31 Surah Luqman

The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:

وَمِنَ النَّاسِ مَن يَشْتَرِي لَهْوَ الْحَدِيثِ...

31:6 [Ali] But there are, among men, those who purchase idle tales,

C3584. Life is taken seriously by men who realize the issues that hang upon it. But there are men of a frivolous turn of mind who prefer idle tales to true Realities and they are justly rebuked here.

In the time of the holy Prophet there was a pagan Nadr ibn al Harith who preferred Persian romances to the Message of Allah, and turned away ignorant men from the preaching of Allah's Word.

...لِيُضِلَّ عَن سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ بِغَيْرِ 33#1593;ِلْمٍ وَيَتَّخِذَهَا هُزُوًا...

without knowledge (or meaning), to mislead (men) from the Path of Allah and throw ridicule (on the Path):

...أُولَئِكَ لَهُمْ عَذَابٌ مُّهِينٌ ﴿٦﴾

for such there will be a humiliating Penalty.

وَإِذَا تُتْلَى عَلَيْهِ آيَاتُنَا وَلَّى مُسْتَكْبِرًا...

31 :7. When Our Signs are rehearsed to such a one, he turns away in arrogance,

C3585. Such men behave as if they had heard nothing of serious import, or laugh at serious teaching. The loss will be their own. They will miss the higher things of life and be left out of Allah's blessings.

Ignorance and arrogance are in most cases the causes of their fall.

...كَأَن لَّمْ يَسْمَعْهَا...

as if he heard them not,

...كَأَنَّ فِي أُذُنَيْهِ وَقْرًا...

as if there were deafness in both his ears:

...فَبَشِّرْهُ بِعَذَابٍ أَلِيمٍ ﴿٧﴾

announce to him a grievous Penalty.

Asad’s Version:

(31:6) But among men there is many a one that prefers a mere play with words [to divine guidance], 4 so as to lead [those) without knowledge astray from the path of God, and to turn it to ridicule: for such there is shameful suffering in store.

31:7 For, whenever Our messages are conveyed to such a one, he turns away in his arrogance 5 as though he had not heard them - as though there were deafness in his ears: give him, then, the tiding of grievous suffering [in the life to come] .

[[Asad’s note-

4 Lit., "among the people there is he who [or "such as"] takes playful [or "idle"] talk in exchange", i.e., for divine guidance: apparently an allusion to a pseudo-philosophical play with words and metaphysical speculations without any real meaning behind them (cf. note 38 on 23:67). Contrary to what some of the commentators assume, the above statement does not refer to any one person (allegedly a contemporary of the Prophet) but describes a type of mentality and has, therefore, a general import.

5 Cf. 23:66-7. ]]