The excellence of Sayyiduna Luqman and some of his words of advice have been mentioned gracefully in the Holy Quran and a complete Surah of the Holy Quran i.e. ‘Surah Luqman’ has been named after him.
According to Muhammad Bin Ishaaq Maghaazi, his lineage is Luqman Bin Baa’ oor Bin Baahoor Bin Taarakh. In this lineage, Taarakh was the father of the Nabi Sayyiduna Ibraheem . Some historians have reported that Sayyiduna Luqman was the maternal nephew of the Nabi Sayyiduna Ayyub and some are of the point of view that he was the maternal cousin of Sayyiduna Ayyub .
Always remember Allah .
6. Keep remembering your death.
7. Forget about the favours you have done to others.
8. Forget about the misconduct of the others.
According to Muhammad Bin Ishaaq Maghaazi, his lineage is Luqman Bin Baa’ oor Bin Baahoor Bin Taarakh. In this lineage, Taarakh was the father of the Nabi Sayyiduna Ibraheem . Some historians have reported that Sayyiduna Luqman was the maternal nephew of the Nabi Sayyiduna Ayyub and some are of the point of view that he was the maternal cousin of Sayyiduna Ayyub .
Sayyiduna Luqman lived for one thousand years. He lived for so long that he got the opportunity to acquire the knowledge by staying in the company of Sayyiduna Dawood – Before the declaration of the Prophethood of Sayyiduna Dawood ‘ he was the Mufti of Bani Israel. But when Sayyiduna Dawood declared his Prophethood, Sayyiduna Luqman abandoned to deliver Fatwa (edict). It is mentioned in some of the books that Sayyiduna Luqman said, ‘I have been blessed with the honour of availing the company of four thousand
Ambiya . From the holy sayings of these Ambiya , I have selected and memorised eight things, which are:
1. Guard your heart whilst offering Salah.
2. Take care of your throat whilst eating.
3. When you are staying in the house of somebody else, protect your eyes.
4. When you are sitting in the company of people, take care of your tongue.
5.
6. Keep remembering your death.
7. Forget about the favours you have done to others.
8. Forget about the misconduct of the others.
Except that of Sayyiduna ‘Ikramah and Imam Sha’bi, the unanimous opinion of the scholars is that he was not a Nabi, but a wise person. He was a very famous true believer and righteous person of extremely highly rank among the Bani Israel. His heart was bestowed with the treasure of wisdom by Allah . It is mentioned in the Holy Quran:
And indeed We bestowed wisdom to Luqman (saying) that, ‘Be grateful to Allah’. And whomsoever is grateful, is grateful for his own good, and whosoever is ungrateful, then indeed Allah is The Independent, The Most Praiseworthy.
[Kanz-ul-Iman (Translation of Quran) (Part 21, Surah Luqman, Ayah 12)
Sayyiduna Luqman taught the people throughout his life. It is mentioned in Tafseer Fath-ur-Rahman that his blessed grave is at the place called ‘Sarfand’, which is situated near ‘Rarnlah’. Sayyiduna Qatadah has mentioned that his grave lies in between the Masjid and market of ‘Rarnlah’, where seventy Ambiya are resting in peace. They were exiled by Jews from Bayt-ul-Muqaddas and they passed away due to severe hunger and thirst. There is a high monument on his blessed grave and people come from far of places for paying visit to his blessed grave.
(Tafseer Ruh-ul-Bayan, vol. 7, pp. 77; part 21, Surah Luqman, Ayah 12)
What is Hikmah ( wisdom)?
‘Hikmah’ means wisdom and intellect. Some have the opinion that Hikmah is cognition and an ability to resolve the issues rationally. Some people are of the point of view that Hikmah is such a faculty that if Allah bestows one’s heart with it, his heart gets enlightened. So these are different opinions about Hikmah. Allah blessed Sayyiduna Luqman with Hikmah all of a sudden when he was asleep. Anyhow, Hikmah is also a Divinely bestowed trait like Prophethood. Nobody can acquire Hikmah through his own personal efforts and struggle just like nobody can acquire Prophethood through his own individual efforts and without Allah j’; granting it. But it should also be noted that the rank of Prophethood is far greater and elevated than that of Hikmah.
(Iafseer Ruh-ul-Bayan, vol. 7, pp. 74-75, summarized; part 21, Surah Luqman, Ayah 11)
Sayyiduna Luqman told his son, An’am some words of advice which have been mentioned in Surah Luqman of the Holy Quran. Apart from these, he delivered many more words of ad vice that have been mentioned in different books of Quranic Tafaseer.
It is famous that Sayyiduna Luqman was a tailor by profession. Some have reported that he would graze the goats. Once he was delivering the pearls of wisdom. A person asked, ‘Are you not so-and-so shepherd?’ He replied, ‘Yes, of course! I am that shepherd.’ The person said, ‘How did you attain this faculty of ‘Hikmah’?’ He replied, ‘By virtue of truthfulness in talking, returning of entrustments and avoidance from useless talking.’
(Tafseer As-Saawi, vol. 5, pp. 1598; part 21, Surah Luqman, Ayah 12)
