Luqman

Luqman (; also known as Luqman al-Hakim, meaning Luqman the Wise) was a legendary sage and hero in pre-Islamic Arab tradition. The 31st surah (chapter) of the Qur'an, Luqman, is named after him and depicts him as a monotheist and a father giving pious advice to his son. Subsequently, a large number of proverbs were attributed to Luqman, and at some point in the medieval era he was identified as a writer of fables. Many fables and biographical details which in Europe were connected with Aesop were transferred to Luqman. There are many stories about Luqman in Persian, Arabic and Turkish literature.

In pre-Islamic Arab tradition In the pre-Islamic era, Arab tradition included the figure of Luqman ibn Ad, who was renowned for his wisdom and long-livedness (hence his epithet al-Mu'ammar 'the Long-lived'). His association with the ancient and disappeared tribe of Ad means that he was placed in the oldest period of Arab history. Many pre-Islamic poets write of his wisdom, and the phrases "as wise as Luqman" or "wiser than Luqman" are standard in panegyrics. Because of his reputation for wisdom, he was thought to be the architect, or one of the architects, of the Ma'rib Dam.

In ancient Arab legend, Luqman was said to have been granted a long life; later Muslim tradition made this a reward for his piety, by which he stood out from his immoral people. In the legend, Luqman is offered several choices and chooses the lifespan of seven vultures (the vulture was the Arabs' most popular symbol of long-livedness). Luqman takes care of his seven vultures one after the other. He finally dies at the same time as the last vulture, named Lubad (meaning 'enduring' or 'remaining'), having lived 560, 1,000, 3,000, or 3,500 years according to different versions of the story. In the Islamic era, only Khidr is held to be longer-lived than Luqman.

In the Qur'an The 31st surah (chapter) of the Qur'an is named after Luqman. There is no mention in the surah of his long-livedness or his Adite origin; nor is Luqman brought up elsewhere in the Qur'an in connection with the Ad and its prophet Hud, which are mentioned at various points. He is only mentioned in the surah named after him. In verse 12 of the surah , it is said that God gave Luqman wisdom (hikmah); In verses 13 and 16–19, Luqman appears as a father giving pious advice to his son. According to B. Heller and N. A. Stillmann's article in the Encyclopaedia of Islam (2nd edition), Luqman's counsels "bear the unmistakable stamp of ancient Near Eastern wisdom literature." Three times, Luqman begins his advice with the formula "O my dear son" (yabunayya), which is found in many of the aphorisms attributed to Ahikar; the admonition in verse 18 has been compared to one of Ahikar's maxims. Verses 20–34 are partially in the same genre but no longer cite Luqman. Verse 27 is thought to derive from Jewish wisdom literature but is considered later than the rest of the surah. His identification with Balaam of the Bible is old. It was apparently made by some Muslim exegetes searching for an equivalent to Luqman in the Bible (the Semitic roots b-l-ʿ and l-q-m both mean 'to swallow'). However, Luqman and Balaam were clearly distinguished by Muhammad and his contemporaries, as well as by al-Tabari writing in the 9th–10th centuries AD.

The similarity between Luqman and Ahikar has long been noted. In the early 20th century, Rendel Harris argued for the identification of the two figures. However, Heller and Stillmann reject this identification. Many of the sayings attributed to Ahikar and Luqman came from the "common stock of Near Eastern lore" and also appear in the Bible and other sources. In their view, Luqman and Ahikar are only indirectly connected through the story of Aesop, which itself is closely related to that of Ahikar.

In Turkish and Persian literature and folklore Luqman was "a fairly popular figure in Persian literature." He is a subject of a long chapter in al-Nisaburi's Qisas al-Anbiya, which adds some new material to the anecdotes found in the Arabic qisas. The Masnavi of Rumi contains several stories about Luqman, depicting him as an idealized ascetic and a slave who is free of sensual desires. He is similarly depicted in a story in the Bustan of Saadi Shirazi. From Arabic and Persian literature, Luqman entered the Turkish tradition, where he is also depicted as an Arab doctor (an extension of his title hakim, which besides 'wise' also means 'physician').