Commentary of the Noble Quran - Chapter 31 - Surah Luqman - Part 11

1. Exegesis
of the
Noble Quran
Surah Luqman
Chapter 31
Session 11
Verse 15
ISIA of Edmonton
www.jammat.org
Shaykh Saleem Bhimji

2. Advice 3
Respect &
Conditional
Obedience
of Parents
Surah Luqman

3. Absolute and complete
obedience – Allah, Prophet
and Ulul ‘Amr
• Believers! Obey Allah and
obey the Prophet and [obey]
those who are in authority
amongst you. (4:59)
Absolute and complete
disobedience to disbelievers,
those spreading corruption,
sinners, oppressors, etc…
• O Prophet! Keep your duty
to Allah and do not obey the
disbelievers or hypocrites.
(33:1)
• Do not obey any sinful or
ungrateful one from
amongst them. (76:24)
• Do not follow the path of
those spreading corruption.
(38:26)
Conditional obedience to
individuals such as our
parents
• However if they (your
parents) should push you to
associate partners with God,
then do not obey them…
(31:15)
Surah Luqman

4. Surah Luqman
Verse 15
ْ‫ع‬َ‫م‬ ‫ا‬َ‫ي‬
ْ
‫ن‬ُّ‫ادل‬ ِ‫ِف‬ ‫ا‬َ‫م‬ُ‫ه‬ْ‫ب‬ِ‫ح‬‫ا‬ َ‫ص‬َ‫و‬ ۖ ‫ا‬َ‫م‬ُ‫ه‬ْ‫ع‬ِ‫ط‬
ُ
‫ت‬
َ
‫َل‬
َ
‫ف‬ ٌ‫م‬
ْ
‫ِل‬‫ع‬ ِ‫ه‬ِ‫ب‬
َ
‫ك‬
َ
‫ل‬ َ‫س‬ْ‫ي‬
َ
‫ل‬ ‫ا‬َ‫م‬ ِ‫ِب‬ َ‫ك‬ِ
ْ
‫ْش‬
ُ
‫ت‬
ْ
‫ن‬
َ
‫أ‬ ٰ َ َ
‫لَع‬ َ‫اك‬َ‫د‬
َ
‫اه‬َ‫ج‬
ْ
‫ِإَون‬‫و‬ُ‫ر‬َ‫و‬ ۖ ‫ا‬
ً
‫ف‬
َ
‫يل‬ِ‫ب‬َ‫س‬ ْ‫ع‬ِ‫ب‬
َّ
‫ات‬
ْ‫م‬ُ‫ت‬
ْ
‫ن‬
ُ
‫ك‬ ‫ا‬َ‫م‬ِ‫ب‬ ْ‫م‬
ُ
‫ك‬ُ‫ئ‬ِ‫ب‬
َ
‫ن‬
ُ
‫أ‬
َ
‫ف‬ ْ‫م‬
ُ
‫ك‬ُ‫ع‬ِ‫ج‬ْ‫ر‬َ‫م‬ َّ َ
‫َل‬ِ‫إ‬ َّ‫م‬
ُ
‫ث‬ ۚ َّ َ
‫َل‬ِ‫إ‬ َ‫اب‬
َ
‫ن‬
َ
‫أ‬ ْ‫ن‬َ‫م‬
َ
‫ون‬
ُ
‫ل‬َ‫م‬ْ‫ع‬
َ
‫ت‬
And if they contend with you that you should associate with Me
what you have no knowledge of, do not obey them, and keep
company with them in this world kindly, and follow the way of him
who turns to Me, then to Me is your return, then will I inform you of
what you did.

5.  Q: What are the limits of obedience of
ones’ father and mother?
 A: In relation to his father and mother,
the child has two levels of obligations:
Surah Luqman

6.  The First: To be kind towards them by providing for them,
if they are in need. To provide for their day-to-day needs.
To respond to their requests that are related to their daily
lives at a level that is normal and usual for a human being,
in the sense that if he refuses to fulfill them, it would be
regarded as “not being good to them” — and that would
differ depending on whether they are healthy and strong or
ill and weak.
Surah Luqman

7.  The Second: To behave towards them
kindly, by not offending them in word or
action, even if they are unjust to him. In
some religious text, it says, “And if they hit
you, do not shun them; instead say, ‘May
Allah forgive you.’”
Surah Luqman

8.  Question: A son argues with his father or a
daughter with her mother, over a serious
day-to-day issue, in a heated manner that
causes distress to the parents. Is this
permissible for the children, and what is the
limit when a child is not allowed to argue
with the parent?
Surah Luqman

9.  Answer: A child is allowed to discuss with
the parents in matters that he or she thinks
are not right; but the child must observe
politeness and respect in the discussion; he
or she should not angrily look at them, nor
raise his voice over theirs, let alone use
harsh words and expressions.
Surah Luqman

10.  Question: If a mother advises her son to
divorce his wife with whom she has
differences, is it obligatory upon him to
obey her in this matter? What if she says,
“You are an ‘aq child, (2) if you do not
divorce her”?
Surah Luqman

11.  Answer: It is not obligatory on him to obey
her in this matter, and her statement [about
him becoming disobedient] has no effect
whatsoever. Of course, as mentioned earlier,
it is necessary for him to hold back from any
insulting statement or action towards her.
Surah Luqman

12. Surah Luqman
Lessons to Learn from Verse 15
1. By their nature, the human being has a disposition towards belief in one God,
however it is outside forces which push them towards leaving this path. (‫)جاهداك‬
2. In addition to speaking about universals, one must also sometimes pay attention
to side-issues in religious discussions and as we see on the sidelines of advising
about obedience to parents ( ‫ینا‬ّ‫ص‬َ‫و‬‫االنسان‬ ) there is also talk about any possible
divergence by the parents which the children must be aware of so as not to follow
them in that regards ( ‫جاهداك‬‫على‬‫ان‬‫تشرك‬ ).
3. Polytheism by no stretch of the imagination is based on logical arguments. ( ‫لیس‬
‫لك‬‫به‬‫علم‬ )

13. Surah Luqman
Lessons to Learn from Verse 15
4. Blind following in all matters of life is not permissible. ( ‫فال‬ ‫علم‬ ‫به‬ ‫لك‬ ‫لیس‬ ‫ما‬
‫)تطعهما‬
5. The rights of God take precedence over the rights of everyone else
including one’s parents. (‫)فالتطعهما‬
6. Anytime a role model is taken away from someone, one must replace
that individual with someone else immediately. ( ‫فالتطعهما‬-‫واتبع‬ )

14. Surah Luqman
Lessons to Learn from Verse 15
7. It is not permissible to obey one’s parents when it comes to areas of deviation,
however one needs to try and preserve a life of normalcy with them. ( ‫و‬ ‫تطعهما‬ ‫فال‬
‫فى‬ ‫صاحبهما‬‫معروفا‬ ‫الدنیا‬ )
8. It is permissible to live with and interact with non-Muslims as long as we don’t
necessarily following in their cultural norms (which go against Islamic teachings).
( ‫صاحبهما‬ ‫و‬ ‫فالتطعهما‬...‫معروفا‬ )
9. One should never neglect the performance of good actions. ( ‫فى‬ ‫صاحبهما‬‫معروفا‬ ‫الدنیا‬ )
10. One must ensure that they treat their parents with goodness until the end of their
lives – and even beyond – even if they are non-Believers. ( ‫فى‬ ‫صاحبهما‬‫معروفا‬ ‫الدنیا‬ )

15. Surah Luqman
Lessons to Learn from Verse 15
11. A Divinely-inspired individual is one whom we should take as a role model. ( ‫بع‬ّ‫ت‬‫وا‬
ّ‫ى‬‫ال‬ ‫اناب‬ ‫َن‬‫م‬ ‫)سبیل‬
12. When it comes to choosing a path to follow within the family structure, sometimes
it is necessary to separate from the other opinions. In the life of this world, we can
live along side with our parents however when it comes to following them, we need
to diverge and choose another path in life. (ّ‫ى‬‫ال‬ ‫ناب‬َ‫ا‬ ‫َن‬‫م‬ ‫سبیل‬ ‫بع‬ّ‫ت‬‫)وا‬

16. Surah Luqman
Lessons to Learn from Verse 15
13. Belief in the resurrection day safeguards the belief in the performance of righteous
deeds and the person’s progress on the path of God. (‫مرجعكم‬ َّ‫)الى‬
14. The Resurrection is the arena in which all of humanity will be brought forth into the
presence of God. (‫ّئكم‬‫ب‬‫ن‬ُ‫فا‬ ‫مرجعكم‬ َّ‫)الى‬

17. Surah Luqman
To Be Continued…