There are always distractors whether people or means to create hindrance in the remembrance of Allah. Such people have been there in times of formatting stage of Islam and continue till date. Therefore, we should be on the lookout of speech, entertainment and distractions that pull our hearts away from Allah. Believers were cautioned at the time of revelation of Al Qur'an, which is the theme of 6th verse of Surah Luqman, the 31st Chapter of Al Qur'an. The verse condemns especially those who use such distractions to mislead others, trivialize faith or make people indifferent to divine guidance.
And such means of distractions still exist in our world today. Rather the means of distraction have multiplied manifold. The excessive use of social media on our cellphones and laptops indulges us in gossip, endless entertainment, sensational content or meaningless scrolling to consume our attention and time, that could have easily be devoted for our spiritual development. The lesson is simple: use recreation and technology, but do not let them become a substitute for prayer, Qur’an, family, responsibility and remembrance of Allah.
We now share the 6th verse of Surah Luqman which is a powerful warning about anything that captures the mind so completely that it diverts a person from truth, remembrance of Allah, moral responsibility and purposeful living.
The Verse
وَمِنَ النَّاسِ مَن يَشْتَرِي لَهْوَ الْحَدِيثِ لِيُضِلَّ عَن سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ بِغَيْرِ عِلْمٍ وَيَتَّخِذَهَا هُزُوًا ۚ أُولَٰئِكَ لَهُمْ عَذَابٌ مُّهِينٌ
“And among mankind are those who purchase distracting speech to lead others away from the Way of Allah without knowledge, and take it in ridicule. For such there is a humiliating punishment.” — 31:6
The key expression of the verse is لَهْوَ الْحَدِيثِ — lahw al-ḥadīth. Lahw is something that occupies or amuses a person so much that it distracts him from something more important.
The context of the verse
Surah Luqmān begins by describing people who benefit from the Qur’an: they establish prayer, give zakāh and have certainty in the Hereafter (31:2–5). Verse 6 immediately presents the opposite type: instead of listening to revelation, some people deliberately promote forms of distraction that turn themselves or others away from Allah.
Classical reports also connect the verse with the Makkan opposition to the Prophet ﷺ. Some opponents sought ways to compete with Qur’anic preaching by attracting people with entertaining stories, songs and tales so that they would not listen to the Prophet. Thus the problem was not simply “entertainment”; it was using entertainment as a rival to guidance. That distinction is essential.
How do the classical scholars interpret lahw al-ḥadīth?
1. Ibn Kathīr records that ʿAbdullāh ibn Masʿūd strongly interpreted lahw al-ḥadīth as singing, and similar interpretations were reported from several early authorities. But Ibn Kathīr also records the broader interpretation associated with al-Ṭabarī: it encompasses speech or activity that turns people away from Allah's signs and His path.
2. Al-Ṭabarī records several early interpretations rather than restricting the expression to only one form of amusement. The broader meaning allows the verse to cover whatever serves as distracting discourse that prevents people from receiving or following divine guidance.
3. Maududi explains lahw al-ḥadīth as an absorbing diversion—something capable of occupying people's attention so fully that they become oblivious to more serious matters. He particularly emphasizes the deliberate use of such distractions to draw people away from Allah's way.
Therefore, it would be too narrow to translate the verse simply as “music is forbidden.” Some early scholars certainly applied it to singing in their environment, but the Qur'anic wording is considerably broader.
How does lahw al-ḥadīth look like today?
This is where the verse becomes extraordinarily relevant. Imagine someone in seventh-century Makkah being deliberately distracted by stories and entertainment whenever the Qur’an was being recited.
Now imagine a person today opening a phone intending to check one message and then the distraction begins: One short video appears, then another and yet another. And from reading one message, minutes pass. In the meantime, the adhan was heard but ṣalāh was postponed. A child wanted attention but was ignored. A Qur’anic passage was never read. Work was unfinished. Sleep was delayed, sometimes till the dawn prayer.
Although, nothing necessarily looked sinful by itself. Yet, collectively it became lahw — distraction from what mattered. That is one of the most powerful contemporary ways of understanding 31:6.
Social media - a modern form of lahw
Social media itself is merely a technology. It can carry Qur’an, education, family communication, charitable campaigns and valuable knowledge. The problem begins when the tool starts controlling the user.
Algorithms are particularly effective at offering an endless stream of novelty like: short videos, celebrity gossip, arguments, memes, outrage, sensational news, influencer lifestyles, advertisements and constant notifications. The danger is not merely the content. It is the continuous fragmentation of attention.
Due to excessive use of social media, a person may know enormous amounts about strangers' lives while hardly reflecting upon his own. He may know what happened to an influencer five minutes ago but not remember what he read in the Qur’an that morning. In that sense, modern technology can create an unprecedented marketplace of لهو الحديث.
Some contemporary examples
- A person scrolls through reels for two hours but says, “I don't have ten minutes to read Qur’an.”
- Someone spends an evening following an online celebrity dispute but has not spoken meaningfully to his parents or children.
- A person compulsively watches political arguments that leave him angry, suspicious and hostile without enabling him to improve anything.
- Another becomes obsessed with glamorous lifestyles and gradually develops dissatisfaction with his own home, spouse, income or appearance.
- Someone repeatedly watches religious mockery until sacred things gradually lose their seriousness in his heart.
The last example gets especially close to the wording of 31:6 because the verse says:
وَيَتَّخِذَهَا هُزُوًا “and takes it in ridicule.”
The warning therefore concerns not only wasting time, but an environment in which truth itself is trivialized. Yet the Qur’an is not calling us to eliminate recreation. This qualification matters.
Rest, sport, humour, recreation, family outings and permissible entertainment are part of normal human life. But the question posed by 31:6 is not simply: “Is this entertaining?” In fact the better question is: “What is this entertainment doing to me?” If recreation refreshes you and you return to your responsibilities, it serves a healthy purpose. But if it repeatedly causes you to neglect prayer, family, work, sleep, knowledge and remembrance of Allah, amusement has become domination.
A useful modern test for lahw
Before spending considerable time on something, ask yourself three questions:
- Is it taking me away from an obligation?
- Is it filling my mind with something harmful or worthless?
- After consuming it, am I spiritually, intellectually or emotionally better—or merely more distracted?
The answers can reveal much.
How can we practically avoid these distractions?
A complete withdrawal from technology is neither necessary nor realistic. The better solution is discipline over attention.
- First, establish certain parts of your day as phone-free sacred spaces: ṣalāh, Qur’an reading, meals with family and the period immediately before sleeping.
- Second, turn off unnecessary notifications. Every notification is essentially somebody else asking permission to interrupt your mind.
- Third, avoid beginning the day with social media. The first thoughts entering the mind often shape the rest of the day. Beginning with prayer, Qur’an or quiet reflection creates a very different mental state.
- Fourth, use social media with an intention rather than automatically. Decide, “I will check messages for fifteen minutes,” rather than opening the app with no purpose.
- Fifth, periodically examine whom you follow. If an account repeatedly creates envy, anger, lust, gossip, cynicism or meaningless consumption, there is little reason to keep inviting it into your mind.
- Sixth, replace rather than merely remove. A person cannot sustain an empty life. Replace excessive scrolling with reading, exercise, family conversation, gardening, learning, walking or beneficial listening.
- And perhaps most importantly, teach children early that their attention is valuable. Whoever controls their attention eventually influences their thoughts, desires and values.
The deeper message of 31:6
The verse is really about a competition for the human heart. Immediately before it, Allah describes people who receive guidance from the Qur’an. Then He describes those captivated by lahw al-ḥadīth. So the contrast is almost:
What will occupy you—the Word of Allah or the noise surrounding you?
This question may be even more urgent today than it was centuries ago because distraction now travels with us in our pockets. A useful reflection from 31:6 for our time would therefore be: Not everything that takes our time deserves our attention, and not everything that captures our attention deserves a place in our heart.
The goal is not to abandon the modern world. It is to ensure that we use our devices rather than allowing our devices to use us.
Let us implement this verse on us in a manner that we stay in the world but at the same time not being distracted by the substance that does not help us spiritually and add nothing to our Akhirah - the end time. For if we are distracted and diverted so much from the path to Allah, we will be compromising our end time and leaving us empty handed on the Judgement Day. Think over it!!
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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