We learn from the majority of historical works that Loqmân was not a prophet, but as he was constantly in the company of Dâud—u. w. b., etc.—and performed wonderful things, his qualities were considered to partake of prophecy and of philosophy. The principal historians have narrated his biography, along with those of the great prophets; wherefore the author of these pages will also relate some of his acts in this volume containing the eulogies of prophets, as he has obtained permission to do so, from the exalted assembly which is the cause of the composition of this work. But He vouchsafes innocence and grace who says: ‘We heretofore bestowed wisdom on Loqmân.’*
Muhammad Bin Mahmûd Shaharruzi—u. w. b., etc.—has related in the Târikh-i-Hukmâ, that Loqmân was a black from Nubia, which belongs to the realm of Abyssinia; that he was a slave of some ancient Arabs dwelling in Syria, where he studied the sciences and improvement of morals, and lastly departed thence to the mansion of the next world. He was buried in the town of Ramla, in the province of Filisteen. The just-named author—upon whom be the mercy of Allah—informs us that according to another tradition Loqmân was a negro slave, with thick lips and large feet, occupied in pasturing sheep. After the expiration of a long period of time, an individual who had been the companion of Loqmân when he was a shepherd, observed that numerous persons frequented the company of Loqmân, profited thereby, and listened to philosophical discussions. This companion asked him, ‘Art thou not the same man who was my partner in grazing sheep?’ He gave an affirmative reply, and the friend continued, ‘By what means hast thou attained such high dignity?’ He replied, ‘By speaking the truth, by returning what was confided to me, and by abstaining from words which could not profit me.’
According to another tradition, a man of the children of Esrâil had purchased Loqmân for thirty misqâls of gold, and he gathered wood for his master. The latter was one day playing chess* with an improper companion, on the bank of a river, on condition that the loser in the game was either to drink out all the water of the river, or to forfeit one half of his property to the victor. The owner of Loqmân happened to be the loser, whereon his antagonist challenged him to drink out the river; but as he was unable to do that, he agreed to pay the property stipulated for. He asked, however, to be respited awhile, and his antagonist even offered to renounce his claim, in case he could bring a proper answer and a suitable excuse. The unlucky wight returned home and spent the whole night meditating how to get out of the scrape. In the morning the lord Loqmân brought a load of wood to the house, according to his usual custom, and made haste to pay his respects to his master, whom he found sad and melancholy. He asked for the reason of his grief, but the master turned his face the other way, and would give no reply. Loqmân reiterated his query, and said: ‘In such a circumstance there is no use in shirking the matter, it being possible that I may succeed in solving the difficulty.’ The master then explained his case to Loqmân, whereon his lordship, the receptacle of wisdom, said: ‘This is an easy matter; let us go to the river-bank and conquer the antagonist.’ They went there, and when the victor asked about the property. Loqmân said: ‘We must go to the spot of the contest, that my master may drink the water.’ Accordingly, all three betook themselves to the place, and arriving there, Loqmân said: ‘If thou wantest my master to drink the water which flowed yesterday, when you were playing chess, then produce it, that the condition may be literally fulfilled; but if thou desirest him to consume the water at present flowing between the two banks, then cause it to stop, that he may obey thy behest. If, however, it be thy will that he should drink the water above this place, then separate it, that it may not be commingled with this water, to enable my master to swallow it, because he has certainly not made a bargain with thee to consume all the water that flowed here from the beginning to the end of the world; therefore thou must first comply with one of the demands just stated.’ The conqueror was confused by these words, and, unable to answer, was glad to escape. As a mark of gratitude for this service, the owner presented Loqmân with his liberty, but the first manifestation of his intellect and wisdom which obtained currency among men was the above event.
Some assert that the manumission of Loqmân took place in the following manner: One day his master commanded him to slaughter a sheep, and to bring the best portion thereof to him. Loqmân obeyed, bringing the heart and the tongue to the master. After some days he again ordered him to slay a sheep, but to bring the worst parts of it; Loqmân, however, produced the heart and the tongue as on the first occasion. The master then questioned him on this subject, and received the following answer: ‘Although the tongue, as long as it abstains from improper words, is accounted by sages to be the best member, it becomes the worst in the contrary case.’ Others allege that the cause of Loqmân’s emancipation was that one year his master had ordered him to sow sesame, but on going into the field discovered that he had sown oats. He therefore reproved Loqmân, and said: ‘Have I not told thee to sow sesame in this field?’ Loqmân replied: ‘Yes, thou hast commanded it.’ He continued: ‘Then why hast thou sown oats?’ Loqmân answered: ‘I was under the impression that the oats might be transmuted into sesame.’ The gentleman queried: ‘How did this impression originate?’ Loqmân continued: ‘When I perceived that, despite of thy evil acts, thou imaginest that the Almighty—w. n. b. e. —will have mercy on thee, and will convey thee to paradise, I thought that if sinful deeds be a cause for pardon, and for the attainment of eternal salvation, it is also possible that oats will be turned into sesame.’ The owner having been admonished by these words, granted him his freedom.
It is a universally received opinion that the omnipotent and absolute Lord gave to Loqmân the option between prophecy and wisdom, but that he selected the latter. Several chroniclers have related that he had been offered the mission to invite [the people] to [accept] the religion of Mûsa, or wisdom, and that he accepted the latter. Other learned men, on the contrary, believe him to have been a prophet, and consider him as an inspired messenger. It is related that Loqmân was in constant attendance upon Dâud— u. w. b., etc.—and that one day, when he made his appearance at the court of the latter, he perceived that his lordship was softening iron like wax without the aid of fire, and making rings of it for coats of mail. Loqmân was astonished at this feat, but refrained from asking any questions. When Dâud had finished a cuirass he rose, put it on his body, uttering in Syriac the words Zardalha bilqarâia, which mean, ‘It is a good coat of mail for a day of battle.’ When Loqmân perceived that he had been informed of the matter without the trouble of questioning, he said: ‘Silence is the greatest wisdom, but few know how to use it.’
Tradition informs us that one day a company of angels paid a visit to Loqmân at the time of his meridian nap. They saluted him, but he saw not their faces, and after returning their salutations, queried: ‘Who are you?’ They replied: ‘We are the envoys of the Omnipotent Nourisher, and we make thee a Khalifah upon earth, that thou mayest judge righteously among men.’ Loqmân replied: ‘If the Almighty—w. n. b. pr.—orders me by way of command to take upon myself the office of the Khalifate, I have no choice but to comply and to obey; but if He leaves it to my option, I would prefer to remain free of it.’ The angels asked: ‘Why dislikest thou the dignity of a judge?’ He rejoined: ‘It is difficult to walk in the way of government, and a judge is exposed to trials. If he deals unrighteously he will be disappointed in the next world, and if he adheres to truth, he is deceived in this world. Whoever is slighted and despised in the present world will, on the day of the resurrection, be accounted higher than the noble and exalted judge; and who prefers [the happiness of] this world to [that of] the next will be disappointed in both, since the blessings of the former perish soon, and the consequences of the sins committed therein entail chastisement in the latter.’ The angels were astonished at the beauty and eloquence of his arguments, which were highly approved of in the palace of self-existence likewise, so that Loqmân was spared the installation to the dignity of governing, and the trials awaiting the judicial office. When the night set in, the portals of wisdom were, by divine favour, thrown open to his enlightened mind, and the fountains of supernatural knowledge gushed forth from his penetrating spirit, so that in the morning, when he rose from his couch, he was the wisest man among his contemporaries. After Loqmân had been excused from the judicial dignity, and the Khalifate had been transferred to Dâud, his excellency the repository of wisdom frequently visited his lordship the prophet, who often said to him: ‘Blessed art thou, O Loqmân, for thou hast approached wisdom, and hast removed temptation from thyself.’
It is said that by the kindness of the owner, who had given freedom to Loqmân, the latter came into the possession of some property with which he traded, and a portion of which he lent to the people without demanding securities or pledges, but appointed one of his sons to collect the sums due to him. It is said that he once despatched this son on the just-mentioned business to another country, and spoke to him as follows: ‘In this journey thou wilt arrive near a green and flourishing tree, under which there is a spring; but thou must neither sit down under the former nor drink of the latter. On this occasion thou wilt also pass through a town the governor of which will offer thee his daughter in marriage; beware, however, of accepting her. When thou arrivest in the country of our debtor, who possesses a castle near the seashore, take care not to accept his invitation to spend the night therein.’ He also added: ‘If thou meetest in this journey a man older than thyself, and he commands thee to do something, disobey him not.’ Then Loqmân took leave of his son, saying: ‘May Allah cause safety to accompany thee.’ The son departed, and after he had travelled for a short time, he met an old man, and asked him for permission to accompany him. He granted it, whereon they travelled together, and reached a green and flourishing tree, at the foot of which there was a fountain of water. The old man said to the youth: ‘Alight in this spot, and when the air gets cool we will continue our journey together.’ The son of Loqmân replied: ‘My father has prohibited me to halt at this place.’ The old man continued: ‘But he has also ordered thee to mind the words of thy aged companion.’ The son of Loqmân being satisfied with this explanation, they halted, and he fell asleep. The old man watched him, and soon perceived a serpent crawling down from the tree towards the son of Loqmân; then he struck the serpent with his cane and slew it. When the youth awoke, his companion asked him: ‘Knowest thou why thy father had prohibited thee from stopping in this place?’ He replied: ‘I know not.’ The old man continued: ‘Because everyone who had alighted in this locality, and reposed, was stung and killed by the serpent which thou seest. By the power of God I have now put a stop to its evil deeds.’ Then he cut off the head of the snake, wrapped it in a cloth which he placed in a bag, and they departed from that place. Afterwards they arrived in the town, and took up their lodgings in the house of the governor, who showed them much hospitality, and offered his daughter, with a great deal of property, to the son of Loqmân, who, however, refused to marry her. The old man asked: ‘Why refusest thou to take possession of the maiden and of the riches?’ He replied: ‘My father has prohibited me.’ His aged companion said: ‘I admit that; but he has also enjoined thee not to disobey him who is older than thyself.’ The youth said, Yes,’ and the old man continued: ‘It is my opinion that you should consent to this marriage.’ Acting on this advice, he asked for the hand of the lady, whereon the old man handed to him the head of the serpent he had killed, and said: ‘Before having connexion with thy bride, thou must place this on fire, and order her to spread her skirts over it, so that the smoke may permeate the lower parts of her body.’ The son of Loqmân acted according to the advice of his companion; but when the smoke had reached the said parts of her body, she uttered a fearful shriek and fainted, whereon a big dead worm was seen to issue in front of her. After a short time the lady recovered her senses, and spent that night joyfully in the arms of the son of Loqmân. In the morning the old companion met his young friend, and questioned him concerning the events of the night, which the latter duly narrated to him. The old man then said: ‘Thy father has warned thee not to marry this lady, because whoever did so, and had connexion with her, was bitten by this worm and died.’ After they had remained several days in the house of the governor, the young man took leave, and travelled, in the company of his aged friend, to the place to which his father had sent him. They arrived on the seashore, at the castle of the governor, who was their debtor. He received the son of Loqmân with affability, invited him to alight and to rest that night from the fatigues of the journey, promising to pay the debt the next day. The youth remembered the injunction of his father, and refused, but afterwards complied at the suasion of his companion. Their host entertained them hospitably, brought forth the sum which he owed, and again requested the son of Loqmân to stay for the night, and to take the money the next morning whenever he pleased. The habit, however, of that wretch was that, when anyone who had a claim on him consented to remain during the night, a bed was prepared close to the sea, so that when the guest fell asleep that blackhearted malefactor approached him, and with the assistance of a confidant precipitated him into the sea. The son of Loqmân stopped during the night, and, according to the usual custom, a couch was brought close to the edge of the sea for him, and another for the son of the governor. When the two just-mentioned youths had fallen asleep, the acute old companion awoke the son of Loqmân, removed his bed from the place where it was, and placed that of the governor’s son in its stead. During the night the malefactor arrived with his confidant, and, taking up his own son under the impression that he was Loqman’s, he threw him into the water and returned joyfully to the house. In the morning, however, when the son of Loqmân entered the castle to take his money, the governor was astounded and confused, but paid his debt with shame and regret. Thereon the son of Loqmân returned sound and safe with the daughter of the first governor, and much property, to his father, whom he was happy to meet after having successfully performed the journey. Several historians have narrated that towards the end of his life Loqmân retired from intercourse with mankind, and dwelt between Ramla and Jerusalem, until he was conveyed to the propinquity of the mercy of the Lord of both worlds.