Surah Luqman 31:18
ﳆ ﳇ ﳈ ﳉ ﳊ ﳋ ﳌ ﳍ ﳎ ﳏ ﳐ ﳑ ﳒ ﳓ ﳔ ﳕ ﳖ
And do not turn your cheek [in contempt] toward people and do not walk through the earth exultantly. Indeed, Allah does not like everyone self-deluded and boastful.
Tafsir of Luqman 31:18
Tafsir
Ruh al-Ma'ani
Verse range: 31:18
And do not turn your cheek away from people
Meaning: Do not incline it away from them, nor turn the side of your face from them as the arrogant do. This was stated by Ibn Abbas and a group, who cited the verse: “When the tyrant turns his cheek away, we straighten it for him until he is upright.”
It is derived from al-sa'ar, which is a disease that afflicts a camel, causing it to twist its neck; it is used metaphorically for arrogance, similar to al-sa'ar. Ibn Khuwayz-Mindad said: It forbids one from humbling himself without necessity by twisting his neck. The first interpretation is more likely, as it is more consistent with what follows. The lam in (li-l-nas - for people) is causal; the meaning is: Do not turn your cheek away for the sake of turning away from people. Or, it is conjunctive. Nafi’, Abu ‘Amr, Hamza, and al-Kisa’i read it as tusa’ir (with an alif after the sad). Al-Jahdari read it as tusa’ir, the present tense of as'ara. All of these are the same, like ‘alaha and ‘alaha and a‘laha.
And do not walk on the earth —which is the lowest of places in rank—
Exultantly (Marahan) Meaning: Joyfully and insolently. It is an infinitive used in the place of a state (hal) for emphasis, or to be interpreted as a description. Or it is *tamrahu marahan* (you exult with an exultation) as an absolute object (*maf'ul mutlaq*) for an omitted verb, with the sentence in the place of a state. Or it is for the sake of exultation as an object of cause (*maf'ul lahu*). It was read as *mirhan* with a kasra on the *ra'*, as a descriptor in the place of a state.
Indeed, Allah does not love everyone who is arrogant and boastful This is a justification for the prohibition or the cause of it. *Al-mukhtal* (the arrogant) is derived from *al-khuyla'*, which is strutting in one's walk out of pride. Al-Raghib said: Arrogance stems from imagining a virtue that a person sees in himself. From this, the word for "horse" (*khayl*) is derived, as it is said that no one rides a horse without feeling pride within himself. *Al-fakhur* (the boastful) is derived from *al-fakhr*, which is pride in things external to the human, such as wealth and status. This includes a person enumerating what he has given, for it is evident that this is boasting of wealth. From Mujahid comes the interpretation of the *fakhur* as one who counts what he has given but does not thank Allah, the Almighty and Exalted.
In the view of al-Zamakhshari, the verse contains a reversed wrapping and unfolding (laff wa nashr), as he said: The "arrogant" (mukhtal) corresponds to "walking exultantly," and likewise "the boastful" (fakhur) corresponds to "turning the cheek" out of pride, in order to observe the endings of the verses, as is said. This is not contradicted by the fact that the command was not in the Arabic language, as is obvious.
It is possible that there is a sequential wrapping and unfolding, for arrogance corresponds to pride and conceit, just as boasting corresponds to walking exultantly. The speech refers to the lifting of a universal obligation, and what is intended is the total negation. It is possible that it remains in its literal sense, and the form fakhur is for the sake of the verse ending, and because the type of boasting that is disliked is excessive boasting; for a small amount of it occurs frequently, so Allah the Almighty was gracious by pardoning it. This is similar to His grace in permitting the fighter to be arrogant between the two ranks, and permitting boasting of things like wealth for a good purpose.