Luqman was a wise man - not a prophet, but a servant of Allah granted deep wisdom - and Allah honoured him with an entire surah bearing his name, the thirty-first chapter of the Qur'an. At its heart (verses 12 to 19) is a passage in which Luqman counsels his own son, addressing him tenderly as "ya bunayya" - "O my dear little son." It is a snapshot of a loving father passing on what matters most, and it reads like a complete guide to raising a good human being.
His first and greatest piece of advice is about Allah Himself: "O my son, do not associate anything with Allah. Indeed, associating others with Him is a great wrong." Before anything else - before manners or ambition - Luqman anchors his child in tawhid, the pure worship of Allah alone. He begins where everything begins: with a child's relationship to their Creator. Everything else in life finds its proper place only once that foundation is set.
“Next comes kindness to parents. The verses remind the child of how much a mother endures - carrying her baby through hardship upon hardship - and command gratitude to Allah and to one's parents. Yet Luqman's advice is balanced and just: even if parents were to push their child toward wrong, the child should still treat them with kindness and good companionship in this world, while not obeying them in disobedience to Allah. It is a lesson in honouring family without ever making family an idol.”
Then Luqman teaches his son about the awareness of Allah with a stunning image: even a deed as tiny as a mustard seed, hidden inside a rock or lost somewhere in the heavens or the earth, Allah will bring it forth, for He is subtle and all-aware. He is teaching his child that nothing is ever truly hidden and nothing is ever too small to matter - a gentle, powerful way to raise a person of conscience who does good even when no one is watching.
From there he moves to worship and character in quick, practical strokes: "O my son, establish prayer, enjoin what is right, forbid what is wrong, and be patient over what befalls you. Indeed, that is of the matters requiring resolve." He links prayer to action in the world and both to sabr - patience - warning his son that standing for good will sometimes bring hardship, and that enduring it with patience is a mark of real strength.
Finally, Luqman turns to humility and manners. "Do not turn your cheek in contempt toward people, and do not walk through the earth arrogantly. Indeed, Allah does not like the self-deluded and boastful. Be moderate in your pace, and lower your voice; indeed, the most disagreeable of sounds is the braying of donkeys." In just a few lines he covers body language, gait, tone of voice, and the ugliness of arrogance - teaching his son that how you carry yourself among people is part of your faith, not separate from it.
What makes this passage so precious for parents today is how timeless and complete it is. In one short conversation, Luqman covers belief, family, conscience, worship, resilience, and humility - and he does it not with lectures or threats, but with warmth, calling his son "my dear little son" again and again. It is a model of how to speak to our own children: gently, on the things that matter, from a place of love. Reading these verses together and unpacking each piece of advice is one of the finest tarbiyah conversations a family can have.