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LUQMAN, THE WISE
Luqman’s advices to his son are
narrated in Surah Luqman, which
is the 31st Surah
of the Noble Qur’an.
Verse 12 says: “We
gave wisdom to Luqman so that he
would give thanks to Allah
(s.w.t.). Those who give thanks
to Allah (s.w.t.) do so for
their own good. Those who are
ungrateful should know that
Allah (s.w.t.) is
Self-Sufficient and
Praiseworthy.”
Verse 13 says:
Luqman advised his, telling him,
O My son, do not consider
anything equal to Him for it is
the greatest injustice.”
Verse 16 says:
“O My son, Allah brings forth
items of sustenance, even if
they are as small as a grain of
mustard seed, hidden in a rock
or in the Heavens or the earth.
Allah (s.w.t.) is Subtle and
All-Aware.”
Verse 17 says:
“O My son be steadfast in
prayer. Make others do good.
Prevent them from doing evil. Be
patient in hardship. Patience
comes from faith and
determination.”
Verse 18 says:
“Do not show people that you are
an inferior person. Do not walk
around puffed-up with pride;
Allah (s.w.t.) does not love
arrogant and boastful people.”
Verse 19 says:
“Be moderate (slower) in your
walking and your talking. The
most unpleasant sound is the
braying of donkeys.”
Shaikh Tabrasi says that there
is difference of opinion about
Luqman. Some say that he had the
Divine knowledge but was not a
Prophet. Others say that he was
a Prophet.
Imam Jaffer al-Sadiq (a.s.)
said: “Luqman was steadfast in
obeying Allah and refrained from
His disobedience.”
Luqman gave admonitions to his
son as detailed below:
Be a companion of the wise. Take
from this world only that which
is essential and enough for you.
Also do not give up earning in
this world that you may become
needy. This world is a deep
ocean. Innumerable people have
drowned in it. It is essential
for you to make faith your ship
for saving yourself from the
danger of this world. You should
make ‘Reliance only in one
Allah’ the sail of your ship.
Your provision in the ship
should be avoidance of the
illegal and undesirable.
Thereafter if you are saved, it
is due to Allah’s Mercy and if
you get destroyed it is because
of your sins. You must set aside
some hours in the day and night
to acquire knowledge because
there is nothing which can
destroy it. Do not make the rich
your enemy and do not keep
company of oppressors. Do not
make friendship with a sinner
nor sit with a disgraced and
notorious person.
My precious son! Fear Allah as
He deserves to be feared. You
should always be afraid of His
chastisements. Similarly, also
remain hopeful of His Mercy even
if you have sinned totaling the
sins of all men and jinn and be
hopeful that He will forgive
you. My son, if a faithful heart
is cut open, two rays will come
out of it. One light of the fear
of Allah and the other light of
hope from Allah. If both the
lights could be weighed, both
will be equal.
So the one who has truly and
sincerely has believed in Allah
will surely act honestly for
Allah with a hope for good. One
who acts in this way really
believes in Allah and fears Him
and the one who fears Him loves
Him and the one who loves Him
also obeys Him and the one who
obeys Him makes himself eligible
for His pleasure and Paradise.
And the one who does not want
His pleasure makes His
punishment swift upon him.
Do you not see that Allah has
not made the worldly bounties
the reward of His obedience nor
has he made the worldly
hardships the punishments for
His disobedience. Both the
reward and punishment is
promised in Hereafter.
O My son! Make a thousand
friends because even a thousand
friends are less but do not make
even one enemy because one enemy
is sufficient.
There are three signs of a
sinner: He embezzles people’s
wealth, tells lies and acts
contrary to his words. There are
three signs of ostentations
(show off): He is slack in his
worship while he is alone but
makes a show of full
attentiveness in worship while
in public and he does it so that
people may praise him. The
envious has also three signs: He
back-bites people and flatters
them on face, feels happy when
people are in trouble. There are
three signs of extravagant: He
eats things which are beyond his
capacity and so also he wears
likewise, and he feeds others
crossing his limits of capacity.
There are three signs of
indolent (lazy): He is slack in
doing good deeds and he
postpones good deeds until and
unless he is threatened and he
becomes so lazy that the job is
spoiled and thus he becomes
defaulter. There are three signs
of a negligent man: He is
doubtful in his worship, becomes
careless in matters of
remembering his Lord and he
forgets good deeds.
My son! Confront your enemy by
avoiding the prohibited. Keep
your soul clean of Allah’s
disobedience. Keep your secrets
hidden and your inner self pure.
Be content on what Allah has
fixed for you so that you will
always remain happy.
O My son! Never be envious.
Never behave badly with others.
These two evils harm none but
you.
Do good to the deserving person
and your purpose should be to
please Allah. Be moderate in
spending for others.
O My son! The best behavior is
wisdom, acquiring for which is
very essential. It is the
religion of Allah and it is
similar to a grown up tree which
keeps it alive and standing. Its
water is belief in Allah. Its
root is prayer, which keeps it
straight and steadfast. Its
trunk is zakat and its branches
are the efforts for maintaining
brotherly relations with one’s
brothers-in-faith merely for the
pleasure of Allah. Its leaves
are good morals. Its fruits are
abandoning disobedience of
Allah.
The greatest sin is the sin
against religion and the
greatest calamity is the danger
to faith and the most profitable
wealth is the wealth of heart.
So enrich your heart with
knowledge, faith and good
morality. Remain pleased and
happy on what Allah has fixed
for you. A man, who is patient,
gets halal provisions and he is
protected from the chastisement
in this world and Hereafter.
My son, when the time for
prayers comes, do not postpone
it. Prayer is the base of
religion.
My son! Never delay repentance
because death arrives all of a
sudden without warning.
Do not ridicule a man who falls
in trouble and never stop doing
good to others. Be honest so
that you may remain needless of
other’s wealth. Consider piety
as a business which will give
you a profit without investing
capital. My son! If be you not
be kind to a person whom you are
oppressing, be kind to yourself
because you are harming yourself
through that oppression. My son!
Talk less and remember Allah at
all places. Keep control on
yourself when angry so that you
may not be ditched in Hell. Do
good to the one who does good to
you.
Consult the elders and be
ashamed to consult the younger.
Never be in the company of the
sinners. Do not harm others
otherwise they will become your
enemy. |
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