Tafsir of Luqman 31:19

Ibn Mas’ud said: "They used to forbid the khabab (trotting) of the Jews and the dabib (creeping) of the Christians, but rather a walk between the two." As for what is mentioned in al-Nihayah—that ‘A’isha looked at a man who was walking as if he were dying, attempting to appear ascetic, and said, "What is the matter with him?" It was said, "He is one of the reciters." She said, "‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) was the master of reciters; when he walked, he walked quickly; when he spoke, he made himself heard; and when he struck, he caused pain"—the intent of "quickness" here is that which is above the creeping of those who feign death, who lower their voices and minimize their movements, affecting the mannerisms of the worshippers as if they are forcing themselves to adopt traits that bring them closer to the states of the dead, intending to make others think they have become weak from excessive worship. Thus, it does not contradict the verse. Likewise, it does not contradict what was reported regarding the manner of the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him), that he would walk as if he were descending from a slope. Similarly, it does not contradict the saying of the Almighty, "And the servants of the Most Merciful are those who walk upon the earth easily [hawnan]," for hawn therein does not mean walking like the creeping of ants.

Some scholars mentioned that what is blameworthy is the habit of excessive speed. Al-Sakhawi said: The blameworthiness of speed applies provided one does not fear that slow walking will result in missing a religious matter. However, you know that the speed that destroys reverence—such as in order to catch a rak'ah with the Imam—is among the things they said one should not do, so do not be heedless. From Mujahid: "Moderation in walking is humility in it." It was also said: "It means keeping one's gaze fixed on the spot of one's feet." The relied-upon view is what has preceded. It was read as wa-aqsid (with a cut hamza), which Ibn Khalawayh attributed to the Hijazi dialect, from aqsada al-rami (the archer aimed), when he directs his arrow toward the target to hit it; meaning: direct your walk. The intent is: walk a good walk. It is as if the intent was to find a middle ground between fast and slow walking, thus the two readings become consistent.

The Arabs used to take pride in a loud voice and praise it during the Age of Ignorance. From this is the poet's saying: "Loud of speech, loud of sneezing, loud of appearance, loud of generosity; he strides over the people with the stride of an ostrich, and he excels the men with a noble character." The wisdom behind the commanded lowering of the voice is that it is more respectful to the speaker and easier for the listener to bear and comprehend.

(It is the plural of himar (donkey), as the linguists have explicitly stated. None disagreed with this except al-Suhayli, who said: It is a fa'il form, a collective noun like al-'abid (slaves). Sometimes the collective noun is called a plural by linguists.) The sentence is a justification for the command to lower the voice in the most eloquent and emphatic way, as those who raise their voices are likened to donkeys—who are a metaphor for vile defamation and insult—and their voices are likened to the braying that begins with a groan and ends with a gasp. Then, the speech was stripped of the explicit word of comparison and delivered in the form of a metaphor. In that lies an exaggeration in defamation, vilification, and an extreme discouragement against raising the voice and a repulsion from it.

The singular "voice" (sawt) was used alongside the plural of that to which it is annexed (al-hamir) to indicate the intensity of the resemblance of their voices to those of donkeys, as if they were one single voice that is the most unpleasant of voices. Al-Zamakhshari said: This is because the intent is not to describe the state of the voice of each individual of this species—so that it would need to be pluralized—but rather to describe the voice of this species among the voices of all other species. It was said: "On this view, it would have been more appropriate to use the singular 'voice of the donkey' by making the annexed noun singular." It was answered that the intent of the plural is completion and exaggeration in repulsion, for if donkeys were to agree upon a voice, it would be more unpleasant. An objection was raised against this, saying that it implies that the unpleasantness is in the agreement, not in the individual, which does not suit the context. It was answered that such a suggestion should not be heeded. It was also said: The annexed "voice" was not pluralized because it is a verbal noun (masdar), and it is not dualized or pluralized unless different types are intended, as in "the most unpleasant of voices." So contemplate this.

The apparent meaning is that the saying of the Almighty, "Indeed, the most unpleasant of voices is the voice of the donkeys," is from Luqman’s speech to his son, to turn him away from raising his voice. It is also said: It is from the speech of Allah the Exalted. Luqman’s advice ended with his saying: "And lower your voice." By it, the Almighty refuted the polytheists who used to pride themselves on the loudness and shouting of their voices, even though that harms the listener and strikes the eardrum with force, perhaps even rupturing the membrane inside the ear. The Exalted One clarified that their likeness in raising their voices is like donkeys, and that the likeness of their voices which they raise is like their braying in intensity combined with the fearsome ugliness. This is what is appropriate to be the point of resemblance, not "being devoid of the remembrance of Allah," as some imagine based on what Ibn Abi Hatim narrated from Sufyan al-Thawri, who said: "The shouting of everything is its glorification of Allah, except the donkey." This is because the point of resemblance should be an apparent quality, and the lack of mention of Allah in the donkey's voice is not of that nature. Moreover, we do not concede the authenticity of this report, for it contains what it contains. Similar to this is what is common among the ignorant—that the braying of a donkey is a curse upon the Shia who continue to bray by insulting the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them). Such things are myths that the ear finds repulsive, except for the ear of long-eared ones.

The apparent meaning is that the intent behind "lowering the voice" is to do so during conversation and dialogue. It was said: It is to lower the voice absolutely, including lowering it when sneezing; thus, one should not raise his voice when sneezing if it is possible not to. It was narrated from Abu ‘Abd Allah (may Allah be pleased with him) that which necessitates this. Furthermore, lowering the voice is praiseworthy unless a legal necessity demands otherwise. The command for moderation in walking was followed by the command to lower the voice because one often achieves one's goal through voice after failing to achieve it through walking; thus it was said.

Some went to extremes in discussing these two matters, saying: The first is an indication of moderation in actions, and the second is an indication of guarding against superfluous speech and moderation in words. He made the saying of the Almighty, "Indeed, if it should be the weight of a mustard seed," etc., an indication of reforming the inner self. And this is as you see it.

Ibn Abi ‘Ablah read aswat al-hamir (voices of the donkeys) as a plural without the definite article al-.