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13 Jumada al-awwal 1448 AH Saturday, 24 October 2026
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Luqman 31:18

Word by word

وَلَا تُصَعِّرْ خَدَّكَ لِلنَّاسِ وَلَا تَمْشِ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ مَرَحًا ۖ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَا يُحِبُّ كُلَّ مُخْتَالٍ فَخُورٍ

And do not turn your cheek [in contempt] toward people and do not walk through the earth exultantly. Indeed, Allāh does not like everyone self-deluded and boastful.

Ibn Kathir (Abridged)

Hafiz Ibn Kathir

This is useful advice which Allah tells us Luqman gave, so that people may follow it and take it as"See the full heading "This is useful advice which Allah tells us Luqman gave, so thatpeople may follow it and take it as a good example

He said:يبُنَىَّ إِنَّهَآ إِن تَكُ مِثْقَالَ حَبَّةٍ مِّنْ خَرْدَلٍ(O my son! If it be (anything) equal to the weight of a grain of mustard seed, ) means, if a wrong action or a sin be equal to the size of a grain of mustard seed.يَأْتِ بِهَا اللَّهُ(Allah will bring it forth.) means, He will bring it forth on the Day of Resurrection, when it is placed in the Scales of justice and everyone is rewarded or punished for his actions -- if they are good, he will be rewarded and if they are bad he will be punished. This is like the Ayat:وَنَضَعُ الْمَوَزِينَ الْقِسْطَ لِيَوْمِ الْقِيَـمَةِ فَلاَ تُظْلَمُ نَفْسٌ شَيْئاً(And We shall set up Balances of justice on the Day of Resurrection, then none will be dealt with unjustly in anything) (21:47).فَمَن يَعْمَلْ مِثْقَالَ ذَرَّةٍ خَيْراً يَرَهُ - وَمَن يَعْـمَلْ مِثْقَالَ ذَرَّةٍ شَرّاً يَرَهُ(So, whosoever does good equal to the weight of a speck of dust shall see it.

And whosoever does evil equal to the weight of a speck of dust shall see it.) (99:7-8) Even if this tiny thing were to be hidden inside a solid rock or anywhere in the heavens and the earth, Allah will bring it forth, because nothing is hidden from Him, not even the weight of a speck of dust in the heavens or on the earth. Allah says:إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَطِيفٌ خَبِيرٌ(Verily, Allah is Subtle, Well-Aware.) meaning, His knowledge is subtle, for nothing is hidden from Him, no matter how small, subtle and minute.خَبِيرٌ(Well-Aware.) even of the footsteps of an ant in the darkest night. Then he (Luqman) said:يبُنَىَّ أَقِمِ الصَّلَوةَ(O my son!

Perform the Salah,) meaning, offer the prayer properly at the appointed times.وَأْمُرْ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَانْهَ عَنِ الْمُنْكَرِ(enjoin the good, and forbid the evil,) meaning, to the best of your ability and strength.وَاصْبِرْ عَلَى مَآ أَصَابَكَ(and bear with patience whatever befalls you.) Luqman knew that whoever enjoins what is good and forbids what is evil, will inevitably encounter harm and annoyance from people, so he told him to be patient.إِنَّ ذَلِكَ مِنْ عَزْمِ الاٍّمُورِ(Verily, these are some of the important commandments.) means, being patient when people cause harm or annoyance is one of the most important commandments.وَلاَ تُصَعِّرْ خَدَّكَ لِلنَّاسِ(And turn not your face away from men with pride) means, `do not turn your face away from people when you speak to them or they speak to you, looking down on them in an arrogant fashion.

Rather be gentle towards them and greet them with a cheerful face,' as it says in the Hadith:«وَلَوْ أَنْ تَلْقَى أَخَاكَ وَوَجْهُكَ إِلَيْهِ مُنْبَسِطٌ، وَإِيَّاكَ وَإِسْبَالَ الْإِزَارِ فَإِنَّهَا مِنَ الْمَخِيلَةِ، وَالْمَخِيلَةُ لَا يُحِبُّهَا الله»(... even if it is only by greeting your brother with a cheerful countenance. And beware of letting your lower garment trail below your ankles, for this is a kind of boasting, and Allah does not like boasting.)وَلاَ تَمْشِ فِى الاٌّرْضِ مَرَحًا(nor walk in insolence through the earth.) means, `do not be boastful, arrogant, proud and stubborn. Do not do that, for Allah will hate you.' So he said:إِنَّ اللَّهَ لاَ يُحِبُّ كُلَّ مُخْتَالٍ فَخُورٍ(Verily, Allah likes not any arrogant boaster.) meaning, one who shows off and admires himself, feeling that he is better than others. And Allah says:وَلاَ تَمْشِ فِى الاٌّرْضِ مَرَحًا إِنَّكَ لَن تَخْرِقَ الاٌّرْضَ وَلَن تَبْلُغَ الْجِبَالَ طُولاً(And walk not on the earth with conceit and arrogance.

Verily, you can neither rend nor penetrate the earth nor can you attain a stature like the mountains in height.) (17:37). We have already discussed this is detail in the appropriate place.

The Command to be Moderate in Walkingوَاقْصِدْ فِى مَشْيِكَ(And be moderate in your walking,) means, walk in a moderate manner, neither slow and lazy nor excessively fast, but be moderate, somewhere in between these two extremes.وَاغْضُضْ مِن صَوْتِكَ(and lower your voice.) means, do not exaggerate in your speaking and do not raise your voice unnecessarily. Allah says:إِنَّ أَنكَرَ الاٌّصْوَتِ لَصَوْتُ الْحَمِيرِ(Verily, the harshest of all voices is the braying of the asses.) Mujahid and others said, "The most ugly of voices is the voice of the donkey, i.e., when a person raises his voice, the resulting noise is like the voice of a donkey in its loudness. Moreover this is hateful to Allah. Likening a loud voice to that of a donkey implies that it is forbidden and extremely blameworthy, because the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:«لَيْسَ لَنَا مَثَلُ السُّوءِ، الْعَائِدُ فِي هِبَتِهِ كَالْكَلْبِ يَقِيءُ ثُمَّ يَعُودُ فِي قَيْئِه»(It is not befitting us to be an evil parable.

The person who takes back his gift, he is like a dog that vomits and then goes back to his vomit.)The Advice of Luqman

This is very useful advice, which the Qur'an tells us about Luqman. Many other proverbs and words of advice were also narrated from him, some examples of which we will quote below, as basic principles: Imam Ahmad recorded that Ibn `Umar said, "The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:«إِنَّ لُقْمَانَ الْحَكِيمَ كَانَ يَقُولُ: إِنَّ اللهَ إِذَا اسْتَوْدَعَ شَيْئًا حَفِظَه»(Luqman the Wise used to say: when something is entrusted to the care of Allah, He protects it.) It was narrated that As-Sari bin Yahya said: "Luqman said to his son: `Wisdom puts the poor in the company of kings."' It was also narrated that `Awn bin `Abdullah said: "Luqman said to his son: `O my son! When you come to a gathering of people, greet them with Salam, then sit at the edge of the group, and do not speak until you see that they have finished speaking. Then if they remember Allah, join them, but if they speak of anything else, then leave them and go to another group'."

Ma'arif al-Qur'an

Mufti Muhammad Shafi

The Fifth Bequest of Luqman about Social Manners

In verse 18, it was said: وَلَا تُصَعِّرْ‌ خَدَّكَ لِلنَّاسِ (And do not turn your cheek away from people). The expression: لَا تُصَعِّرْ‌ (la tusa"ir) is a derivation from: صَعَرَ (sa’ ara) which is a disease among camels that causes a tilt in the neck similar to the stroke among human beings that makes the face become crooked. It carries the sense of turning one's face away (in disdain). Thus, the verse means: 'do not turn your face away from people when you meet them and talk to them for it is a sign of avoidance and arrogance and very much against the norms of gentle manners.'In the next sentence of the verse, it was said: وَلَا تَمْشِ فِي الْأَرْ‌ضِ مَرَ‌حًا (and do not walk on the earth haughtily - 18). The last word: مَرَ‌حًا (maraha) denotes walking proudly with assumed airs. The sense of the statement is that Allah Ta’ ala has given this earth the lowest profile from among the entire range of elements He created. Is it not that you were born from it and on it you walk around? Know your reality and do not walk haughtily. This is the way of the arrogant.

Therefore, after that, it was said: إِنَّ اللَّـهَ لَا يُحِبُّ كُلَّ مُخْتَالٍ فَخُورٍ‌ (Surely, Allah does not like anyone arrogant, proud - 18).

Tafsir Muyassar

Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Saudi Arabia

ولا تُمِلْ وجهك عن الناس إذا كلَّمتهم أو كلموك؛ احتقارًا منك لهم واستكبارًا عليهم، ولا تمش في الأرض بين الناس مختالا متبخترًا، إن الله لا يحب كل متكبر متباه في نفسه وهيئته وقوله.

Tafsir Ibn Kathir

Hafiz Ibn Kathir

وقوله : ( ولا تصعر خدك للناس ) يقول : لا تعرض بوجهك عن الناس إذا كلمتهم أو كلموك ، احتقارا منك لهم ، واستكبارا عليهم ولكن ألن جانبك ، وابسط وجهك إليهم ، كما جاء في الحديث : " ولو أن تلقى أخاك ووجهك إليه منبسط ، وإياك وإسبال الإزار فإنها من المخيلة ، والمخيلة لا يحبها الله " .قال علي بن أبي طلحة ، عن ابن عباس في قوله : ( ولا تصعر خدك للناس ) يقول : لا تتكبر فتحقر عباد الله ، وتعرض عنهم بوجهك إذا كلموك . وكذا روى العوفي وعكرمة عنه .وقال مالك ، عن زيد بن أسلم : ( ولا تصعر خدك للناس ) : لا تكلم وأنت معرض .

وكذا روي عن مجاهد ، وعكرمة ، ويزيد بن الأصم ، وأبي الجوزاء ، وسعيد بن جبير ، والضحاك ، وابن يزيد ، وغيرهم .وقال إبراهيم النخعي : يعني بذلك التشديق في الكلام .والصواب القول الأول .قال ابن جرير : وأصل الصعر : داء يأخذ الإبل في أعناقها أو رؤوسها ، حتى تلفت أعناقها عن رؤوسها ، فشبه به الرجل المتكبر ، ومنه قول عمرو بن حنى التغلبي :وكنا إذا الجبار صعر خده أقمنا له من ميله فتقوماوقال أبو طالب في شعره :وكنا قديما لا نقر ظلامة إذا ما ثنوا صعر الرؤوس نقيمهاوقوله : ( ولا تمش في الأرض مرحا ) أي : جذلا متكبرا جبارا عنيدا ، لا تفعل ذلك يبغضك الله; ولهذا قال : ( إن الله لا يحب كل مختال فخور ) أي : مختال معجب في نفسه ، فخور أي على غيره ، وقال تعالى : ( ولا تمش في الأرض مرحا إنك لن تخرق الأرض ولن تبلغ الجبال طولا ) [ الإسراء : 37 ] ، وقد تقدم الكلام على ذلك في موضعه .وقال الحافظ أبو القاسم الطبراني : حدثنا محمد بن عبد الله الحضرمي ، حدثنا محمد بن عمران بن أبي ليلى ، حدثنا أبي ، عن ابن أبي ليلى ، عن عيسى ، عن عبد الرحمن بن أبي ليلى عن ثابت بن قيس بن شماس قال : ذكر الكبر عند رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم فشدد فيه ، فقال : " إن الله لا يحب كل مختال فخور " .

فقال رجل من القوم : والله يا رسول الله إني لأغسل ثيابي فيعجبني بياضها ، ويعجبني شراك نعلي ، وعلاقة سوطي ، فقال : " ليس ذلك الكبر ، إنما الكبر أن تسفه الحق وتغمط الناس " .ورواه من طريق أخرى بمثله ، وفيه قصة طويلة ، ومقتل ثابت ووصيته بعد موته .

Tafsir is provided for educational reference. Paragraph breaks are added for readability — the wording of each commentary is unchanged. For religious guidance, consult a qualified scholar.