I recently delivered a lecture on the story of Luqman and his advice to his son. Over the coming days and weeks, I will insha Allah be mentioning a number of points of benefit from this passage of the Qur'an.
These points of benefit are loosely taken from the work of our Shaykh, Abdur Razzaq al-Abbad al-Badr, may Allah grant him and his father a long life or righteousness and piety in which they benefit the Ummah.
- Ahsan Hanif
Surah Luqman, verses 12 - 19.
Luqman was not a Prophet of Allah but a righteous man. This is the opinion of the vast majority of scholars.
The scholars differ as to when he lived. Popular opinions include that he was from the descendants of Ibrahim's father, a close relative to Ayyub or that he lived in the time of Dawud.
He is often known as the 'Wise' due to the advice he gave to his son which is full of wisdom.
Surah Luqman, verse 12
Benefit No 2:
How to attain wisdom?
There are means and ways by which one can attain wisdom. The scholars mention that Luqman despite not being a Prophet, was a man of piety, righteousness, and worship. He was known to speak little and not delve into issues which did not concern him. These are all ways which help us to attain wisdom.
If wisdom is a gift from Allah, one can only attain by coming closer to Allah and making du'a to Him.
Surah Luqman, verse 12
Benefit no. 4:
Gratitude for the blessings of Allah are shown with the heart, tongue and limbs.
Your heart should feel love for Allah, humility before Him and sincerity towards Him for His bounties.
Your tongue should be moist with saying 'Alhamdulillah' and praising Him.
Your limbs should be busy in thanking Allah by fulfilling His commandments, refraining from His prohibitions and using His blessings to come closer to Him.
Surah Luqman, verse 12
Benefit no. 5:
Allah does not benefit from our gratitude nor is He harmed by our ingratitude.
We are the only ones who benefit when we worship Allah. As Allah says in the Hadith Qudsi, of all of the people and jinn from the time of Adam until the last to live were to gather and ask from Allah, and He was to reply to all of them, it would not diminish from His kingdom except what the needle diminishes from the water of the ocean.
Surah Luqman, verse 12
Benefit no. 8:
Affirming the name of Allah, 'Al-Hamid'. Allah is deserving of all praise.
He praises Himself in the Qur'an, He begins chapters with His praise like Fatihah, and ends chapters with His praise like Isra'. The final call of the people of Jannah will be to praise Allah.
Thus we praise Allah by the number of His creation and to an amount which pleases Him, by the weight of His Throne and the number of His endless words. We praise Him for all the blessings, the apparent and hidden, the small and great, the first and the last.
Surah Luqman, verse 12
Benefit no. 9:
The great value and virtue of wisdom, as can be seen just from this one single verse.
Many of the issues we face as individuals, families, communities and as an Ummah would be much less if we had and exercised wisdom.
Thus, we should constantly make du'a for this. O Allah, grant us wisdom. Ameen
Surah Luqman, verse 13
"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 wrong indeed."
Benefit no. 10:
The importance of sincere advice and to admonish those whom we love.
Admonishing includes increasing a person's hope in the mercy of Allah whilst also reminding them to fear Allah's punishment.
Surah Luqman, verse 13
Benefit no. 13:
There is nothing more dangerous than Shirk.
Iblis wants us to commit shirk more than he wants us to drink alcohol, take interest, commit adultery or anything else. Yet the average Muslim is unaware of the dangers and manifestations of Shirk.
We have Muslims who make du'a to other than Allah, take oaths by other than Allah and sacrifice to other than Allah, all due to ignorance.
Luqman understood the dangers of shirk so he focused on this aspect, as by staying away from shirk one automatically comes to tawhid.
Surah Luqman, verse 13
Benefit no. 14:
Instilling within our children the understanding of tawhid and shirk.
Many of us, especially those who were born Muslims, take it for granted that we know tawhid and shirk and that our children will somehow genetically understand it too. This how Iblis tricks us and then traps us.
Luqman did not take this for granted when it came to advising his son and in that there is a lesson for all of us.
Surah Luqman, verse 13
Benefit no. 16:
The need to mention hope and fear, reward and punishment, the good along with the bad.
Balance is the name of our religion. We need to remember both sides in order to remain upon the Straight Path.
Surah Luqman, verse 14
"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."
Benefit no. 17:
The rights of the parents.
According to the scholars of tafsir, this verse and the next are from the advice Allah gives to us, and not the advice Luqman gave to his son. The reason why these two verses are interjected within the advice of Luqman is that just as he was advising his son, fulfilling the right of a father to towards his child, the child must also remember that the rights of the parents are far greater.
Surah Luqman, verse 14
Benefit no. 18:
Remember what your parents did for you.
One of the ways we increase in dutifulness towards our parents is by remembering the hardships they endured for us.
Our mothers carried us for months in a state of weakness and hardship, and then suckled us for many more months. Our parents sacrificed their own ease and comfort for ours when we could not feed, clothe or defend ourselves. They would sacrifice their sleep because of our crying, the smallest discomfort for us was a great distress for them and the slightest smile a source of overwhelming joy for them.
Therefore, do they not deserve our respect, love, honour and obedience?
Surah Luqman, verse 14
Benefit no. 19:
Remember that you will return to Allah.
By remembering this, we increase in our dutifulness towards our parents for the sake of Allah, hoping in His reward.
Surah Luqman, verse 14
Benefit no. 20:
The greater right of our mothers.
Allah mentions respect towards parents, but then focuses the verse on the mother and her efforts. Throughout the Sunnah, there are countless examples of the Prophet (Sallalhu alayhi wa sallam) stressing the right of the mother, even over and above that of the father.
The story of Uways al-Qarni and his great station by virtue of his respect for this mother is just one such example.
Surah Luqman, verse 14
Benefit no. 21:
A child can never repay his or her mother for the hardship she underwent for them, irrespective of what they do for their parents in later life.
Surah Luqman, verse 14
Benefit no. 22:
Allah mentions the rights of the parents after His own rights to emphasise the importance of this issue, and how it should not be trivialised just as tawhid is not a trivial matter.
Surah Luqman, verse 14
Benefit no. 23:
Gratitude towards our parents is by loving them, honouring them, being dutiful towards them and making du'a to Allah for them to have goodness and success in this life and the next.
Ask yourself when was the last time you made sincere du'a for your parents? If it wasn't today and every day then you have fallen short in fulfilling their rights.
Surah Luqman, verse 14
Benefit no. 24:
Disrespecting one's parents is from the major sins.
In a hadith in Bukhari and Muslim, the Prophet (Sallalahu alayhi wa sallam) mentioned that the worst of sins is to commit shirk and then to disrespect one's parents.
Surah Luqman, verse 15
"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."
Benefit no. 25:
Obedience to parents is not unconditional.
If one's parents order or encourage shirk or some other type of forbidden act, then it is not allowed to obey them in this.
Surah Luqman, verse 15
Benefit no. 26:
If one's parents do command evil, then despite this their other rights are still maintained.
We must accompany them in a goodly way in this world, advising them, making du'a for them and encouraging them towards the truth.
Such is the beauty of Islam. If this is the extent to which we treat non-Muslim parents, then how about those who have Muslim parents, and then those whose parents are righteous people?
Surah Luqman, verse 15
Benefit no. 27:
This verse gives a golden principle in Islam;
There is no obedience to the creation in disobedience to the Creator.
Surah Luqman, verse 15
Benefit no. 28:
People upon falsehood often strive to spread their falsehood, as Allah says, 'But if they strive...'.
At the same time, it is often the unfortunate case that those upon the truth are too lazy or timid to advocate the truth.
The truth is more worthy of being spread.
Surah Luqman, verse 15
Benefit no. 29:
There is a difference between not obeying one's parents and being disrespectful towards them.
This is why Allah commands us not to obey them when they order shirk, and not to disrespect them.
Understanding this difference is vital when dealing one's parents.
Surah Luqman, verse 15
Benefit no. 30:
The virtue of the Companions and following their way.
'...and follow the path of he who turns to Me in repentance and obedience...'
Some of the scholars said this refers to Abu Bakr and others said it refers to the Companions generally.
Either way, it shows that their example is what we should follow as commanded by Allah and His Prophet (Sallalhu alayhi wa sallam).
Surah Luqman, verse 15
Benefit no. 31:
The importance of choosing good and noble role models, and then surrounding yourself with others who also choose such examples, so that they may help you upon this journey towards Allah.
Surah Luqman, verse 15
Benefit no. 32:
The importance of 'Inabah'; turning back to Allah.
Ibn al-Qayyim (Rahimahullah) said that 'inabah' comprises of four things:
1. Loving Allah 2. Humbling oneself before Him 3. Turning to Him alone 4. Turning away from all else besides Him
Surah Luqman, verse 15
Benefit no. 33:
Allah is recording every single one of our deeds, and they will be presented before to us on the Day of Judgement where we will be held to account for them.
Surah Luqman, verse 15
Benefit no. 34:
Shirk has no proof or justification. This is why Allah describes those who commit shirk as having no knowledge.
Surah Luqman, verse 15
Benefit no. 35:
The importance in da'wah and advice of linking people back to Allah.
When giving da'wah or advice, remind them that they will stand before Allah, be held to account, be rewarded for good and punished for evil.
Surah Luqman, verse 16
"O my son! If it be equal to the weight of a grain of mustard seed, 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)."
Benefit no. 36:
Allah's knowledge is all encompassing and nothing in the heavens or earth is hidden from Him.
Surah Luqman, verse 16
Benefit no. 37:
How knowing the Names and Attributes of Allah increases one in iman.
Luqman uses the Names & Attributes of Allah in advising his son, because knowledge of them increases one in iman, taqwa and righteousness.
Surah Luqman, verse 16
Benefit no. 38:
The importance of instilling within our children the knowledge that Allah is All-Seeing, All-Hearing and All-Knowing.
How often do we train our children to fear us or another relative or some fictional character. Children will behave in the company of their elders because they know they are being watched.
Yet Luqman is instilling within his son a greater sense of awareness; that Allah is constantly listening and watching. If our children live life according to this, they will always strive for good and fight against evil.
Surah Luqman, verse 16
Benefit no. 39:
The precision of weight on the Day of Judgement will be down to a mustard seed or an atoms weight.
The tiniest amount of good and evil will be recorded.
Surah Luqman, verse 16
Benefit no. 40
Even the smallest amount of oppression will be avenged on the Day of Judgement.
Do not despair if you are oppressed and find no justice in this life, or when you see the injustice which is rampant in many places across the world. Allah does not forget, His records are not incomplete and His justice is perfect.
Every word and action will be accounted for. Trust in the justice of Allah above which there is no other justice.
Surah Luqman, verse 16
Benefit no. 41:
Allah is 'Al-Latif' and 'Al-Khabir'
Al-Khabir is the One who has complete and perfect knowledge of even the smallest and minutest of issues.
Al-Latif comprises the meaning of Al-Khabir. In addition it also refers to the One who brings about good and benefit to His believing slaves in the gentlest and kindest of ways, often ways which they cannot perceive.
Surah Luqman, verse 17
"O my son! perform the prayer, enjoin the good, and forbid the evil, and bear with patience whatever befall you. Verily! These are some of the important commandments ordered by Allah with no exemption."
Benefit no. 42:
The importance of the prayer, performing it and nurturing our children upon it.
After mentioning the crucial issues of tawhid and being conscious of Allah, Luqman advises his son with that which will help him in achieving this closeness to Allah.
The prayer is the most thing after tawhid. It is the connection between us and Allah, the time where we seek contentment in His remembrance and the place where we have a conversation with Him. It is the weapon which wards off evil and the first thing Allah will ask us about on the Day of Judgement.
Yet unfortunately, many of us trivialise the prayer. We don't observe its correct timings, we don't prepare for it adequately in our wudu', we don't know what we recite within it, we lack of knowledge of its rulings and the list goes on.
It is not too late to learn and improve, to strive and ask Allah to grant us khushu' in the prayer.
Surah Luqman, verse 17
Benefit no. 43:
To encourage our children to be able to recognise good and bad, and to call towards good and warn against evil with knowledge and wisdom.
The Muslim community is most successful when its members advise one another with love and sincerity, calling to what is good and beneficial and warning against what is evil and harmful.
Allah describes this Ummah as the best of nations because along with iman it orders the good and forbids the evil.
Surah Luqman, verse 17
Benefit no. 44:
All of the above; tawhid, abstaining from shirk, being conscious of Allah, prayer, ordering the good and forbidding the evil requires patience.
Just as you travel on this path striving to come closer to Allah, so Iblis will place many obstacles on your path. We must be patient and persevere if we are to beat him.
Surah Luqman, verse 17
Benefit no. 45:
These important commandments are not for the faint of heart, the low of ambition or the weak of iman.
It requires sincerity, strong iman and a willingness to strive for excellence.
Surah Luqman, verse 18
"And turn not your face away from men with pride, nor walk in insolence through the earth. Verily, Allah likes not each arrogant boaster."
Benefit no. 46:
The dangers of pride and arrogance, boasting and haughtiness.
Ibn Kathir (Rahimahullah) said that 'Al-Mukhtal' is the one who is impressed by himself and 'Al-Fakhur' is the one who is arrogant towards others.
Surah Luqman, verse 18
Benefit no. 47:
Affirming the attribute of 'love' for Allah.
Allah loves certain characteristics and detests others. Allah detests arrogance and pride but loves their opposite as is seen in the following verse.
May Allah make us from amongst those whom He loves.
Surah Luqman, verse 19
"And be moderate in your walking, and lower your voice. Verily, the harshest of all voices is the voice (braying) of the donkey."
Benefit no. 48:
Islam is a religion of balance and moderation in everything, even in the way we walk, talk, eat, drink, sleep, socialise and worship. This is what makes Islam beautiful and the complete way of life, which was chosen by Allah for His creation.
Surah Luqman, verse 19
Benefit no. 49:
The importance of good character in Islam.
The Prophet (Sallalahu alayhi wa sallam) was only sent to exalt the character. Good character is what beautifies our Islam.
Yet good character is not just confined to the way you treat others, it is first and foremost good character with Allah, in our iman in Him and worship of Him. It is good character with the Qur'an in honouring it, reciting it, memorising it, understanding and contemplating it and applying it. It is good character with the Prophet (Sallalahu alayhi wa sallam) in loving him, defending his honour, learning his sunnah and following his example.
It is good character with our parents, spouses, children, neighbours, family, teachers, elders, youngsters and all others. It is even good character with the animals and the environment we live, for removing something harmful from the road is the lowest level of iman.
Surah Luqman, verse 19
Benefit no. 50:
The effectiveness of using examples and similitudes when giving da'wah.
Allah likens evil speech to the braying of the donkey.
Over the past weeks, I have mentioned 50 benefits from the advice Luqman gave to his son.
To summarise; Luqman was given wisdom and he thanked Allah for it, knowing Allah is not in need of thanks but that he is the one who benefits from it. Luqman advised his son to hold onto tawhid and abstain from shirk due to its evil.
Allah informed us of the great rights our parents have upon us, the hardship and struggles they endured for us and how we should be dutiful to them. At the same time, their obedience is not unconditional but only so long as they command no haram.
Luqman advised his son with that which would aid him; the prayer, ordering the good and forbidding the evil, and being patient upon this. Further, that his son should not become arrogant or proud but should be balanced and moderate in speech and action, adorning himself with good character.
These are just some of the benefits from this one short story in the Qur'an. How amazing is the book of Allah and how full of wisdom and knowledge.
I ask Allah that He allows us to benefit from these lessons, that He showers His mercy upon us and safeguards us from all evil. I ask Him to also bless our Shaykh, Abdur Razzaq al-Badr upon whose work the lessons were based.
Finally, I ask Allah to make this sincerely for His sake alone and a means of salvation on the Day I stand before Him.