The Orientalists have vaingloriously tried to tie Luqman with Aesop of the Greek literature: an unwise tribute to a wise man.
He is mentioned in chapter 31 of the Qur’an, which is named after him; but little is known through trustworthy reports about who he was, despite the fact that he was a familiar legendry figure of the Arabs contemporary to the Prophet, and earlier; but of course merely as a sage, and a celebrity wiseman among the pre-Islamic poets. Some have thought that he was an African but without evidence. Although it is said that Sa`id b. al-Musayyib told a dark person: “Do not be rueful because of your color. Three of the best men ever were dark: Bilal, Mihja` (`Umar’s freed slave) and Luqman,” it does not make the case any stronger. The Orientalists have vaingloriously tried to tie him up with Aesop of the Greek literature: an unwise tribute to a wise man.
There are quite a few sayings in Arabic literature attributed to Luqman, e.g., he advised his son: ‘My son. Keep yourself in the company of the learned and listen to what the Hukama’ (wise men) have to say; for Allah quickens the dead heart with the Nur (light) of Hikmah (wisdom) as He quickens the dead land with rains.’ But no account can elevate the personality of Luqman the way Qur’an did. (See chapter entitled “Luqman.”) If Aesop is forgotten by the Greeks, Luqman remains an unforgettable wise man throughout the globe.
ইনসাইক্লোপিডিয়া অব ইসলামে “লুকমান” শিরোনামে (B.Heller) হেলারের নিবন্ধটি (811 থেকে 813 ) পৃষ্ঠা পড়ুন :
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