Surah Luqmān is one of the most educative Surah of Al Qur'an where the wisdom of Luqman, the wise guy of his time, has been portrayed while him addressing his son and teaching him the basics of Isla, the etiquettes and how to live with honour and dignity in one's life. We have already shared verses from the Surah. Today we share the verse 31:18 which is one of the Qur’an’s most practical teachings on humility, dignity and human relations:
The Verse
وَلَا تُصَعِّرْ خَدَّكَ لِلنَّاسِ وَلَا تَمْشِ فِي الْأَرْضِ مَرَحًا ۖ إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يُحِبُّ كُلَّ مُخْتَالٍ فَخُورٍ
“Do not turn your cheek away from people in contempt, nor walk upon the earth arrogantly. Surely Allah does not love anyone who is arrogant and boastful.” — 31:18
Explanation
What does “do not turn your cheek away” mean?
The unusual expression وَلَا تُصَعِّرْ خَدَّكَ لِلنَّاسِ literally evokes turning one’s face away from another person. Classical commentators understood it as a picture of contemptuous arrogance—refusing to face people properly because one regards oneself as superior.
Ibn Kathīr explains the verse as a prohibition against turning away from people disdainfully and behaving boastfully or proudly before them. The lesson is not merely about how one walks; it is about the attitude of superiority within the heart that becomes visible in one's face, speech and behaviour.
Maududi draws attention to the two Qur’anic words مُخْتَالٍ (mukhtāl) and فَخُورٍ (fakhūr). Mukhtāl describes a person filled with an exaggerated opinion of himself, while fakhūr is one who displays or boasts about his supposed superiority before others. Even a person's manner of walking can reveal this attitude.
Other commentators similarly understand the verse to mean that we should not turn our faces away when people speak to us merely because we consider ourselves socially, financially or intellectually above them.
Relevant Hadith
The Prophet ﷺ gave an almost perfect explanation of this verse. ʿAbdullāh ibn Masʿūd reported that the Prophet ﷺ said:
الْكِبْرُ بَطَرُ الْحَقِّ وَغَمْطُ النَّاسِ “Arrogance is rejecting the truth and looking down upon people.” Sahih Muslim 91a.
This Hadith is especially important because someone had asked whether liking beautiful clothes and shoes constituted pride. The Prophet ﷺ explained that beauty itself is not the problem. Kibr is rejecting truth because of ego and regarding other human beings with contempt.
So 31:18 and this Hadith illuminate one another beautifully:
- Qur’an: Do not display contempt toward people.
- Hadith: Contempt for people is one of the very definitions of arrogance.
How can we practice this attitude today when everyone seems angry and frustrated?
This is where the verse becomes especially relevant. Economic pressure—scarce jobs, inadequate salaries, inflation, competition and insecurity—can make people irritable and defensive. A person may feel that everyone is competing for the same limited opportunity. Under such conditions, courtesy begins to disappear.
The Qur’an does not require us to pretend that injustice, unemployment or financial hardship does not exist. Rather, it tells us that hardship must not turn us into people who humiliate others.
A frustrated person may be unable to control the economy, but he can still control how he speaks to a waiter, driver, subordinate, job applicant, clerk, domestic worker, colleague or unemployed person. That is where 31:18 begins.
Practical application in today's environment
Suppose two people apply for the same job. One succeeds and the other does not. The successful person must not begin thinking, “I am obviously better than him.” His position may simply be an opportunity Allah has temporarily given him.
Likewise, an employer should never use another person's desperate need for employment as permission to humiliate him. A senior official should not make a junior employee feel insignificant. A wealthy relative should not embarrass a poorer relative. And an educated person should not treat someone with less education as intellectually worthless.
The verse teaches us several very practical habits:
- Look at people when they speak to you rather than dismissing them.
- Do not confuse position with personal superiority.
- Correct people without humiliating them.
- Listen even to someone younger, poorer or less educated than yourself.
- Do not flaunt wealth or success before people struggling financially.
- When angry, lower the temperature of the conversation instead of trying to win it through aggression.
- When someone gives you good advice, accept the truth even if it comes from someone you dislike.
The last point is especially significant because of the Hadith: arrogance is not merely looking down upon people; it is also rejecting truth because accepting it would injure one's ego.
A powerful social message of the verse 31:18
Economic hardship frequently creates an invisible hierarchy:
- Employed over unemployed, wealthy over poor, employer over employee, powerful over dependent, educated over less educated.
- Luqmān's advice destroys this hierarchy of human worth.
Islam allows differences in income, position and responsibility, but it does not allow these differences to become differences in human dignity. A person earning a large salary has no greater intrinsic worth before Allah merely because of his salary. And someone who has lost his job has not lost his dignity. That is why 31:18 is remarkably appropriate in an age of economic frustration.
The deeper lesson
Notice the order of Luqmān's advice.
- Just before this verse, he tells his son: establish prayer → encourage good → resist wrong → remain patient (31:17).
- Then he says: Do not become arrogant (31:18).
It is almost as though the Qur’an is warning us that even a person doing good can develop pride: I pray more; I know more; I am more religious; I am more successful. The cure is humility.
Therefore, 31:18 is not asking us to become weak or submissive before hostile people. A Muslim may defend his rights, compete for employment, negotiate a salary, disagree strongly and oppose injustice. What the verse forbids is allowing that struggle to produce contempt, boastfulness and the feeling that another human being is beneath us.
A very useful principle for everyday life would therefore be: “Be firm about what is right, but gentle toward people; defend your dignity without attacking theirs.”
That, perhaps, is one of the most practical ways of living Surah Luqmān 31:18 in today's increasingly competitive and impatient world..
May Allāh (سبحانه و تعالى) help us understand Qur'ān and follow the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, which is embodiment of commandments of Allah contained in the Qur'ān. May Allah help us to be like the ones He loves and let our lives be lived helping others and not making others' lives miserable or unlivable. May all our wrong doings, whether intentional or unintentional, be forgiven before the angel of death knocks on our door.
وَمَا عَلَيۡنَاۤ اِلَّا الۡبَلٰغُ الۡمُبِيۡنُ
(36:17) and our duty is no more than to clearly convey the Message.”
That is Our duty is only to convey to you the message that Allah has entrusted us with. Then it is for you to accept it or reject it. We have not been made responsible for making you accept it forcibly, and if you do not accept it, we shall not be seized in consequence of your disbelief, you will yourselves be answerable for your actions on Day of Resurrection.
May Allah forgive me if my posts ever imply a piety far greater than I possess. I am most in need of guidance.
Reading the Qur'ān should be a daily obligation of a Muslim - Reading it with translation will make it meaningful. But reading its Exegesis / Tafsir will make you understand it fully. It will also help the Muslims to have grasp over social issues and their answers discussed in the Qur'an and other matter related to inter faith so that they are able to discuss issues with non-Muslims with authority based on refences from Qur'an.
Note: When we mention God in our posts, we mean One True God, we call Allah in Islam, with no associates. Allah is the Sole Creator of all things, and that Allah is all-powerful and all-knowing. Allah has no offspring, no race, no gender, no body, and is unaffected by the characteristics of human life.
You may refer to more Selected Verses from Sürah 31. Luqman - Wisdom of Luqman al-Ḥakīm (“Luqman the Wise”) already published.
You may also refer to our exclusive reference pages:
- Selected verses from selected Surahs of Al-Qurʾān for compiled verses from other surahs.
- Selected Verses from Al Qur'an about a Specific Subject (Reference Page) to know more about what Qur'an says about specific subjects
- Selected Verses from the Qur'an.
You may also refer to our Reference Pages and Understanding Al Qur'an for knowing more about Islam and Qur'ān.
An effort has been made to gather explanation / exegesis of the surahs and selected verses of Al-Qurʾān from authentic sources and then present a least possible condensed explanation of the surah. In that the exegesis of the chapters of the Quran is mainly based on the "Tafhim al-Qur'an - The Meaning of the Qur'an" by one of the most enlightened scholars of the Muslim World Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi.
In addition, other sources which have been explored and views of other scholars have been incorporated while explaining meaning of a verse. Those desirous of detailed explanations and tafsir (exegesis), may refer to these sites. For expansion of meaning and themes / contextual background help from ChatGPT is also taken.
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