; but behave with them in the world kindly, and follow the path of him who turns to Me in

repentance and in obedience. Then to Me will be your return, and I shall tell you what you used to do."Starting with verse 16, Luqman's advice continues:

"O my son! If it be (anything) equal to the weight of a grain of a mustard seen, and though it be in a rock, or in the

heavens or in the earth, Allah will bring it forth. Verily, Allah is Subtle (in bringing out that grain), Well-Aware (of

its place).""O My son! Aqim-As-Salat (perform As-Salat), enjoin Al-Maruf (Islamic monotheism and all that is good), and

forbid from Al-Munkar (polytheism and all that is evil), and bear with patience whatever befalls you. Verily, theseare some of the important commandments (ordered by Allah)."

"And turn not your face away from men with pride, nor walk in insolence through the earth. Verily, Allah likes not

any arrogant boaster. And be moderate in your walking, and lower you voice. Verily, the harshest of all voices is the

braying of the asses, (Qur'an: Surah Luqman, verses 13-19)."

1. The Importance of Calling to Tawhid

The first thing that Luqman began his advice with was a reminder to believe in Allah, alone, without partners.

Providing an explanation of this, Shaykh Rabee Al-Madhkhali writes in his article,Luqman's (the wise) Advise tohis Son, "Wisdom is to put something in its place and this is from the wisdom of Luqman and every caller who is

wise...From the aspects of wisdom is that you start with the most important of affairs just as in the hadith of Muadhibn Jabil which is a clarification from the Messenger (Sallaahu alayhi wa Sallam) concerning the methodology of

this call to Allaah, the exalted. The Messenger (Sallaahu alayhi wa Sallam) said, "You will come to the people from

the Book (Jews and Christians), so let the first thing you call them to be to testify that none has the right toworshipped except Allaah" then he mentioned Salat (prayer) and Zakat (obligatory charity)," (Ahmed, Bukhari and

Muslim)."

The Shaykh continues saying, "Likewise, Luqman called his son to be upon Tawheed (maintaining the Oneness of

Allaah) and forbade him from Shirk (to associate partners with Allaah) then after that he ordered him with prayerand to enjoin good and forbid the evil. This clearly shows his wisdom."

2. Being Mindful of Our Duties towards Our Parents

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In verses 14 and 15, Allah tells us of the duties owed to our parents, reminds us of the hardship our mothers bear in

raising us, and commands us to be thankful.

Ibn Kathir comments on these verses, saying, "Allah mentions how the mother brings the child up, and how she gets

tired, and suffers stress from staying up with the child night and day, to remind the son of her previous kind

treatment to him."

Shaykh Madhkhali comments, "His statement 'unto Me is the final destination' is a warning from Allah that He willcall you to account with what you have put forward in this life. Were you grateful to Allah? Have you established

the obligations upon you that Allah has legislated?"

Commenting on verse 15, Shaykh Madhkhali says, "If they help you in the obedience to Allah and guide and

cultivate you with a correct upbringing then they deserve to be obeyed. If, however, they both deviate and strive

with much effort with you to fall into Shirk with Allah then there is no obedience to them (in that). However, thegeneral righteousness that you should have towards them does not become void even if they try and strive against

you and harm you to disbelieve in Allah, it is upon you not to forget their rights.

His statement "but behave with them in this world kindly" means that you have good conduct towards them, be

righteous to them, spend on them even if they be disbelievers. You obey them in other than the disobedience to

Allaah. You serve them and fulfil their needs. All of this is considered to be kindness to them."

Ibn Kathir mentions a narration recorded in At-Tabarani where Sa'd ibn Malik said that ayah 15 was revealedconcerning him: "I was a man who honored his mother, but when I became Muslim, she said: `O Sa`d! What is this

new thing I see you doing? Leave this religion of yours, or I will not eat or drink until I die, and people will say:Shame on you, for what you have done to me, and they will say that you have killed your mother.' I said, `Do not do

that, O mother, for I will not give up this religion of mine for anything.' She stayed without eating for one day and

one night, and she became exhausted; then she stayed for another day and night without eating, and she became

utterly exhausted. When I saw that, I said: `O my mother, by Allah, even if you had one hundred souls and theywere to depart one by one, I would not give up this religion of mine for anything, so if you want to, eat, and if you

want to, do not eat.' So she ate.''

3. Having Taqwa

How often do we commit small sins, thinking that they're no big deal or that no one will know? As Luqman points

out so beautifully, Allah knows EVERYTHING that we do and He will hold us to account.

Explaining verse 16, Ibn Kathir says in his tafsir, "If a wrong action or sin be equal to the size of a grain of mustardseed, He [Allah] will bring it forth on the Day of Resurrection, when it is placed in the Scales of Justice and

everyone is rewarded or punished for his actions -- if they are good, he will be rewarded, and if they are bad he willbe punished. This is like the ayat...'So, whoever does good equal to the weight of a speck of dust shall see it. And

whosoever does evil equal to the weight of a speck of dust shall see it (Qur'an, Al-Zalzalah: 7-8).'"

Because of this, we should have taqwa, fear of Allah. To have proper fear of Allah is to leave all acts ofdisobedience to Him for those acts that are in obedience to Him, all while hoping for Allah's mercy.

In his book,The Fruits of Taqwa, Shaykh Muhammad ibn Saalih Al-'Uthaymeen mentions the advice a righteous

person once gave regarding taqwa: "One of the righteous, wrote to his believing brother: 'I advise you with taqwaa

(fear) of Allaah who knows your secrets and sees your open actions, so remember Allaah at every time of the night

and day, and fear Allaah according to His nearness, and the power He has over you. And know that He always seesyou. And do not leave His Rule for another rule, nor His Dominion, for another dominion, So glorify Him, by

fearing Him immensely.'"

Shaykh 'Uthaymeen also quotes Umar ibn Al-Khattab as having wrote to his son, "To proceed: Verily 1 advise you

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to have taqwaa (fear) of Allaah the Mighty and Majestic, for whoever fears Him, Allaah will protect him, and

whoever gives a loan to Him, Allaah will reward him, and whoever thanks Him, Allaah will increase him."

Some of the benefits of having taqwa as outlined in 'Uthaymeen's book include: protecting oneself from the

Shaytan, increasing in blessings and good actions, easing difficulty, increasing in Allah's love, attaining knowledge,

attaining Allah's mercy, and being amongst those who enter Paradise. May Allah make us among those who havetaqwa, ameen!

4. Encouraging Good and Forbidding Wrong

After speaking of Allah, Luqman goes into the next portion of his advice, telling his son to pray, enjoin Al-Marufand forbid Al-Munkar.

In his work,Enjoining Right and Forbidding Wrong, Shaykh Ibn Taymiyyah, defines Al-Maruf as including

everything internally and externally that has been allowed by Allah, the Most High, and the Prophet Muhammad,sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. Al-Munkar, by default then, is everything that Allah and his Prophet have forbidden.

According to Ibn Taymiyyah, enjoining right and forbidding wrong is an obligation to be fulfilled to the best of

one's ability, sometimes by the tongue, sometimes by the hand, and other times by the heart.

In a hadith narrated in Sahih Muslim, the Prophet, sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam, said, "Whoever of you sees wrong

being committed, let him rectify it with his hand, if he is unable, then with his tongue, and if he us unable, then withhis heart, and this is the weakest of faith."

Ibn Taymiyyah quotes a saying from Ibn Masood, radiAllahu anhu, where he was once asked, "Who are the livingdead?" His response was, "He who does not acknowledge the right as such, and does not reject the wrong."

An important concept to note is that in our efforts to enjoin good and forbid evil, we must ensure to the best of our

ability that what we allow and what we forbid is in accordance with what Allah and His Messenger have set downfor us.

Ibn Taymiyyah says, "...the love of a believer for what is good, and his hatred for what is evil, and his desire for the

accomplishment of the good and his desire for the avoidance and prevention of evil should be in harmony with what

Allah loves and hates.

It is also imperative that in doing these actions, we do them purely for the sake of Allah, to seek His pleasure.

Ibn Taymiyyah says, "It is a requirement of righteous deeds that they be done solely for the Face of Allah ta'ala, for

Allah does not accept any actions except for those with which His Face alone was sought. This is as in the sahihhadith narrated by Abu Huraira that the Prophet ( ) said: 'Allah ta'ala says: I am the partner least in

need of any partner. Whenever someone does an act, partly for me and partly for an imagined partner, I amcompletely free of that action, and it is wholly for the partner which was associated with me.'"

None of this can be done without proper knowledge, compassion, and patience.

5. Being Patient

Towards the end of his advice, Luqman tells his son to be patient."...And bear with patience whatever befalls you. Verily, these are some of the important commandments." (Qur'an:

Luqman, Verse 17)

Commenting on this, Ibn Kathir says in his tafsir, "Luqman knew that whoever enjoins what is good and forbids

what is evil, will inevitably encounter harm and annoyance from people, so he told him to be patient...Being patient

when people cause harm or annoyance is one of the most important commandments."

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