Luqman (Luqman)

6. “And there are, among men, those who purchase idle talk to lead (others) astray from the way of Allah without knowledge, and to take it in mockery; for these shall be a disgracing chastisement.”

To invest capital for cultural attack and struggling against the truth surely has a long and vast precedent. Whatever exists opposite to wisdom is idle and it is a hinder for reaching to perfection.

The Occasion of Revelation

Some of the commentators have said that the verses under discussion are revealed about ‘Nadr-ibn-i-Harith’. He was a merchant who used to travel to Iran and sometimes it happened that he told the Iranian stories for the members of Quraysh.

He said:

“If Muhammad (S) reiterates the story life of ‘Ad and Thamud, I reiterate the stories of Rustam and ’Isfandiyar, the news of Kasra and the kings of non-Arab.”

Thus, people used to gather around him and they abandoned listening to the recitation of the Qur’an.

Some other commentators have said that these verses of the Qur’an have been sent down about a man who had bought a maid-servant who could sing songs. All days and nights she sang for him and caused him to neglect the remembrance of Allah.

After mentioning this occasion of revelation, the Late Tabarsi says:

“The tradition which has been narrated from the holy Prophet (S) in this regard confirms the above occasion of revelation, because he (S) said:

‘Teaching music to maid-servant singers is unlawful, and bargaining them as well as Profit gained from it is unlawful, too. The reference to this (matter) is mentioned in the Book of Allah (where it says):

‘And there are, among men, those who purchase idle talk to lead (others) astray from the way of Allah without knowledge’…’”

However, the words in this holy verse are about a group of people who use their capitals for vanity and leading others astray by which they buy the wretchedness in this world and the next for themselves.

At first, it says:

“And there are, among men, those who purchase idle talk to lead (others) astray from the way of Allah without knowledge, and to take it in mockery…”

Then, at the end of the verse, it adds:

“…for these shall be a disgracing chastisement.””

Purchasing idle talks and falsehood is either in this manner that they really earn superstitious and false fables by giving money, like that that we studied in the story of Nadr-ibn-i-Harith.

Or it is in this way that for arranging some meetings of vanity, singing, and falsehood they buy some maid-servant singers, as was said in the occasion of revelation through the tradition of the Prophet (S).

Or they spend wealth in any way or form that by which they get this unlawful aim, i.e. the false and idle talks.

It is surprising that these blind hearted persons bought the false and idle matters for the dearest price, but they used to ignore the Divine verses and wisdom that Allah had given them without money.

This probability also exists that the word ‘purchase’ has an ironical meaning and its purpose is any kind of struggle and effort for reaching this aim.

The Arabic phrase /lahwul hadiθ/ (idle talk) has such a vast meaning that envelops any kind of talks or amusing musical songs which drive man into idleness or aberration, whether they are from the sort of lascivious music, sounds, and songs, or the words that, not by the way of tune, but by means of its content drive man towards vanity and mischief; or by means of both of them; like love poetry and songs of the ordinary singers that both their content and tune are perverse; or like the superstitious stories and fables which cause people to deviate from the Divine straight way cause their deviation.

Or the ridiculous statements which are said with the purpose of dismissing the truth and weakening the basis of Faith, like what is narrated from Abujahl and his companions who, addressing the Quraysh, said to them:

“Do you want me to feed you from Zaqqun by which Muhammad threatens us?”

Then he ordered his men to provide some butter and date and said that it was that very ‘Zaqqum’; and thus he used to mock the noble verses of Allah.

However, the Qur’anic phrase: /lahw-ul-hadiθ/ (idle talk) has a vast meaning which encompasses all of these senses and the like of them, and if some particular Islamic narrations, or the words of the commentators have emphasized on one of them, it does never indicate to the restriction of the concept of the verse.

The auspicious traditions narrated by the way of Ahlul Bayt (as) contain some points which refer to the same vastness of the concept of this term, too.

Among them is a tradition from Imam Sadiq (as) in which he has said:

“The session of /qina’/ is a session that Allah does not look at its people (and He does not bestow His mercy on them) and this is (the extension of what Allah, the Almighty and Glorious, has said: ‘And there are, among men, those who purchase idle talk to lead (others) astray from the way of Allah…’.”

The application of the Qur’anic phrase /lahwul-hadiθ/ (idle talk) instead of saying /’al-hadiθ-ul-lahw/ may refer to this fact that their main aim is that very vanity, and ‘talk’ is a means for reaching it.

The Qur’anic sentence “to lead (others) astray from the way of Allah” also has a vast meaning which involves both ‘to lead mentally astray, such that was said in the story of Nadr-ibn-i-Harith and Abujahl, and to lead ethically astray, such that the above traditions about ‘singing songs’ indicate.

The Qur’anic phrase /biqayr-i-‘ilm/ (without knowledge) points to the fact that this misleading and deviated group do not believe even in their own false school either, but they follow only ignorance and blind imitations. They are some ignorant persons who cause others to be afflicted with their ignorance, too.

This meaning is in the case that we count the phrase ‘without knowledge’ as a quality for ‘those who lead others astray’, while some other commentators have also said that it may be a quality for ‘those who are led astray’, that is, they unknowingly lead some ignorant persons to deviation and falsehood.

These unaware people go further than this, too; i.e., they do not suffice to only the amusing and neglecting aspects of these issues, but they use their vain and idle talks as a means for mocking the verses of Allah, and this is the same thing that the Qur’an points to at the end of the above verse by saying:

“…and to take it in mockery…”

The word ‘chastisement’, here is qualified by the word ‘disgracing’ for the reason that punishment should be equivalent with the crime. They disgraced the Divine verses, and then Allah has also appointed a chastisement for them which is both painful and disgracing.

At the end, Imam Baqir (as) said:

“Profane singing is among the sins for which Allah has promised the (Hell) Fire”,

and then he recited the verse under discussion. Therefore, profane singing is one of the great sins, since a great sin is the sin for which punishment has been promised in the Qur’an.