Salaam Alaikum.
Alhamdulillah for been muslims. It's undisputable that the Qur'an is a miraculous book. Infact it's a book meant to constantly remind muslims of their duties.
It contains a lot of lessons, for those who wish to learn.
On This thread Inshaa Allah we are taking a deep and insightful look at the advice of Luqman to his son. What an advice it's brothers and sisters.
The lessons learnt from it we will try to dissect it as much as we could. I pray Allah make it a success for us all.
Now, Take it away from me.


Allah S.W.T says in Suratul Luqman Chapter 31 verses 14- 19

Suratul Luqman Chapter 31 verses 13 - 19

13- When Luqman told his son and he was advicing him he said:
O my son, do not associate partners with Allah. Verily Shirk(polytheism) is a grievous sin

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.

15- But if they (both) strive with you to make you join in worship with Me (ALLAH) 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

16- O my son, even if it is the weight of a mustard seed deposited inside a rock, or in the heavens, or in the earth, Allah will surely bring it out.
Verily Allah knows all subtleties, All aware

17- O my son, perform salat and enjoin the good and forbid evil and bear with patience whatever befalls you. Verily, these are some of the important commandments.

18- And do not turn away from people through pride nor walk haughtily on on earth, surely, Allah does not love any arrogant boaster(who admires himself and despises others)

19- And walk at a moderate pace, (neither quick nor slow) and lower your voice. Verily the harshest of all voices is the braying of the asses.

Yes,
Those were the words of Luqman to his son.
Indeed, Allah has revealed this to prophet muhammad S.A.W to serve as a lesson to us all.
There are many lessons to be learnt from these Ayats and Insha Allah from tomorrow i will do justice to it as much as i could( I tagged it 10 GOLDEN ADVICE OF LUQMAN TO MUSLIMS) and i urge all of us to follow and contribute as much as we could, so that we can all learn from it.
May Allah make it easy for us all

LESSON ONE:
Do Not Associate Partners With Allah.
Any form of association of partners with Allah is a grievous sins. It's so grievous a sin that Allah S.W.T warns that He Will NEVER forgive a person who indulges in such except for a true and sincere repentance before Death.
But one question comes to mind i.e How Do People associate partners with Allah?
It should be stated unequivocally that As-SHIRK is not only limited to idol worship as many people think. But it entails any form of association of partners in all forms of 'Ibadah. The scholars of Islam actually categorised it into
i- As Shirkul Akbar (BIG SHIRK
ii- As Shirkul Asgar (SMALL SHIRK).
Let's look at some few examples:
1. SUPPLICATION (DU'A): Prophet muhammad S.A.W said: Supplication is worship. We should know that whenever we pray it's only Allah that can answer us, so we should mind the way we do that, some muslims nowadays fall prey to this and involve in Shirku Du'a.
2- Swearing with other things other than Allah. Prophet muhammad S.A.W says: Whoever wishes to swear, he should that with the name of Allah or keep quiet. It's totally prohibited to swear with any other thing apart from Allah. It's common to see people nowadays swearing with Qur'an, Sango, father, mother, Yaasin etc, all these are unislamic and totally abhorred.
3- Ar- Riyaa: This's the act of doing things for people to see you. It might be for them to praise,honour, thank you etc. This's a shirkul Asgar and could occur to anyone.
Grave worship, Excessive Praise of the 'AULIYAA' (Some even hold them in high esteem than Allah, and prophet muhammad.

These are some forms of shirk which Luqman advices muslims to go against it.
May Allah help us too, to uphold this WISE ADVICE.

LESSON TWO: BE GOOD TO YOUR PARENTS

Immediately, after the stern warning of the dangers inherent in SHIRK(Associating partners with Allah)
He advices all of the importance of being a good child.
The hardship and difficulty in conceiving, giving birth, taking care of a child were highlighted.
It's thus incumbent upon us all to obey our parents in order to avoid the wrath of Allah.
How much do you respect your parents?
How high do you hold them in esteem?
Do you even take care of them at all?
Are they happy with you?
Do you pray for them at all whether living or dead?
These are questions we should ask ourselves to know how much we obey our parents.

So, Luqman advices us to be good, obedient, listening, caring, etc to our parents BUT........

LESSON THREE: OBEDIENCE TO ALLAH IS PARAMOUNT

Yes, it never stops there, Obedience to parents is necessary but that of Allah over-rides it. Even though your parents encourage or ask you to associate partners with or disobey Allah, Do not obey them(So it's not out of place to disobey your parents when it comes to the worship of Allah),
Remember: 'THERE IS NO OBEDIENCE TO THE CREATURE IN DISOBEDIENCE OF THE CREATOR'.
There's no room for compromise in deen. But.......


Be good to them generally, Do not let your parents angry with you because of your belief, explain things to them, Let them know why you are doing what you do, Let them know why you think they are wrong. Still be the loving, caring, compassionate son/daughter you have always been.

LESSON FOUR: DO NOT BE-LITTLE YOUR DEEDS

The need to be careful with our deeds be it good or bad. A muslim doesn't underrate his deeds(good/bad).
Prophet S.A.W said: Do not belittle any act of good,even if it's to meet your brother with a smiling face. As insignificant as a SMILE might be it should be encouraged because it's a good deed.
Likewise any bad deed shouldn't be taken lightly. Don't say it's just a small sin(NO SIN IS SMALL).
No,No,No, Do not look at the magnitude of your offence, rather look at the magnitude of he who you're offending (ALLAH)

LESSON FIVE: OBSERVE YOUR SALAT(PRAYER)

Observation of Salat(PRAYER) five times daily at its appropriate time is highly encouraged.
Unfortunaetly many muslims today, neglect their prayers under many guises, Some don't even observe it at all. Forgetting that prophet Muhammad S.A.W said:
The first deed of a servant that will be judged on the last day is SALAT(PRAYER).
It should be stated emphatically that SALAT is not only compulsory but also distinguishes a Muslim from a disbeliever.
Prophet muhammad S.A.W said:
The difference between the servant of Allah and infidelity is to abandon prayer.

So Said Luqman, Observe your Salat
Do you observe your SALAT?
How regular is it?
Hope you know its advantages?
Do you see its impact in your daily life?
May Allah make it(observation of Salat) easy for us, our friends, siblings, and the whole muslim ummah

LESSON SIX: BE A GOOD AMBASSADOR

Enjoin people to do good and forbid evil. A good muslim should always be an advocate of good wherever he/ she is, forbidding evil deed as much as he could.
Prophet Muhammad S.A.W said ' He who witnesses wrong, let him redress it with his hand, if he cannot do that, then redress it by his tongue. If he cannot, then by his heart, which reflects the lowest of Iman(FAITH)

A Muslim should always be where good deeds are been executed, and always far away from any form of evil because that doesn't portray him in good light.

LESSON SEVEN: ALWAYS BE PATIENT

Patience is a good virtue.
A muslim is always patient in whatever he does. Patience is one of the characteristics of the prophets/messengers of Allah.
Infact, No prophet of Allah who was not annihiliated, abused by his people or even tested by Allah S.W.T in one way or the other but they were all patient. Nuh, Ibrahim, Musa, Yusuf, Isa, Ayyub, Muhammad etc were are all patient.
Life's not always rosy, Some things which aren't favourable to you will always occur, either as a test from Allah in form of sickness, death, reduction in wealth e.t.c or from people in form of insults, abuses, e.t.c.
So, we should always be patient knowing fully well that ' Allah is With The Patient ones'.
We should not dissociate ourselves from people because we can't bear their attitudes.
Prophet S.A.W discouraged us from that, rather he advises us to be patient, he says
'The Believer who consorts with people and endures their harm is better than a believer who does not consort with people nor does he endure their harm.

So said Luqman:
Be A Patient Muslim....

LESSON EIGHT: DON'T BE ARROGANT

Pride is totally discouraged in Islam. A good muslim should be humble always, Any form of disrespect, abuse e.t.c are not expected of muslims. Infact, turning away people for one reason or the other is never encouraged.
We should put it at the back of our mind that we are all equal in the sight of Allah.
Nobody is too big or too small. Don't be arrogant in Speech, Behaviour, e.t.c
Don't despise or belittle others for any reason.
It's totally abhorred and ALLAH doesn't love the arrogant.
Prophet Muhammad S.A.W said: 'ANYONE WHO HAS A WEIGHT OF MUSTARD SEED OF ARROGANCE(PRIDE) IN HIM/HER WILL NOT ENTER PARADISE'

LESSON NINE: ALWAYS BE MODERATE

Walking at a moderate pace is indeed encouraged.
You shouldn't be too hasty or too slow. But try to be moderate.
This doesn't apply to walking alone, rather applys to all aspects of a muslim's life.
A Muslim is neither an extremist nor a poor performing one.
A Muslim is neither Extravagant(In spending) nor a Miser.
A muslim is neither an (I TOO KNOW) nor a dullard.
But A muslim is he or she who realises that he/she is moderate in all he does, because that's why we're muslims and that's what our deen wants and encourages

LESSON TEN: LOWER YOUR VOICES

Lowering of Voice in Speech is the last but not the least of the 10 golden advices of Luqman to all muslims.
It's not strange to see people raise their voices in speech un-necessarily even when there's no need for such.
The harshest of voices is the braying of asses which shouldn't be emulated.
The way you talk to people whether mildly or harshly portray the type of upbringing you had morally, educationally, religiously.
Nowadays you see women shout at people un-necessarily without any sense of humility. You even wonder how they behave to their parents, husbands, or fiances.
Also, you see men shout anyhow without any sense of responsibility,
You thus wonder how he'l behave at home.
This attitude has led to a sort of moral decadence in our society.
Prophet S.A.W said:
When you hear the roosters crow, ask Allah to grant from his bounty, for they have seen an angel. But when you hear a donkey's braying. Ask Allah's protection for it has seen a Shaitan(SATAN).

May Allah help us all to be modest in all we do.