Verses 12–19

Commentary

وَلَقَدْ ءَاتَيْنَا لُقْمَـٰنَ ٱلْحِكْمَةَ أَنِ ٱشْكُرْ لِلَّهِ ۚ وَمَن يَشْكُرْ فَإِنَّمَا يَشْكُرُ لِنَفْسِهِۦ ۖ وَمَن كَفَرَ فَإِنَّ ٱللَّهَ غَنِىٌّ حَمِيدٌ ۝١٢

31:12 Certainly We gave Luqmān wisdom, to give thanks to Allah;

and whoever gives thanks, gives thanks only for his own sake. And whoever is ungrateful, Allah is indeed all-sufficient, all-laudable.

Based on how the term is used here and elsewhere, “wisdom” (ḥikmah) signifies useful knowledge, as opposed to ignorance (jahl) or pretence (jurbuzah).

Some say that to give thanks to Allah implies that God told him this, namely: “And we said: give thanks to Allah.”

However, it appears that this is actually an explanation of what it means for God to grant him wisdom. This is because the essence of thanksgiving (shukr) is to make proper use of a blessing in such a way that points to the Source of this blessing. Accomplishing this in the manner God deserves depends on one having both knowledge of both the Source and the blessing, namely in what sense is it a blessing and how to make proper use of it in this way. So when God says He gave Luqmān wisdom, this means He inspired him to give thanks. This means that giving Luqmān wisdom includes bidding him to give thanks.

To give thanks to Allah contains a transition from the first-person (“We”) to the third-person (“He”). This is because when a speaker talks to another person in the first-person plural, this displays his greatness by speaking on behalf of himself and his servants. However, if he said “to give thanks to Us”, this would clearly not suit divine unity in thanksgiving.

32:24And whoever gives thanks, gives thanks only for his own sake. And whoever is ungrateful, Allah is indeed all-sufficient, all-laudable: Here, God says He does not need people to give Him thanks, because the benefits of the act of thanksgiving actually return to the person giving thanks. Equally, ingratitude only harms the one who is ungrateful—it does not harm God in the slightest. Therefore, whoever gives thanks only does so for his own benefit, as God does not benefit from it—because He is absolutely self-sufficient (ghanī)—for the same reason, whoever is ungrateful only harms himself. In other words, God derives no benefit or harm whether people give thanks or not. He is All-laudable (ḥamīd) because he is praised for the blessings He gives, regardless of how people receive them.

The Qur’an uses the present tense for thanksgiving to show that it is something continuous and the past tense for ingratitude to show that it happens on occasion. This implies that thanksgiving is only of benefit if it is continuous but that ingratitude is harmful even if it only happens once.

وَإِذْ قَالَ لُقْمَـٰنُ لِٱبْنِهِۦ وَهُوَ يَعِظُهُۥ يَـٰبُنَىَّ لَا تُشْرِكْ بِٱللَّهِ ۖ إِنَّ ٱلشِّرْكَ لَظُلْمٌ عَظِيمٌ ۝١٣

31:13 When Luqmān said to his son, as he advised him: O my son! Do not ascribe any partners to Allah. Polytheism is indeed a great injustice.

An action becomes great through the greatness of its effects, so the gravity of a misdeed comes from the gravity of its punishment. Therefore, the greatest of misdeeds is to disobey God because of His own unparalleled greatness and magnificence. He has no partner. Therefore the greatest act of disobedience against God is to ascribe to Him a partner.

Polytheism is indeed a great injustice (zulm ʿazīm)—because the Qur’an uses “great” (ʿazīm) without any qualification, this means it is great compared to all other sins. In other words, its gravity is immeasurable.

وَوَصَّيْنَا ٱلْإِنسَـٰنَ بِوَٰلِدَيْهِ حَمَلَتْهُ أُمُّهُۥ وَهْنًا عَلَىٰ وَهْنٍ وَفِصَـٰلُهُۥ فِى عَامَيْنِ أَنِ ٱشْكُرْ لِى وَلِوَٰلِدَيْكَ إِلَىَّ ٱلْمَصِيرُ ۝١٤

31:14 We have enjoined man concerning his parents: His mother 32:25carried him through weakness upon weakness, and his weaning takes two years. Give thanks to Me and to your parents. To Me is the return.

This is an aside in between the sayings being related from Luqmān and not part of Luqmān’s own speech. It is only included here to indicate that the duty to be grateful to one’s parents is like the duty to be grateful to God. In fact, it is part of giving thanks to God because this is something He has enjoined people to do. Therefore, giving thanks to one’s parents is worshipping God, and worshipping God is giving thanks to Him.

His mother carried him through weakness upon weakness (wahnan ʿalā wahnin), and his weaning is in two years: Here God mentions some of the pain and hardship a mother endures in bearing and raising a child to motivate people to give thanks to their parents, especially their mothers.

Grammatically, wahnan is either a circumstantial modifier (hāl), meaning his mother was in a state of weakness, or it is an absolute object (maf ʿūl mutlaq), in which case it means that she became weak.

“Weaning” (fiṣāl) means to stop suckling the child. Saying that it is in two years means that it takes two years; that is, suckling takes two years. If we consider this verse beside the verse and his gestation and weaning take thirty months (46:15), it means the minimum term for carrying a child is six months, and we will discuss this when we come to the verse in Sūrat al-Aḥqāf.

To give thanks to Me and to your parents: This explains what God has enjoined man to do, namely, “We commanded them to give thanks to their parents just as We commanded them to give thanks to God.” To Me is the return is both a warning and an emphasis on the command to give thanks.

The transition in this verse from the first-person plural (“We”) to the third-person (“he”) has the same implication as in the verse above (31:12).

وَإِن جَـٰهَدَاكَ عَلَىٰٓ أَن تُشْرِكَ بِى مَا لَيْسَ لَكَ بِهِۦ عِلْمٌ فَلَا تُطِعْهُمَا ۖ وَصَاحِبْهُمَا فِى ٱلدُّنْيَا مَعْرُوفًا ۖ وَٱتَّبِعْ سَبِيلَ مَنْ أَنَابَ إِلَىَّ ۚ ثُمَّ إِلَىَّ مَرْجِعُكُمْ فَأُنَبِّئُكُم بِمَا كُنتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ ۝١٥

31:15 But if they urge you to ascribe to Me as partner that of which you have no knowledge, then do not obey them. Keep their company honourably in this world and follow the way of him who turns to Me penitently. Then to Me will be your return, whereat I 32:26will inform you concerning what you used to do.

This means that if your parents put pressure on you to do something you have no knowledge about regarding God’s partners, then do not obey them and do not associate partners with God. The phrase, of which you have no knowledge shows that this partner is non-existent and therefore completely unknown because there can be no knowledge of what does not exist. In other words: “Do not associate with me that which is not a thing.” This is a summary of what has been mentioned in Tafsīr al-Kashshāf. This reading might find support with the verse: Will you inform Allah about something He does not know in the heavens or on the earth? (10:18)

Some have said that “to ascribe a partner” (tushrik) means “to disbelieve” (takfur), such that the meaning becomes, “If they urge you to disbelieve in me in a way for which you have no argument, then do not obey them.” This reading is supported by the repeated disavowal of such a partner having any authority in the verse, You do not worship besides Him but names that you and your fathers have invented, for which Allah has not sent down any authority (12:40) and in other verses.

Keep their company honourably in this world and follow the way of him who turns to Me penitently:These two statements are almost a succinct explanation of everything that the two verses before have covered with regards to honouring one’s parents but not obeying them if they urge you to associate partners with God.

Here, God says: The human being must keep company with his parents in worldly matters aside from religion, which is the way of God. This must be done honourably and kindly, not harshly or unpleasantly. A person must bear the difficulties he faces on their account, for this world is but a fleeting number of days. If a person’s parents are of those who turn penitently to God, then he or she may follow their way, otherwise he or she must follow the path of someone else who does.

This brings out the subtlety in the phrase follow the way of him who turns to Me penitently as this could describe a person’s parents, in which case he or she should follow them, or it could not, in which case he or she must follow the way of someone else who does turn to God penitently.

Then to Me will be your return, whereat I will inform you concerning what you used to do: In other words: What I have said here is your responsibility in this world. When you come back to Me on the Day of Judgement, I will show you the reality of the deeds that you did in this world, and I will judge between you on the basis of these deeds.

32:27The phrase, in this world (fī al-dunyā) in keep their company honourably in this world would appear to serve three purposes; first, it makes clear that this only applies to worldly affairs and not religious ones; second, if keeping them company is difficult, it makes this seem trivial as it is only in this world, which is a matter of a few fleeting days. Therefore, there is not a lot of difficulty in looking after them; third, it stands in juxtaposition with the day on which a person returns to God, referred to later in the verse by the phrase: Then to Me will be your return….

يَـٰبُنَىَّ إِنَّهَآ إِن تَكُ مِثْقَالَ حَبَّةٍ مِّنْ خَرْدَلٍ فَتَكُن فِى صَخْرَةٍ أَوْ فِى ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ أَوْ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ يَأْتِ بِهَا ٱللَّهُ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَطِيفٌ خَبِيرٌ ۝١٦

31:16 O my son! Even if it should be (innahā in taku) the weight of a mustard seed, and though it should be in a rock, or in the heavens, or on the earth, Allah will produce it. Indeed, Allah is all-attentive, all-aware.

Commentators have said that the pronoun it (-hā) refers to good and evil, as suggested by the context, and that it is also the subject of kāna [“be”/taku in the verse], whose predicate is the weight of a mustard seed (mithqāl ḥabbah). Thought it should be in a rock refers to it being hidden inside a solid rock, or hidden in the heavens or the earth. Produce it means that he will bring it out to be counted in a person’s judgement and given recompense for.

The part of Luqmān’s speech immediately prior to this was concerned with God’s unity and disavowing any partner to Him. Therefore, this verse represents a different part of his speech that is concerned with the Resurrection and Judgement. It means: “O my son! Even if the slightest good or evil you have done is the most hidden and hard to find of things, like a single mustard seed, and that mustard seed is hidden inside a rock, or anywhere in the heavens or the earth, God will bring it out to be counted and He will recompense you for it, for God is supremely attentive—meaning His knowledge penetrates to the depths of things and reaches even that which is most hidden—and supremely aware—meaning He knows the essence of all things.”

يَـٰبُنَىَّ أَقِمِ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ وَأْمُرْ بِٱلْمَعْرُوفِ وَٱنْهَ عَنِ ٱلْمُنكَرِ وَٱصْبِرْ عَلَىٰ مَآ أَصَابَكَ ۖ إِنَّ ذَٰلِكَ مِنْ عَزْمِ ٱلْأُمُورِ ۝١٧

32:2831:17 O my son! Maintain the prayer and bid what is right and forbid what is wrong and be patient through whatever may visit you. That is indeed the steadiest of courses.

This verse and those that follow deal with a selection of righteous deeds and virtuous morals. One such deed is prayer (ṣalāt), which is the pillar of the faith, and this is followed by enjoining the good and forbidding the evil. The virtues include patience (ṣabr) in times of affliction.

That is indeed the steadiest of courses:That refers to patience, and the distant form of demonstrative pronoun (as opposed to the near form, “this”) is used to magnify and elevate it. Some say that refers to everything mentioned before, including prayer, enjoining the good and patience. However, this is not the case, as God repeatedly describes patience as the steadiest of courses (min ʿazm al-amūr); see the verses: As for him who endures patiently and forgives that is indeed the steadiest of courses. (42:43) and …but if you are patient and Godwary, that is indeed the steadiest of courses (3:186).

According to al-Rāghib, the Arabic word ʿazm means to set one’s heart upon accomplishing something. Patience (ṣabr), defined as restraining oneself from something, is a form of ʿazm insofar as so long as one’s heart is set upon a goal, a person will remain steadfast upon it. Therefore, patience—insofar as it is one of the abilities of the soul—is essential for keeping one’s heart set upon something.

Those who read min ʿazm al-umūr as meaning that “this is one of God’s resolute commands (ʿazīmah)” are off the mark, as are those who say that ʿazm is synonymous with jazm (“certainty”) in the dialect of Hudhayl.

وَلَا تُصَعِّرْ خَدَّكَ لِلنَّاسِ وَلَا تَمْشِ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ مَرَحًا ۖ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَا يُحِبُّ كُلَّ مُخْتَالٍ فَخُورٍ ۝١٨

31:18 Do not turn your cheek askew (lā tuṣaʿʿir khaddak) from the people, and do not walk exultantly on the earth. Indeed, Allah does not like any swaggering braggart.

According to al-Rāghib, saʿar (“to be askew”) means to twist the neck and taʿṣīr (“to turn askew”) means to twist one’s neck to avoid looking at someone or something out of disdain, as in the above verse. “Exultance” (maraḥ) means to be excessively pleased with one’s self.

32:29Based on this, the verse means: Do not turn your face away from the people disdainfully, nor walk upon the earth out of excessive happiness, for God does not like the conceited and the proud.

Some have suggested that Do not turn your cheek askew means not to bend one’s neck to them in humility when asking for something, but this does not fit with the rest of the verse.

وَٱقْصِدْ فِى مَشْيِكَ وَٱغْضُضْ مِن صَوْتِكَ ۚ إِنَّ أَنكَرَ ٱلْأَصْوَٰتِ لَصَوْتُ ٱلْحَمِيرِ ۝١٩

31:19 Be modest in your bearing and lower your voice. Indeed, the ungainliest of voices is the donkey’s voice.

“To be modest” (qaṣd) in something means to be moderate, and “to lower” (ghaḍḍ)—according to al-Rāghib—means to diminish. Therefore “to lower one’s voice” means to diminish its volume.

Therefore, the meaning of the verse is: Take a moderate bearing when walking and lower your voice when speaking, for the most despised sound is that of a donkey because of its excessive volume.

Examining Narrations

(1) In al-Kāfī, ʿAbd Allāh ibn Sinān narrates from Imām al-Ṣādiq: It is a major sin to disrespect one’s parents, to despair of God’s kindness, or to feel safe from God’s devising.

It has also been narrated:

The greatest sin is to associate partners with God.

(2) In al-Faqīḥ, one of the rights (ḥuqūq) narrated from Imām Zayn al-ʿĀbidīn is:

God’s greatest right over you is that you worship Him and associate nothing with Him. If you do that with sincerity (ikhlāṣ), God will make it incumbent upon Himself to suffice you in the affairs of this world and the hereafter.

As for the right of your mother, it is for you to know that she carried you like no other, and gave you from the yield of her heart like no other, and protected you with all of her limbs. She went hungry to feed you. She went thirsty to quench you. She went naked to clothe you. She endured the sun to shade you. She stayed awake at nights for you. She shielded you from heat and cold so that you could be hers. So you can never thank her except by God’s grace and assistance.

32:30As for the right of your father, it is that you know he is your progenitor. Were it not for him, you would not exist. So whenever you see something of yourself that pleases you, know that your father is the source of that blessing for you. So praise God and give thanks to him to the extent of that, and there is no strength save with God.

(3) In al-Kāfī, Hishām ibn Sālim narrates from Imām al-Ṣādiq:

A man came to the Prophet and said, “O Messenger of God! To whom should I be dutiful?”

He said, “Your mother.”

“Then to whom?”

“Your mother.”

“Then to whom?”

“Your mother.”

“Then to whom?”

“Your father.”

(4) In al-Manāqib, it is narrated:

Ḥusayn ibn ʿAlī passed ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn ʿAmr ibn al-ʿĀs, whereat the latter remarked, “Whoever desires to see the inhabitant of earth most beloved to the inhabitants of the heavens, let them look to this passer-by! I have not spoken to him since the nights of Ṣiffīn.”

Then Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī came to Ḥusayn, who asked him, “Do you fight my father and I at Ṣiffīn, although you know I am the most beloved inhabitant of this earth to the inhabitants of the heavens, and my father—by God!—is better than me.”

Abū Saʿīd tried to excuse his behavior by saying, “The Prophet told me to obey my father.”

Ḥusayn replied, “Have you not heard God’s words: But if they urge you to ascribe to Me as partner that of which you have no knowledge, then do not obey them (31:15)? God’s Messenger also said: ‘Obedience is only in good things’ and ‘there is no obedience to the creation in disobeying the Creator!’”

32:31(5) In al-Faqīh, we also read the short saying of the Prophet:

There is no obeying the created in disobeying the Creator!

(6) In al-Kāfī, Abū Baṣīr narrates he heard Imām al-Bāqir say:

Beware the sins that are thought trivial (al-muhaqqarāt min al-dhunūb) for they will be sought out. One of you might say, “I will sin and repent.” But God says: [We] record what they have sent forth and what they have left behind. And we have kept an account of all things in a clear registry (imām) (36:12), and He says: Even if it should be the weight of a mustard seed, and though it should be in a rock, or in the heavens, or on the earth, Allah will produce it. Indeed Allah is all-attentive, all-aware. (31:16)

(7) Also, in al-Kāfī, it is narrated from Muʿāwiyah ibn Wahb:

I asked Imām al-Ṣādiq, “What is the best means through which God’s servants can attain nearness to Him, and what is the dearest means to Him?”

He said, “I know nothing after knowledge (maʿrifah) better than this: prayer (ṣalāt).”

(8) In the same source, Muḥammad ibn Fuḍayl narrates from Imām al-Riḍā:

Prayer is the offering (qurbān) of every pious person.

(9) In Majmaʿ al-Bayān, we read:

And be patient through whatever (31:17) difficulty (mashaqqah) or persecution (adhā) may visit you when enjoining the good and forbidding the evil—narrated from ʿAlī.

(10) In the same source, we read:

Do not turn your cheek askew from the people (31:18), meaning do not turn your face away from a person completely and do not turn away from someone who is talking to you to belittle them. This interpretation is from Ibn ʿAbbās and Imām al-Ṣādiq.

32:32(11) In al-Durr al-Manthūr, Ṭabrānī, Ibn ʿUdayy, and Ibn Mardawayh narrate from Abū Ayyūb al-Anṣārī that the Prophet was asked about the verse Do not turn your cheek askew from the people (31:8). He said:

[It means: to expose] the side of your jaw [to them].

(12) In Majmaʿ al-Bayān, about the verse Indeed the ungainliest of voices is the donkey’s voice (31:19), it is narrated from Imām al-Ṣādiq:

It is the sound of a loud and vulgar sneeze, or a man who raises his voice uncouthly when speaking, unless he is supplicating or reciting the Qur’an.

Author’s comments: There is an abundance of narrations on all of these topics, especially on disrespecting one’s parents.

A Discussion on the Story of Luqmān and his Wisdom, in Two Parts

Part 1

Firstly, the name Luqmān does not appear anywhere in the Qur’an aside from Sūrat Luqmān, and we are told nothing about him save Certainly We gave Luqmān wisdom… (31:12). On the other hand, a variety of traditions have been narrated about his story and his wisdom, of which we will present a few that we deem to be more reliable.

(1) In al-Kāfī, some of our colleagues relate (without a chain of narration) from Hishām ibn al-Ḥakam:

Abū al-Ḥasan Mūsā ibn Jaʿfar said to me, “O Hishām! God says Certainly We gave Luqmān wisdom (31:12)—meaning understanding (fahm) and intelligence (ʿaql).”

(2) In Majmaʿ al-Bayān, Nāfiʿ narrates from Ibn ʿUmar that he heard God’s Messenger say:

Truly, I say to you that Luqmān was not a prophet. Rather he was a servant who pondered much and drew good conclusions. He loved God, so God loved him and blessed him with wisdom… He was asleep one afternoon, when he was woken by a call: “O Luqmān! Would you like God to make you a vicegerent (khalīfah) on the earth, that you might judge between people with truth?” Luqmān answered the voice: “If my Lord gives me any choice, then I would prefer to be released (ʿāfiyah) and avoid tribulation (balāʾ). If He insists, then I hear and obey, for I know that if He does that to me, He will support me and protect me [from error.]” The angels responded with their voices, though he could not see them: “Why is that, O Luqmān?”

32:33He said, “Because to govern (al-ḥukm) is the gravest of stations and the most severe. It is beset by wrongdoing from every angle, even if he is faithful. It is better to be saved, for if he slips, then he slips from the path to paradise. One who is humiliated (dhalīl) in this world and ennobled (sharīf) in the next is better off than the one who is ennobled in this world and humiliated in the next, and whoever chooses this world over the next will lose this world and miss the next.”

The angels were amazed by his speech (manṭiq), so he fell asleep again, and while he slept, God gave him wisdom and he awoke uttering it. He would advise David with his wisdom, such that David said, “Bless you, O Luqmān! You were given wisdom and protected from tribulation!”

(3) In al-Durr al-Manthūr, Ibn Mardawayh narrates from Abū Hurayrah:

God’s Messenger said, “Do you know who Luqmān was?”

The people said, “God and His Messenger know best!”

He said, “He was an Abyssinian (ḥabashī).”

Part two

(1) In Tafsīr al-Qummī, Ḥammād narrates:

I asked Imām al-Ṣādiq about Luqmān and his wisdom, as God describes in the Qur’an.

He told me, “By God, Luqmān was not only given wisdom without wealth, family, strength, or beauty! Rather he was a man who was strong in fulfilling God’s commands, devoted to God, quiet and calm, of deep reflection, prone to reflecting at length and with sharp discernment. He learnt from experience, never sleeping during the day. No one ever caught sight of him defecating, urinating, or bathing because of how assiduously he guarded his privacy, his deep insight, and his precaution in daily affairs. He never laughed lest he sin, nor did he ever grow angry or mock another person. He did not become glad at anything he was given from this world, nor did he grieve for any of it. He married women and had many children, but outlived most of them by many years. However, he did not weep for the death of any of them.

32:34“He did not pass two men quarrelling or fighting without settling affairs between them and he did not live them until they were friends. He never heard any words he thought goodly without asking what they meant and from whom the speaker had heard them. He would sit abundantly with men of understanding and wisdom, and avoid judges, kings, and rulers. He would pity the judges for what they endured and kings and rulers because of their heedlessness of God and their satisfaction with this. He would learn the methods to overcome his low self (nafs) and use it to wrestle with his desires and protect himself from Satan. He would treat his heart with thought (fikr) and his soul with reflection (ʿibr), and he would not involve himself in what did not concern him. For this reason, he was given wisdom (ḥikmah) and granted protection (ʿismah) [from sinning.]

“When it was the middle of the day and the eyes had become still, napping, God dispatched companies of angels [to Luqmān]. They called out to him so that he could hear them but not see them: ‘O Luqmān! Would you like God to make you a vicegerent (khalīfah) upon the earth that you might judge between people?’

“Luqmān answered, ‘If God has commanded that, then I hear and obey because if He does that He will help me, teach me, and protect me [from erring] that I might accomplish it. But, if He has given me the choice, then I would prefer to be released.’

“The angels said, ‘O Luqmān, why?’

“He said, ‘Because judging between people is the gravest of positions and the worst kind of tribulation. It is a lonesome and treacherous post, beset by wrongdoing from every corner! And the one who judges is forever between two affairs, even if he goes aright. It is better to be saved, for if he slips here, he slips from the path to paradise. Whoever is weak and abased in this world will have it easier on the Day of Resurrection compared to one who has authority and nobility. And whoever chooses this world over the next will lose both of them; one will pass away and the other will evade his grasp.’

32:35“The angels were amazed by his wisdom and God thought his speech (manṭiq) goodly, so when he went to bed that evening God sent down wisdom upon him and it covered him from head to toe while he slept until he was completely enveloped in wisdom. Then, when he awoke, he was the wisest of men in his time; he went out to the people uttering wisdom and spreading it amongst them.

“And when he refused to take God’s offer of vicegerency (khilāfah), God told the angels to go to David and offer it to him. He accepted it without stipulating the conditions that Luqmān had, so God gave him the position of vicegerent upon the earth and tried him with it more than once. Whenever that was about to make him err, God nullified that and forgave him. Luqmān would visit David often and admonish him with his wisdom, teachings, and abundant knowledge. David would say to him, ‘Bless you, O Luqmān! You were given wisdom and saved from tribulation, while David was given authority and tried with judgement and tribulation!’” Then Imām al-Ṣādiq said about the verse When Luqmān said to his son, as he advised him: O my son! Do not ascribe any partners to Allah. Polytheism is indeed a great injustice (31:13): “Luqmān advised his son until his son followed in his tracks, and—O Ḥammād!—one of the pieces of advice he gave to his son was: ‘O my son! From the moment you fall into this world, turn your back on it and face the next world, for the abode to which you are headed approaches, and the abode from whence you came recedes. O my son! Keep company with people of learning, sit close to them, and do not dispute with them lest they send you away. Take what you need from this world and do not reject it, lest you become a burden on others [for your needs], but do not enter it in a way that will be to the detriment of your hereafter. Fast to the extent that you restrain your lusts but not to the extent that you are restrained from prayer, for verily prayer is dearer to God than fasting.

“‘O my son! This world is a deep ocean in which many have perished. So make your vessel upon it faith (īmān), and make its sail reliance (tawakkul), and make your provision Godwariness (taqwā allāh). If you survive, it will be by God’s mercy, and if you perish, it will be by your own sins.

32:36“‘O my son! If you educate yourself while you are young, you will benefit from it when you are old. One who cares for education will pay attention to it, and one who pays attention to it will make learning it his goal, and one who makes learning it his goal will go to any lengths to seek it, and one who will go to any lengths to seek it will profit from it. So make it your habit, for you will leave a legacy from which those who come after you will benefit, and others will seek you out and be in awe of you because of it. But beware of flagging by seeking something else, for even if you conquer this world you cannot conquer the next; and even if you search for knowledge in its proper place but cannot find it, you shall still have the hereafter. Be sure to set aside some time from your days and nights to seek knowledge, for there is no loss greater than the loss of learning. Do not vie about it with the obstinate, nor dispute with a man of understanding, nor make an enemy of a ruler, nor walk alongside an oppressor or keep his friendship. Do not take a sinner as a brother, nor be a companion of one whose character is suspect. Treasure your knowledge as you treasure your wealth.

“‘O my son! Be fearful of God such that even if you stand before Him on the Day of Judgement with all the good deeds of jinn and men, you would still fear his punishment. And have hope in God such that even if you stand before Him on the Day of Judgement with all the sins of jinn and men, you would still hope for His forgiveness!’

“His son told him, ‘O father! How can I do all this when I have but one heart?’

“Luqmān told him, ‘O my son! If you brought out a believer’s heart you would find two lights in it—a light for fear and a light for hope—and if you weighed them on scales, you would see that neither of them outweighed the other by so much as an atom’s weight. Whoever has faith in God believes in what He says, and whoever believes in what God says will do as God commands, and whoever does not do what God commands does not believe what He says. These morals bear witness to one another.

“‘Therefore, whoever truly has faith in God will act sincerely for the sake of God, and whoever acts sincerely for the sake of God has truly had faith in God. Whoever obeys God fears him, and whoever fears God has loved Him, and whoever loves Him has followed His command, and whoever follows His command has earned paradise and His satisfaction. But whoever does not seek God’s satisfaction (riḍwān) has disparaged His wrath, and we seek refuge from God’s wrath!

32:37“‘O my son! Do not rely on this world or occupy your heart with it, for God has created nothing more trivial to him than it. Do you not see that he has not made its blessings a reward for the virtuous or its hardships a punishment for the sinners?’”

(2) In Qurb al-Isnād, Hārūn narrates from Ibn Ṣadaqah from Jaʿfar, from his father [Imām al-Bāqir]:

Luqmān was asked, “What have you surmised from your wisdom?”

He replied, “I do not burden myself where I have sufficed, nor squander what I am responsible for.”

(3) In Biḥār, from Qiṣaṣ al-Anbiyāʾ, Jābir narrates from Imām al-Bāqir:

One of the lessons Luqmān taught his son was: “O my son! If you are in doubt about death, then prevent yourself from sleeping. You cannot do that. And if you are in doubt about the Resurrection, prevent yourself from waking up. You cannot do that. Therefore, if you ponder on this you will realize that your self is in another’s hand, and that sleep is like death, and that waking up is like being raised from the dead.”

Then Luqmān told his son, “O my son! Do not draw near, lest what you seek pulls away. But neither withdraw, lest you become insignificant. Every beast loves its likeness, but the son of Adam does not love his. Do not present your wares except to him that seeks them. And just as there can be no camaraderie between the sheep and the wolves, neither can there be between the righteous and the profligate. If you touch black pitch, it will cling to you, and if you associate with a profligate, he will influence you. Whoever likes a hypocrite will be reviled, whoever enters a disreputable door will be suspect, whoever keeps an evil associate is never safe, and whoever cannot control his tongue will regret.

32:38“O my son! Keep a hundred friends but do not make one enemy! O my son! There is only your nobility and your character; your nobility is your religion and your character is between you and the people, so do not detest them but learn the best of morals! “O my son! Be a servant to good people and do not be an errand boy for evil ones. Oy my son! Deliver your trusts and secure yourself in this world and the next, and be trustworthy for God does not like the perfidious. O my son! Do not make a show of fearing God to the people while your heart is reprobate.”

(4) In al-Kāfī, Yaḥyā ibn ʿUqbah al-Azadī narrates from Imām al-Ṣādiq:

One of the things Luqmān told his son was: “O my son! People before you amassed [wealth] for their children—in the end neither what they amassed remained nor whom they amassed it for. You, on the other hand, are a hired servant (ʿabd mustaʾjar) who has been told to do a job and promised a wage. So do your job and you will receive your wage. Do not be like a sheep in this world, standing idly in a lush field and eating until you are fat, as that is when you are ripe for slaughter! Instead make this world like a boat that sails upon a river; you rode upon it and then disembarked, and you will never ride it again before it is ruined by age. Do not build upon this world, for you have not been told to build upon it.

“And know that when you stand before God tomorrow, you will asked about four things: your youth and how you endured it, your life and how you used it, and your wealth and from whence you obtained it and on what you spent it. So have your answers ready! And do not despair for what escapes you of this world, for what little this world has does not last, though it abounds in tribulations. So be on your guard, be resolute in your course, pull back the veil from your face, and pursue the good of your Lord. Repent continuously in your heart and be on your way before you reach your destination. Fulfil what you owe of worship and restrain yourself from what you desire.”

(5) In Biḥār al-Anwār, also from Qiṣaṣ al-Anbiyāʾ:

Ḥammāḍ narrates from Imām al-Ṣādiq that Luqmān said, “O my son! Beware of vexation, ill manners, and impatience, as no one with these qualities will go aright. Resolve yourself to be calm in your affairs, patient with the demands of your brethren, and good mannered with all people.

32:39“O my son! Even if you are deprived of the means to keep your relations and be generous to your friends, do not let yourself be deprived of pleasant manners and good cheer, for the one with good manners is loved by good people and avoided by the reprobate. Be satisfied with what God assigns to you so that you live a clean life. And even if you wish to amass all the honour in this world, do not covet what is in people’s hands, for the prophets and the veracious only attained their stations by restraining their ambitions.”

Author’s comments: There are abundant narrations on Luqmān’s advice and wise sayings, and we have restricted ourselves to just a few here for the sake of brevity.