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 and his 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." It was 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, "And indeed 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, 'O my 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, these are 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 to his 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 Muadh ibn 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 to worshipped 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 prayer and 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 will call 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, the general 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 revealed concerning 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 they were 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 mustard seed, 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 will be 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 of disobedience 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 sees you. 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 have taqwa, 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-Maruf and 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 with his 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 living dead?" 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 down for 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 sahih hadith 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 am completely 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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In the Sahih collections of Bukhari and Muslim, it's narrated that the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, said, "No one has been given anything more excellent and more comprehensive than sabr (patience)." In his work, Patience and Gratitude, Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah says, "Every person has to exercise patience in order to face difficulties, whether he does so willingly or unwillingly. The noble person exercises patience willingly, because he realizes the benefits of patience, and he knows that he will be rewarded for his patience and will be criticized if he panics. He is aware that if he does not have patience, panicking and impatience will not help him to regain missed opportunities, and will not take away things he dislikes. Whatever is decreed and is qada wa qadr cannot be prevented from happening, and whatever is decreed not to happen cannot be made to happen. So an attitude of impatience and panic actually causes harm...The ignoble man exercises patience only when he realizes he has no choice. After wasting a lot of time and energy and panicking and struggling, he realizes that his impatience will not help him. Then he exercises patience in the same way that a person who has been tied up to be whipped exercises patience." It's narrated in Bukhari that 'Umar ibn Al-Khattab, radiallahu anhu, said, "We considered the best part of our lives to be that in which there was sabr (patience)." 6. Humility Luqman ends his advice to his son urging him to be humble and moderate, and to refrain from being prideful and arrogant. Luqman says, "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 your voice. Verily, the harshest of all voices is the braying of the asses." (Qur'an, Luqman: 18-19) In Sahih Muslim, it's related that the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, said, "Whoever has an atoms worth of kibr (pride) in his heart will not enter Paradise." So a man said: What about a person who loves (i.e. takes pride in) wearing beautiful clothes and beautiful shoes? So he replied: "Indeed Allah is beautiful and loves beauty. Kibr (pride) is to reject the truth, and to despise the people." In his work, Pride: A Barrier to Paradise, Shaykh 'AbdurRahman Ibn Naasir as-Sa'dee explains that to completely reject the truth of Allah, the Most High, and His Messenger, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, out of pride is equal to disbelief (kufr) and to reject parts of the truth out of pride or preference for personal opinion is not disbelief, but still an act that is punishable by Allah. Shaykh as-Sa'dee says in regards to this, "So it is obligatory upon the seeker of knowledge to give complete and absolute precedence to the saying of Allaah and the saying of His Messenger sal-Allaahu 'alayhe wa sallam over and above the saying of anyone else, and that he should make that the basis to which he returns, and the foundation upon which he builds; following the guidance of the Prophet sal-Allaahu 'alayhe wa sallam, striving hard to understand what is intended from it, and following this, both inwardly and outwardly." The Shaykh goes on to explain the second type of pride mentioned in the hadith, saying that to despise the people is to look down upon them due to some amazement a person may have with himself, thinking himself to be better or higher than others. In Sahih Muslim, it's narrated that the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, said, "It is enough evil for a person to despise his brother Muslim." Ibn Taymiyyah said about the worshipper, "the more humble, needy, and subdued he is before Allah the closer he will be to Him, and the dearer he will be to Him, and the greater in status he will be to Him. So, the happiest of the Creation is the one who is greatest in servitude to Allah," (Majmu' al-Fatawa' 1/67).