| | Bijan Moeinian rendition of Surah Luqman, Lukman(Luqman)
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| 31:1 | | A.L.M |
| 31:2 | | Hereby you are witnessing the verses of the most wise book (Qur’an) |
| 31:3 | | This book is guidance and a mercy of God offered to those who do good things for mankind |
| 31:4 | | The latter are those who worship God on regular basis, devote a part of their income/ abilities to charitable actions and prepare themselves for their eternal life which follows this earthly life |
| 31:5 | | The above mentioned people are the one who will continue receiving guidance from their Lord and are the “real” successful ones [in spite of the fact that they may not succeed in gathering wealth, power, etc. in this world] |
| 31:6 | | As to those talented speakers who use their appealing jokes while delivering fiery but meaningless speeches to divert people from the straight path of God, an awful punishment is waiting for them |
| 31:7 | | To these people who turn from God’s words when recited to them and do not listen to it as though they are deaf, let (Mohammad) them know what a painful punishment is in reserve for them |
| 31:8 | | Those who believe and do good things, they will be welcomed in the gardens of Paradise |
| 31:9 | | They will live in Paradise forever; this is a true promise of God. God is Almighty, the Most Wise |
| 31:10 | | God is the One Who has created the heavens without any visible pillar. On the earth, He has set the mountains (to regulate the movement of the earth), scattered all kinds of animals and sent down rainwater from the sky to cause a variety of vegetation to grow |
| 31:11 | | Such is the creation of God; now show Me what those whom you worship beside God have created. The fact of the matter is that these wicked people have chosen an obvious false ideology |
| 31:12 | | As to LoghmanI enjoined wisdom upon him so that he may thank God. Whoever is thankful to God, he is kind to his own soul; whoever chooses to be ungrateful, [he has chosen to hurt his own soul and] should know that God is not in need of anyone’s gratefulness as He is Self-Sufficient and is being praised [more than enough by His angels.] |
| 31:13 | | I want you to know about Loghman’s advising his son: “My son, do not worship anyone except God. The truth is that raising the others to the level of God is a great injustice.&rdquo |
| 31:14 | | Now that the subject centers around the children’s’ obedience,] I have Myself made it a duty for the mankind to show the utmost respect toward his parents; especially the mother. She bears him while being always sick [due to the nature of the pregnancy.] Then it takes two years of intensive care of the mother so that the baby turns into a child. [That is why I say:] “Be grateful to your Lord and your parents.” Know that to Me is your return |
| 31:15 | | The only time that you should not obey your parents is when they ask you to worship the others beside God. In such a case, be kind to them but follow the path of those who have submitted themselves to their Lord. Know that you will eventually return to Me and [you do not want to beembarrassed when] I will inform you of what you have been doing with your life |
| 31:16 | | continuing his advice, Loghman said:] “ O my son, even a tiny thing, as small as a mustard seed, hidden inside a stone, anywhere in the universe, can not escape the Lord’s knowledge and grasp; He is the Most Supreme, the Most Knowledgeable |
| 31:17 | | “O’ my son, worship the Lord regularly & frequently, invite people to do the good deeds and prevent them of wrongdoings and work on your patience. These are the noble characteristics.&rdquo |
| 31:18 | | “Do not treat people with arrogance and do not walk proudly on the earth [an excellent advice for people with the colonialist attitude]. Know that God does not like proud people.&rdquo |
| 31:19 | | “Walk in a humble manner and do not talk loud; the most disgraceful of all voices is the loud voice of a donkey.&rdquo |
| 31:20 | | Do you not see that God has put at your disposal whatever is in the earth and the heavens? Do you not see that God has showered you with visible and invisible favors? What a shame that there are some people who argue about [the existence or characteristics of] God without having any knowledge and background about this subject |
| 31:21 | | When these people are asked to follow what God has revealed, they say: “We will follow only whatever our forefathers were following [no matter if they were wrong or right!] What kind of reasoning is this? Will they followed Satan, even if he calls them to end up in the raging Fire |
| 31:22 | | Whoever submits himself to God and does good deeds, has got hold of the most reliable support. The highest chain of command who controls everything is God |
| 31:23 | | As for the one who denies God, let not his disbelief bother you. All disbelievers have to meet their Lord eventually. Then I will play back their deeds for them [so that they see and be ashamed of what they were doing.] God knows everyone’s secrets |
| 31:24 | | I will let them enjoy their lives in this world for a while and then let them hopelessly taste the worse punishment |
| 31:25 | | If you ask them: “Who has created the earth and the heavens?” they will say: “God.” Say: “Thank Lord [that at least you know this much]; If it is so then none should be worshipped but the Lord.” What a shame that most of them are deprived of common sense |
| 31:26 | | Yes. To God belongs everything in the heavens and in the earth. God is self sufficient and not in need of anyone’s adoration |
| 31:27 | | If all trees on earth were to become pens, and seven times existing oceans the inkpot, the words [explaining creativity, manifestations and wisdom] of God would not run off. God is Almighty, the Most Wise |
| 31:28 | | I have created you all together as one being [like a beehive which is composed of thousands of bees but together they constitute one being] and will resurrect you as one being [perhaps meaning that the way that we live individually affects the way that our society grows up and therefore we will individually be held responsible for the failures of our society.] Know that God hears everything [that we say and affects the society] and sees everything [that we do and affects the society.] |
| 31:29 | | Do you not [look around and see the most amazing natural phenomena that you take it for granted such as planet earth turning around itself at some 30,miles an hour so that you] see the night merges into the day and the day merges into the night by the will of God? Do you not see that the sun and the moon are paving their predetermined course by the will of God until they reach their final destiny? The same God [who knows what the planets are doing] knows what you are doing |
| 31:30 | | God [who is behind all this majestic creation] is the Truth and those whom you worship [idols, women, wealth, boss, etc.] are false gods [as they do not have any part in the creation.] Only God is the Most High, the Most Great |
| 31:31 | | Do you not see that the ship [which is heavier than water] sails in the sea by the grace of God [who has made the winds amicable and has appeased the currents]? In this [taken for granted phenomenon] there are many signs for each patient [scientist who devotes all his life to study the laws of the nature] and grateful person [who thanks God for making such huge planet earth so hospitable.] |
| 31:32 | | When a violent wave [reminding the leashed power of the nature] approaches the ship, the passengers panic and [no matter how pagan they are] invoke God [to leash the awesome power of the nature for them] sincerely devoting their prayers to God alone. When God brings them safely to the land, some of them take the middle course [to please both Caesar and God!] Only a treacherous [who lied in his prayers] and an unappreciative person [who did not thank God for being taken to safety from a dangerous situation] deny the revelations of the Lord |
| 31:33 | | O’ people, have the utmost respect toward the Lord and fear the Day when no father can do anything for his son and no son can do anything for his father. God is telling you the truth; therefore, do not let this jazzy world distract you [from the right path] and do not let the Satan and his disciples you take you away from [the camp of] the Lord |
| 31:34 | | Only God knows the time of the Day of the resurrection. Only God sends down the rain [which everyone begs for in a drought or in a massive wood fire, no matter how technologically advanced they are.] Only God knows what is taking shape [physically and psychologically] in the womb of the mother. No living being knows what he will earn the next day, nor does anybody know in what land he will die. Only God knows everything and is All-Aware |
