Fellow Muslims, our master Luqman was a wise man. It was said that he was a prophet, but the most reliable saying is that he was a waliyy, i.e., a righteous Muslim. Once, he advised his son, starting with warning him against shirk, which is a type of blasphemy, telling him that blasphemy is a great injustice. This is the way of the prophets and the pious people which is to order others to worship Allah only and not to associate partners with Him. Having the correct belief has precedence over any other matter.
After warning him against shirk, Luqman taught his son that Allah has power over all things, and that Allah knows about all things, even the smallest of creations in the farthest part of this world.
This reminds us of the hadith of Jundub, the son of ^Abdullah where he said: <<We used to come to the Prophet while we were still young. We learned the belief from him before learning the Qur’an, then we learned the Qur’an which strengthened our belief.
The belief has priority over other deeds, because the good deeds are not accepted unless one has the correct belief in Allah.
Once, the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, met a Bedouin person in Makkah, and addressed him saying: wouldn’t you want goodness? The man replied: and what is this goodness? The Prophet said: to testify that no one is God except Allah and that I am the Messenger of Allah, for if you do that you will enter Paradise. The man replied: do you have a witness for your claim? The Prophet said: that tree. The Prophet pointed at a tree at the bottom of the valley, and the tree came digging a trench in the ground until it stood before the Prophet, peace be upon him. He asked it: O tree who am I? The tree replied: The Messenger of Allah three times. Then the Prophet signaled back to the tree, and it went back to its place. That man embraced Islam and kissed the head and the feet of the Prophet and went back to his people calling them to embrace Islam. So, the Prophet started by teaching that man the correct belief before any other matter because it is the most important of all deeds.
After teaching his son the fundamentals of the belief, Luqman started advising his son with other important matters. Luqman ordered his son to perform the prayer, which was an obligation upon all previous nations. He also advised him to bid the lawful and forbid the unlawful which is the foundation of establishing a good society. Bidding the lawful means to order others to perform the obligations and the most important obligation is the proper belief in Allah and His Messenger. On the other hand, forbidding the unlawful includes forbidding blasphemy which is the worst of all sins.
Then Luqman guided his son to practice patience because there is enlightenment in doing so. One needs patience to remain steadfast on the correct belief, practicing the acts of worships, bidding the lawful and forbidding the unlawful and dealing with hardships and harm one may face.
Then Luqman advised his son to have good manners; not to turn away from people out of arrogance, and not to walk in an arrogant way, rather one should be humble. Allah raises the rank of the one who is humble for the sake of Allah. Humbleness was the manner of all prophets, so let us imitate them.
Dear Muslim brothers, be humble when dealing with the old and the young, and be kind to others, listen to others when they advise you and do not think highly of yourself while thinking low of others. If one advises you with something good, do not reject the truth from him, even if he were to be younger than you, or have a lower status than yours. Be happy that there are people who want goodness for you and that they are putting the time and effort advising you, and remember the saying of our master peace be upon him: الدين النصيحة
May Allah facilitate for us obeying Him and adhering to the rules of the religion, and may Allah forgive our sins Ameen.
