Обсуждение:Лукман

TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi / Lokman

Lukmân kelimesinin İbrânîce veya Süryânîce olduğu belirtilmektedir (Fîrûzâbâdî, VI, 90; Âlûsî, XXI, 82). Kur’an’da Lokman’la ilgili bilgiler, aynı adı taşıyan sûrede onun iki defa ismen zikredilmesinden ve oğluna verdiği bazı öğütlerin naklinden ibarettir (Lokmân 31/12-19). Buna karşılık Câhiliye şiirinde ve kısas-ı enbiyâ başta olmak üzere bazı İslâmî kaynaklarda Lokman’a dair çeşitli rivayetler yer almakta ve bu rivayetlerdeki bilgilerin aynı adı taşıyan veya benzer niteliklere sahip farklı kişilere ait olduğu ve bunların birbirine karıştırıldığı ifade edilmektedir. Gerçekte biri Kur’an’da zikredilen ve kendisine hikmet verilmesi sebebiyle Lokmânü’l-hakîm (Lokman Hekim) diye mâruf olan, diğeri ise Arap şiirinde Lokmân ibn Âd olarak geçen iki kişinin mevcudiyeti yanında (Cevâd Ali, I, 316-317) zaman içinde muhtelif kişilere ait çeşitli özellikler de bu isim etrafında toplanmıştır. Künyesiyle ilgili olarak Lokmân ibn Âd (Vehb ibn Münebbih, s. 78; Mufaddal ed-Dabbî, s. 151); Lokmân ibn Âdiyâ ibn Lüceyn ibn Âd veya Lokman ibn Âd ibn Avs ibn İrem (Meydânî, I, 429; II, 389); Lokman ibn Ankā (İbn Kuteybe, s. 25; Mes‘ûdî, I, 57; Süheylî, I, 266); Lokman ibn Bâûr ibn Nâhûr ibn Târeh (Sa‘lebî, s. 266; Beyzâvî, II, 253) gibi bilgiler vardır.

İslâm’dan önce Araplar arasında uzun ömrü, bilgeliği ve darbımeselleriyle temayüz eden Lokman, Câhiliye dönemi şiirlerinde Hûd’un kavmine adını veren Âd’a nisbetle Lokmân ibn Âd olarak geçmekte, ancak İslâmî kaynaklarda bu zatın Kur’an’da zikredilen Lokman olmadığı belirtilmektedir (Câhiz, I, 126; Fîrûzâbâdî, VI, 90). Lokman’ın Kur’an’da örnek bir şahsiyet olarak takdim edilmesi onun Arap toplumunca bilindiğini göstermektedir. Rivayete göre Âd kavmi günahkârlıkları ve peygamberlerini dinlememeleri yüzünden kuraklıkla cezalandırılınca (Taberî, Târîḫ, I, 219; İA, VII, 65) bu felâketten sadece Hûd ve ona inananlarla yağmur duası için Mekke’ye giden, aralarında Lokman’ın da bulunduğu bir heyet kurtulmuştur. İkinci Âd kavminin çekirdeğini oluşturan bu topluluk, yeni bir kuraklıktan korktuğu için başlarına geçen Lokman’la birlikte Sebe bölgesine göç etmiş, Me’rib Seddi de Lokman tarafından inşa edilmiştir (Cevâd Ali, I, 319).

Lokman’ın ne kadar yaşadığı konusunda farklı rivayetler vardır. Bu rivayetlere göre Lokman Allah’tan uzun ömür dilemiş, tercih kendisine bırakılınca Araplar’da uzun ömrün simgesi olan kartaldan hareketle yedi kartal ömrü kadar yaşamayı istemiştir (Taberî, Târîḫ, I, 223). Lokman’ın beş yüz altmış, bin, üç bin, üç bin beş yüz veya dört bin yıl yaşadığı nakledilmektedir. Bu sebeple kendisine “Lokmânü’n-nüsûr” (kartallar kadar uzun yaşayan Lokman) denildiği gibi “el-Muammer” (uzun ömürlü) lakabıyla da anılmıştır (Nüveyrî, XIII, 60). Ebû Hâtim es-Sicistânî uzun ömürlüler arasında Lokman’ı Hızır’dan sonra ikinci sırada zikreder (el-Muʿammerûn, s. 4-5). Vefat ettiğinde Ahkāf’ta Hûd peygamberin kabrinin yakınına defnedildiği söylenir (Vehb ibn Münebbih, s. 78-85). Yâkūt, onun mezarının Taberiye gölünün doğu tarafında veya Remle’de, bir rivayete göre de Yemen’de olduğunu nakletmektedir (Muʿcemü’l-büldân, IV, 19).

Lokmân ibn Âd hikmetli sözler söylemesiyle meşhur olduğundan Lokmânü’l-hakîm diye de mâruftur. Peygamber’in Yemen’den gelen bir heyeti karşılarken onlara, “İman Yemenli’dir, hikmet Yemenli’dir” (Müslim, “Îmân”, 88-90) şeklindeki iltifatıyla Lokman’ın Yemen’deki Âd kavmine mensubiyetine atıfta bulunduğu öne sürülmüştür (Gutas, CI/1 [1981], s. 78). Lokman’a pek çok darbımesel atfedilmektedir (Mufaddal ed-Dabbî, s. 151-163). İmruülkays ibn Hucr, Nâbiga ez-Zübyânî, A‘şâ, Lebîd ibn Rebîa ve Tarafe ibn Abd gibi şairler onun bu özelliğinden bahseder (Ebû Hâtim es-Sicistânî, s. 4-5; Horovitz, s. 133-135). Câhiliye Arapları Lokman’la ilgili birçok kıssa biliyor ve kendisini hakîm diye niteliyordu. Bu özelliği Kur’an’da da vurgulanmaktadır (Lokmân 31/12).

Eski Arap kıssalarında Lokman, Âd kavmine mensup bir kişi olarak takdim edildiği gibi İslâmî kaynaklarda İsrâiloğulları’ndan biri olarak da gösterilmektedir. Buna göre Lokman, Eyyûb’un kız kardeşinin veya teyzesinin oğludur. Dâvûd zamanına yetişip ondan ilim öğrenmiş, Dâvûd peygamber oluncaya kadar fetva vermiş, sonra da onun yardımcısı olmuştur (Taberî, Câmiʿu’l-beyân, XXI, 67). Yunan filozofu Empedokles’in Lokman’dan hikmet okuduğu rivayet edilmektedir. Lokman’ın İsrâiloğulları’nın kadılarından biri olduğu, Dâvûd veya Îsâ ile Muhammed arasında yaşadığı da öne sürülmektedir (Âlûsî, XXI, 82). Diğer taraftan Benî İsrâil’den birine ait Habeşli (İbn Kuteybe, s. 25) veya Nübyeli (Sa‘lebî, s. 266) siyahî bir köle olduğu gibi başka rivayetler de vardır (Vehb ibn Münebbih, s. 78; Mes‘ûdî, I, 57).

Rivayete göre Lokman’dan nübüvvetle hikmetten birini seçmesi istenince hikmeti tercih etmiş, hilâfet Dâvûd’a verilmiş, Lokman da ona vezir olmuştur (Kurtubî, XIV, 60). İkrime el-Berberî ve Şa‘bî onun nebî olduğunu söylemekteyse de Katâde ibn Diâme, Mücâhid ibn Cebr gibi âlimlere göre nebî değil hakîmdir (Taberî, Câmiʿu’l-beyân, XXI, 67).

Kur’ân-ı Kerîm’in Mekke’de nâzil olan 31. sûresi Lokmân adını taşımaktadır. Fakat bu sûrede Lokman’ın kimliğine dair bilgi bulunmadığı gibi Âd kavminden ve onlara gönderilen Hûd peygamberden bahseden diğer sûrelerde de onun adından söz edilmemektedir. Lokmân sûresinde (31/12-19) Lokman’a hikmet verildiği bildirilmekte ve oğluna hitaben iman, ibadet, ahlâk ve görgü kurallarına dair öğütleri aktarılmaktadır. Lokman’a verilen hikmetin ilim, üstün kavrama yeteneği, isabetli söz ve davranış, ilim-amel uygunluğu, din konusunda derin bilgi olduğu belirtilmektedir (a.g.e., XXI, 67; Fahreddin er-Râzî, XXV, 145). Hikmetlerinden bir kısmı hadislerde de nakledilir (Müsned, II, 87).

İbn Hişâm’ın rivayetine göre Süveyd ibn Sâmit adlı müşrik Lokman’a nisbet edilen ve onun hikmetini, ilmini ve mesellerini ihtiva eden Mecelletü Luḳmân’ın Kur’an’dan üstün olduğunu ileri sürmüş, Resûlullah onu dinledikten sonra Lokman’a atfen söylenenleri güzel bulmuş, fakat Kur’an’ın bunlardan daha üstün olduğunu belirtmiştir (es-Sîre2, s. 427). Bu durum, Câhiliye Arapları’nca “Mecelletü Luḳmân” denilen bir sahifenin bilindiğini doğrulamaktadır. Vehb ibn Münebbih’in, Lokman’a nisbet edilen hikmet külliyatından on bin babı aşkın bir kısmı okuduğunu, daha güzelini kimsenin işitmediği bu sözleri insanların hem konuşmalarında hem yazılarında kullandıklarını belirtmesi de (İbn Kuteybe, s. 25; Kurtubî, XIV, 61) bunu teyit eder.

Lokman’ın Câhiliye şiirinde efsaneleştirilmiş kişiliği başkalarına ait pek çok sözün ona nisbet edilmesine, özellikle onunkilerle Ezop’un (Aesop) sözleri arasında alâka kurulmasına sebep olmuş, Batı’da neşredilen bazı eserlerde Ezop’a atfedilenler gibi Lokman’a da çeşitli kıssa ve rivayetler mal edilmiştir.

Çok yönlü bir kişiliğe sahip olduğu için Lokman Bel‘am, Ahikar ve Ezop gibi tarihî şahsiyetlerle karşılaştırılmıştır. Sa‘lebî ve Beyzâvî onun şeceresini Lokmân ibn Bâûr ibn Nâhûr olarak verirler; benzer bir şecere, Bel‘am ibn Bâûrâ şeklinde Tevrat’ta Bel‘am’ın künyesi olarak geçmektedir. Lokman’ın Bel‘am ile aynı kişi sayılması Taberî’de de rastlanmayan, geç dönemlere ait asılsız bir iddiadır.

Lokman’ın öğütleriyle Asur kralının veziri, kâhin ve hakîm Ahikar’ın vecizeleri arasında benzerlikler bulunduğu yolundaki eski bir iddia XX. yüzyılın başında R. Harris tarafından yeniden ileri sürülmüşse de bu iddia tatminkâr delillere dayanmaz. Bununla birlikte Ahikar efsanesi Arap dünyasında biliniyor, ona ve Lokman’a nisbet edilen hikmetli sözler Yakındoğu hikmet edebiyatının ortak birikiminin bir parçasını oluşturuyordu. Muhtemelen Yakındoğu’nun hikmet literatürüne ait pek çok mesel Câhiliye döneminden itibaren Arap yarımadasına girmeye başlamıştır. Nitekim Hîreli hıristiyan Arap şairi Adî ibn Zeyd, Ahikar’dan el-Ḥayḳār diye bahsetmektedir. Bütün bunlar Lokman’a nisbet edilen hikmetli sözler külliyatını arttırmış olabilir (EI2 [Fr.], V, 817-818; DBS, I, 203).

Ortaçağ’lar boyunca çeşitli kıssaların kahramanı olarak dillerde dolaşan Lokman bir bakıma Araplar’ın Ezop’u haline gelmiş, Avrupa’da Ezop’la ilgili söylenenlerin büyük bir kısmı Lokman’a uyarlanmıştır. İslâmî kaynaklarda onun kalın dudaklı, geniş ayaklı, Habeşistanlı veya Nübyeli bir köle olarak takdim edilmesi de Ezop’u hatırlatmaktadır. Efendisinin kendisinden bir koyun kesip önce en iyi, sonra da en kötü iki yerini getirmesini istemesi kıssası (Taberî, Câmiʿu’l-beyân, XXI, 67-68), diğer kölelerin efendilerinin incirinden yiyip Lokman’ı itham etmeleri gibi olaylar Ezop’un kıssasında da mevcuttur. Lokman’la ilgili olan ve Câhiliye Arapları’nca bilinmeyen bu tür kıssalar Ortaçağ’ın sonundan itibaren ortaya çıkmıştır. Bu sebeple Lokman’a dair muahhar hikâyelerin birçok unsuru Ezop’un hikâyelerinden alınmadır.

Lokman diğer özellikleri yanında hekimliğin atası olarak da tanınmış, onun bütün bitkilerin özünü bildiği söylenmiş ve kendisinden dertlere şifa olacak reçeteler ve formüller nakledilmiştir. Lokman’a nisbet edilen meseller çeşitli adlarla bir araya getirilmiştir. Bunlardan biri Ems̱âlü Luḳmân al-Ḥakîm ve baʿżu aḳvâli’l-ʿArab’dır ki Thomas Erpenius (Leidae 1615), bir diğeri olan Ems̱âlü Luḳmân el-Ḥakîm ise Georg Wilhelm Freytag (Bonn 1823) tarafından Latince’ye çevrilmiştir.

Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition / Luḳmān

a legendary hero and sage of pre-Islamic Arabia. He appears in the Ḳurʾān as a monotheist and a wise father giving pious admonitions to his son. In later Islamic lore, he became the creator of fables par excellence and a striking parallel of Aesop.

1. Luḳmān in Old Arab tradition.

The Arabs of the Ḏj̲āhiliyya knew of a certain Luḳmān b. ʿĀd. The connection with the long-lost tribe of ʿĀd [q.v.] places him in the dimmest recesses of the Arab past. The two attributes upon which his fame apparently rested were his wisdom and his longevity. Many early poets, including Imruʾ al-Ḳays, al-Nābig̲h̲a, al-Aʿs̲h̲ā and Ṭarafa, celebrate his wisdom (Horovitz, Koranische Untersuchungen, 133-5). To be “as wise as” or even “wiser than Luḳmān” are standard compliments in panegyrics. Because of his proverbial wisdom, Luḳmān was credited with being the architect, or one of the architects, of the famous Maʾrib [q.v.] dam (e.g. al-Masʿūdī, Murūd̲j̲, iii, 366).

In ancient Arabian legend, Luḳmān was al-Muʿammar (“the Long-lived”). He is granted a long life. (According to later Muslim tradition, this was a reward for his piety, in contradistinction to the wickedness of his people.) From among several choices offered him, he chooses the duration of the lives of seven vultures, the vulture (nasr) being the most popular symbol of longevity among the Arabs (Goldziher, Abh. zur arabisch. Phil., Leiden 1899, ii, pp. li-lii; cf. Ps. ciii, 5, where the Hebr. cognate nes̲h̲er, meaning “eagle”, has the same significance). Luḳmān nurtures and protects each of his seven vultures in turn. The last one is named Lubad which means “enduring” or “remaining” (LA and TA, s.v.). He finally dies, however, and with him Luḳmān. This story is cited in explanation of the old Arab proverb “eternity (al-abad) outlasts Lubad” (al-Maydānī, Amt̲h̲āl al-ʿArab, Cairo 1310/1892-3, i, 290-1). According to the different versions of the tale, Luḳmān lived 560, 1,000, 3,000, or 3,500 years. In Islamic times, he is considered second in longevity only to al-K̲h̲iḍr (al-Sid̲j̲istānī, K. al-Muʿammarīn, ed. Goldziher, in Abh. zur arabisch. Phil., ii, 2).

It is difficult to know what details beyond this essential nucleus are of pre-Islamic origin and what are the creations of later Muslim narrators. It is possible, for example, that the tradition that includes Luḳmān among the ambassadors sent by the drought-stricken ʿĀdites to pray for rain at the Kaʿba may have its roots in pagan Meccan lore (al-Ṭabarī, i, 235). Already in its pre-Islamic form, the Luḳmān legend exhibits motifs found elsewhere. R. Basset (Loqmân Berbère, pp. xxvii-xxix) finds a remarkable parallel in the interpretation given by Sidonius Apollinarius of Romulus’s watching for twelve birds. The birds turn out to be twelve vultures, signifying hat Rome will endure for twelve centuries.¶

2. Luḳmān in the Ḳurʾān and the Islamic tradition.

Ṣūra XXXI, which belongs to the Third Meccan period, bears the name of Luḳmān. No allusion is made to either his ʿĀdite origin or his longevity. Likewise, there is no mention of Luḳmān in connection with the various references to ʿĀd and its prophet Hūd throughout the Ḳurʾān.

The Ḳurʾānic Luḳmān is a sage who is found only in the sūra that bears his name. He first appears in v. 12, where it is stated that God gave him wisdom or, perhaps as has been recently suggested, a book of maxims (see D. Gutas, Arabic wisdom literature: nature and scope, in JAOS, ci [1981], 50-4, 57-8). In vv. 13 and 16-19, Luḳmān offers pious counsel to his son. The admonitions bear the unmistakable stamp of ancient Near Eastern wisdom literature. Three times, he begins with the formula “O my dear son” (yā bunayya) that prefaces so many of the aphorisms of Aḥiḳar (Ar. Ḥayḳār). R. Harris has pointed out the parallel between v. 18: “Be modest in thy gait and lower thy voice, for the most hateful of voices is that of the ass”, and Aḥiḳar’s maxim: “Incline thy head downward, soften thy voice, and be courteous... For if a house could be built by a loud voice, the ass would build many houses each day” (Harris et alii, The story of Aḥiḳar, p. lxxvi; cf. Ar. text in ibid., 4, n). Even though vv. 20-34 no longer cite Luḳmān, they partially reflect the same genre. Thus v. 27: “if all the trees on the earth were pens and the sea were replenished after it with seven seas [of ink], the words of God would not be exhausted” can be traced back to Jewish wisdom literature, where it is found in numerous variations (R. Köhler, Und wenn der Himmel wär’ Papier, in Orient. u. Occident, ii, 546-59; idem, in Ethnolog. Mitteil. aus Ungarn, i, 311-23, 441-53; H. L. Strack and P. Billerbeck, Kommentar zum Neuen Testament aus Talmud und Midrasch, Munich 1956, ii, 587). However, this verse is later than the rest of the sūra and was revealed in Medina during a dispute with the Jews. Its inclusion indicates that it was considered appropriate to the general tone of the sura.

Once the Ḳurʾān had consecrated Luḳmān as the wise utterer of proverbs, everything that was thought pious or sensible could be attributed to him. Wahb b. Munabbih is credited with saying that he had read 10,000 chapters (bāb) of Luḳmān’s wisdom (Ibn Ḳutayba, K. al-Maʿārif, ed. Wüstenfeld, Göttingen 1850, 27). The Arabic collections of proverbs (notably that of al-Maydānī) attribute much to Luḳmān (see Basset, op. cit., pp. xliv-liv). Al-T̲h̲aʿlabī devotes a chapter of his Ḳiṣaṣ al-anbiyāʾ (Būlāḳ 1286/1869, 275-7) to the wisdom of Luḳmān. Many sayings seems to link up with the Sūra of Luḳmān. v. 14 advises reverence for parents, but warns against being led astray by them to worship false gods. Al-T̲h̲aʿlabī’s authority makes Luḳmān say: “Be amenable to your friends, but never so far as to act against God’s laws”. There is much that is reminiscent of Aḥiḳar. For example, Luḳmān teaches: “a father’s beating his son is like water for a crop.” The parallel maxim in Aḥiḳar states: “Spare not thy son, for strokes of the rod are to a boy like dung to the garden.” Luḳmān says: “When thou seest people who remember God, join them; if thou hast knowledge, it will be useful to you with them, and they will increase it; if thou hast none, they will teach thee; and when thou seest people who do not remember God, do not join them; for if thou hast knowledge, it will not avail thee with them, and if thou art ignorant they will increase your ignorance”. ¶ Aḥiḳar says: “Join the wise man, then thou wilt become as wise as he, but join not the brawler and babbler, lest thou become associated with him”. Luḳmān gives excellent advice for one going on a journey, and also adds that he should be armed. So too does Aḥiḳar. Al-Maydānī (Amt̲h̲āl, i, 97) attributes to Luḳmān the dictum: “Consult the physician before thou fallest ill!” This corresponds to the advice of Ben Sīra: “Honour the physician before thou hast need of him” (Ecclesiasticus, xxxiii, 1).

It may be that many of these proverbs that belong to the general treasury of Near Eastern wisdom literature had already begun to penetrate into the Arabian Peninsula in the D̲j̲āhilī period. The Christian Arab poet ʿAdī b. Zayd [q.v.] of al-Ḥīra knew of Aḥiḳar, whom he calls al-Ḥayḳār (see Nöldeke, Untersuchungen zum Achiqar-Roman, 25; also Goitein, The present-day Arabic proverb, in idem, Studies, 371, 376 ff.). Already at this early time, the dicta of foreign sages may have begun to accrue to the indigenous Luḳmān al-Ḥakīm.

Muslim legend is fond of making the sages and wise men of the past into prophets. But since the Ḳurʾān merely says that Luḳmān received wisdom from God, all of the traditional scholars with the sole exception of ʿIkrima agree that he was not a prophet (al-T̲h̲aʿlabī, Ḳiṣaṣ al-anbiyāʾ 275). Nevertheless, he receives mention in most of books of the ḳiṣaṣ al-anbiyāʾ genre [q.v.]. Most accounts tell that God offered Luḳmān the choice between becoming a prophet or a sage, and that he chose the latter. He even becomes vizier to King David, who tells him: “Blessed art thou, O Luḳmān. You have been given wisdom and spared tribulation, while David has been given authority and has suffered trials and rebellion” (ibid.). Most of the traditions give him a biblical genealogy connected variously with Abraham, Job and even Balaam (see 4. below). He is said to have lived down to the time of the prophet Jonah. He is also called judge of the Jews (ibid., 275, citing al-Wāḳidī). Some accounts make Luḳmān the author of a book. Supposedly, Muḥammad was shown the scroll (mad̲j̲alla) of Luḳmān and asked if the book in his possession was comparable to it, to which the Prophet replies: “These are indeed fine words, but what I have is better, namely the Ḳurʾān revealed by God” (Ibn His̲h̲ām, Sīra, Cairo 1375/1955, i, 427; also al-Ṭabarī, i, 1208).

3. Luḳmān the writer of fables.

At some time during the Middle Ages, Luḳmān came to be regarded as the author of fables as well. This is perhaps due in part to the fact that amt̲h̲āl means both proverbs and fables in Arabic. Luḳmān thus became the Aesop of the Arabs. Much was transferred to Luḳmān that was told in Europe of Aesop. The tendencies to this can be traced quite early. The Ḳurʾānic commentators already relate traditions that he was a “thick-lipped, flat-footed black slave” of Ethiopian or Nubian origin (al-Ṭabarī, Tafsīr, Būlāḳ 1328/1910, xxi, 43). He is also said to have been an Egyptian, a carpenter, a shepherd, and to have had deformed legs. These features are obviously modelled on the story of Aesop. So too are several of the anecdotes about Luḳmān. For example, Luḳmān’s master orders him to butcher a sheep and set the choicest parts before him. Luḳmān gives him the tongue and the heart. His master then orders him to slaughter another sheep and bring him the worst parts. Once again Luḳmān sets a heart and a tongue before him, for there is nothing better than a good tongue and a good heart and nothing ¶ worse than evil ones (in Maximus Planudes, Vita Aesopi, only the tongue is mentioned and not the heart; see Eberhardt, Fabulae Romanenses Graece conscriptae, Leipzig 1872, 259).

On another occasion, Luḳmān’s fellow-slaves eat their master’s figs and accuse Luḳmān. At Luḳmān’s suggestion the master makes them all drink warm Water. Luḳmān vomits only water, the other slaves figs and water. Once, Luḳmān’s master in his cups had wagered he would drink up the sea. Sobered, he asks Luḳmān’s advice. The latter demands of those who had taken up the wager that they should first dam up all the rivers flowing into the sea, as his master had promised to drink up the sea only but not its tributaries. This last motif is widely disseminated in folk tales of the type of the Emperor and the Abbot (Aarne-Thomson Type no. 922; the folktale and its parallels are discussed at length in W. Anderson, Kaiser und Abt, FCC no. 42, Helsinki 1923, especially p. 139, where reference is made to Luḳmān; also Chauvin, Bibliographie, viii, 60-2). These anecdotes are also found in the biography of Aesop by the 14th century monk Planudes, who drew upon older material. The story of the wager to drink the sea is known as early as Plutarch’s Dinner of the seven wise men (Plutarch, Moralia, 151B-E) and the Midrash (Leviticus Rabba, 33).

The older Arabic literature does not know fables of Luḳmān. They first appear in the later Middle Ages. The Paris manuscript published by J. Derenbourg is dated 1299 and is from Christian circles. It contains 41 fables. These fables have been published frequently and discussed in detail, especially by Derenbourg, Basset and Chauvin. Out of the 41 fables, only no. 22 has no clear parallels: the thorn bush begs the gardener to tend it so that kings may delight in its flowers and fruits; the gardener waters it twice a day, and the thorn bush overruns the whole garden. Basset (Loqmân Berbère, 98, n. 1) posits a possible connection with Jotham’s parable in Judges, ix, 8-15, while H. Schwartzbaum has suggested a link with the talmudic proverb-fable about the thorn and the cabbage (The Mishle Shuʿalim of Rabbi Berechiah ha-Nakdan, Kiron 1979, p. xlvii, n. 80, citing BT Baba Qama, 92a-b).

All the other Luḳmān fables with the exception of the thirteenth (the gnat and the bull) are found in the Syriac fables of Sophos (= Aesopus) published by J. Landsberger (Die Fabeln des Sophos, Posen 1859). The only fables of Luḳmān not found in the Greek Aesop are no. 9 (the gazelle in the well), no. 22 (the thornbush), no. 24 (the wasp and the bee) and No. 40 (the man and the snakes). It has further been observed that in these fables, a number of important animals that were indigenous among the Arabs, such as the ostrich, the hyena, the jackal and the camel, play no part. As these fables first appear in the later Middle Ages, and on the basis of other evidence, there can be no doubt that we have here a translation and adaptation of the Syriac version of Aesop originating in Christian circles in Mamlūk Syria.

4. Luḳmān and related legendary figures.

Luḳmān is a composite, and hence a many-sided figure: he is a muʿammar, hero, sage, maker of proverbs and author of fables. It is no wonder then that he has often been compared and identified with other legendary heroes, such as Prometheus, Alkmaion, Lucian and Solomon. Muḥammad b. ʿAlī al-Zawzanī makes Luḳmān the teacher of Empedocles (Taʾrīk̲h̲ al-Ḥukamāʾ, in M. Amari, Bibliotcca Arabo-Sicula, Leipzig 1857, 614). Three of these equations deserve closer examination: (1) with Balaam, (2) with Aḥiḳar ¶ and (3) with Aesop. The identification with Balaam is old. Al-T̲h̲aʿalabī and al-Bayḍāwī (although not al-Ṭabarī apparently) give the following genealogy: Luḳmān b. Baʿūr b. Nāḥūr b. Tārīk̲h̲. It would seem that some Muslim exegetes sought for something corresponding to Luḳmān in the Bible. They found this in Balaam, as the roots b-l-ʿ and l-ḳ-m both mean “to swallow”.

This identification may have been reinforced by the talmudic tradition that Balaam (and also Job) was one of the seven gentile prophets who preached to the nations of the world (BT Baba Batra, 15b). This became a Muslim tradition which entered the Hebrew Mis̲h̲lē Sendebar, where Luḳmān is one of the seven wise teachers of the king’s son (ed. and tr. M. Epstein, Philadelphia 1967, 54-5), and also the Disciplina clericalis of the Spanish Jewish apostate Petrus Alfonsi (ed. A. Hilka and W. Söderhjelm, Heidelberg 1911, 3), where it specifically states: “Balaam qui lingua arabica vocatur Lucaman”. It is clear that for Muḥammad and his contemporaries, there was no confusion between Luḳmān and Balaam. Neither is there any confusion in al-Ṭabarī, who does not make Luḳmān the son of Beor and who relates the story of Balʿam b. Bāʿūr in its proper place and with the correct details (al-Ṭabarī, i, 508-10).

On the other hand, al-T̲h̲aʿlabī makes Luḳmān Beor’s son, while at the same time devoting a full narrative to Bilʿām b. Bāʿūrā (ḳiṣaṣ al-anbiyāʾ, 186-9). Al-T̲h̲aʿlabī and others like him were probably aware of the inconsistency, but wished to connect Luḳmān with the Bible at any cost. Horovitz has suggested that perhaps early Muslim traditionalists’ Jewish informants connected Luḳmān with the Edomite king Bela son of Beor in Gen. xxxvi, 32 (Jewish proper names and derivatives in the Koran, in HUCA, ii [1925], 173 f.), and that this was the source of the confusion.

Luḳmān’s similarity to Aḥiḳar was also noticed long ago, but it was only in the early 20th century that the identification found a vigorous champion in Rendel Harris, who devotes ch. vii of his Story of Aḥiḳar to it. He bases his identification on the agreement of Sūra XXXI, 18, with Aḥiḳar’s warning about the voice of the ass, the formulaic “O my son” in both, and the Arab hypotheses which compare Luḳmān with other figures in legend and history, notably to the relationship of Luḳmān, Aḥiḳar and Aesop. The arguments, however, are not convincing. The Aḥiḳar legend was known in the Arab world, and a considerable number of Arabic and Kars̲h̲ūnī manuscripts have survived. Many of the aphorisms attributed to Aḥiḳar, like those attributed to Luḳmān, were part of the common stock of Near Eastern lore and may be found in the Bible, the Apocrypha and elsewhere. The use of the introductory formula “O my son” was standard in admonitory literature of this sort, and is found in Proverbs and Ben Sira, to mention only the most outstanding examples.

Any real relation between the personalities of Luḳmān and Aḥiḳar comes through Aesop. The story of Aesop shows originally a close relationship to that of Aḥiḳar. The later legend of Luḳmān has borrowed much of the story of Aesop and thus become obliquely like the Aḥiḳar story, but in reality Luḳmān is not directly connected with Aḥiḳar but with Aesop.

5. Luḳmān in Persian and Turkish literature and lore.

Luḳmān was a fairly popular figure in Persian literature. A lengthy chapter is devoted to him in the 5th/11th-century Persian ḳiṣaṣ al-anbiyāʾ of al-Nīsābūrī (ed. Ḥ. Yag̲h̲māʾī, Tehran 1340/1961, 333-8), which contains anecdotes ¶ found in the Arabic ḳiṣaṣ as well as some new material. Rūmī devotes several stories to Luḳmān in the Mat̲h̲nawī. In addition to the well-known anecdote of Luḳmān’s innocence proven by drinking warm water (Mat̲h̲nawī, ed. Nicholson, GMS iv/1, London 1925, 220-1), Luḳmān appears as an idealised ascetic who is a pure slave (banda-yi pāk) to his earthly and heavenly masters and thus is master of himself and free from sensual passion (k̲h̲ w ād̲j̲a būd wa az hawā āzād būd). In this story, Luḳmān is the true master and his master the slave. He exchanges clothes and roles with Luḳmān when they travel. He would gladly set him free, but knows that Luḳmān has found true freedom in servitude (ibid., 326-9). In another anecdote, Luḳmān’s master will only eat food from which Luḳmān has partaken and is enraptured even with the scraps. One day upon receiving a gift of a melon, he gives Luḳmān slice after slice. The latter eats it as if it were honey. When the master himself tastes the final slice his mouth is blistered by the sourness. He asks Luḳmān how he could eat such poison. Luḳmān replies that he had received such bounty from him that he could not do otherwise. The love of the giver makes the bitter sweet (ibid., 329-32). Saʿdī relates a story in which Luḳmān is once again an idealised ascetic in the Persian mould. By mistake, he is placed into cruel slavery for a year, bearing all in silence. When the mistake is realised, he harbours no grudge and says that he has learned compassion from the experience (Būstān, in Kulliyyāt-i Saʿdī, ed. M. ʿA. Farūg̲h̲ī, Teheran 1964, 328).

Luḳmān was known to the Turks from both Arabic and Persian literature. In addition to his standard roles, he also appears in Turkish folklore as an Arab physician by extension of his title ḥakīm (see W. Eberhard and P. N. Boratav, Typen türkischer Volksmärchen, Wiesbaden 1953, 346). In one tale, Luḳmān teaches the adventurer Meḥmed the Mad how to cure the wife and daughter of the king and the wife of the grand vizier, all three of whom had grown horns (W. S. Walker and A. E. Uysal, Tales alive in Turkey, Cambridge, Mass. 1966, 33).

Bibliography

in addition to the works cited in the text, see C. H. Toy, The Loḳman-legend, in JAOS, xiii (1889), pp. clxxii-clxxvi

L. Leroy, Vie, préceptes et testament de Lokman, in ROC, xiv (1909), 225-55, where some very important texts are given

H. Schwartzbaum, Jewish and World folklore, Berlin 1968, contains many references and parallels to Lukman

H. Halm, Kosmologie und Heilslehre der frühen Ismāʿīlīya, Wiesbaden 1978, 34 ff., for Luḳmān’s place in the esoteric doctrines of the Seveners. Still very useful for the fables of Luḳmān and their many relationships is V. Chauvin, Bibliographie des ouvrages arabes, Liège 1892-1922, iii, 1-82. For Aḥiḳar, see T. Nöldeke, Untersuchungen zum Achiqar-Roman, in AGW Gott., Phil.-hist. Kl., N.F. xiv/4, Berlin 1913

F. C. Conybeare, J. R. Harris and A. S. Lewis, The Story of Aḥiḳar 2, Cambridge 1913

R. H. Charles (ed.), The Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament, Oxford 1913, 715-84.

Cite this page

Heller, B. and Stillmann, N.A., “Luḳmān”, in: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Edited by: P. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel, W.P. Heinrichs. Consulted online on 10 January 2017 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/1573-3912_islam_COM_0586>