Surah Luqman, Verses 6–7: Why Do People Not Want to Hear the Truth?

What do we really want to hear?

Today I want to begin by asking you a question.

Can a person’s ears hear while their heart does not?

Let us think.

The television is on at home. Our phone is in our hand. News on one side, social media on the other. We get up in the morning and hear hundreds of things until evening.

But what if I asked this question:

Which words we heard today made us a better person?

Which helped us recognize a mistake?

Which helped us treat our spouse better?

Which helped us resolve a hurt between us and a relative?

Which made us give up an injustice?

Perhaps we hear thousands of words throughout the day, but not even a single sentence that changes our lives.

Verses 6 and 7 of Surah Luqman contain very important warnings that touch on this issue.

In verse 6, Allah speaks of those who acquire distracting talk to lead people away from Allah’s path and mock Allah’s verses.

Verse 7 describes a person who arrogantly turns away when Allah’s verses are recited to them, behaving as though they have never heard them.

Now pay attention.

The first person distances others from the truth.

The second closes their own ears to the truth.

One points people in the wrong direction. The other does not want to see the right direction.

And what these two behaviors have in common is this:

People placing their own desires, interests, and arrogance between themselves and the truth.

Now let us bring these two verses into our own lives.

1. Luqman 6 — Does Everything That Keeps Us Occupied Benefit Us?

First, let us look at the expression lahw al-hadith in verse 6.

This expression has been explained as distracting talk and conversations that distance people from what truly matters.

But we need to take the whole verse into account. It is not simply speaking of any entertainment or everyday conversation. It specifically describes behavior used to lead people away from Allah’s path, going as far as mocking Allah’s verses.

Now let us consider this through present-day examples.

City Life: Loneliness Amid the Crowds

Let us imagine someone living in Istanbul, Ankara, or another large city.

They get up early in the morning.

They set off to get to work. There is traffic, there are crowds, there is noise.

On the way, they look at their phone. News, videos, arguments, people’s lives…

They come home in the evening. Tired.

They say they will rest a little and look at their phone again.

Now let us ask.

Who speaks the most in this person’s life?

Their spouse?

Their child?

Their own conscience?

Or the voices coming from their phone?

Let us imagine a father.

He comes home in the evening. His child sits beside him.

“Dad, do you know what happened at school today?” the child says.

The father answers:

“One minute, son. Let me finish this video.”

The child waits.

Five minutes pass, then ten.

Then the child gets up and leaves.

After a while, the father puts down his phone, but the child no longer wants to talk.

Now I will ask a question here.

What did the father lose that evening?

Only ten minutes?

No.

Perhaps he missed something very important that his child wanted to tell him.

Perhaps the child was excluded at school that day.

Perhaps a friend had upset him.

Perhaps he had a problem he wanted to discuss with his father.

But the father did not hear.

Because his attention was elsewhere.

We are not treating everyone who uses a phone as the person described in verse 6. The verse directly concerns words that lead people away from Allah’s path.

But there is a broader question the verse prompts us to consider:

What do we pursue that causes us to lose what truly matters?

Turning off the phone is sometimes easy.

But recognizing what matters is not so easy.

Village Life: How Can a Word Turn Two Families Against Each Other?

Now let us go from the city to the village.

Imagine a village.

There are two neighbors. They have lived side by side for years.

They have attended each other’s weddings and funerals. They have helped one another in the fields.

One day, someone begins talking in the coffeehouse:

“You know your neighbor? They said this about you.”

The other person asks:

“Really? How do you know?”

“I heard it.”

Pay attention.

They do not say, “I saw it.”

They do not say, “I investigated it.”

They say, “I heard it.”

But those words do not stay there.

First, they enter one person’s ears.

Then they are carried into their home.

From there, they spread to their spouse, child, and relatives.

A week later, the two neighbors stop greeting each other.

A month later, the two families no longer attend each other’s weddings.

Perhaps years of friendship are destroyed because of a few sentences whose truth was never investigated.

Now let us ask.

When do a person’s words become dangerous?

Only when they swear?

No.

Sometimes they speak in a very calm voice, but their words sow hostility between people.

Sometimes they tell the story laughing, but turn two families against each other.

Sometimes they seem to have done nothing, but destroy people’s trust.

But a more important question is this:

Does the person who listens to these words and passes them on have no responsibility at all?

Of course they do.

Because for words to spread, a speaking mouth alone is not enough. People who listen and carry them are also needed.

Here we can also recall verse 6 of Surah Al-Hujurat. There, we are advised to investigate the truth of a report that reaches us.

So our responsibility is not only to speak truthfully, but also to question what we hear.

When someone tells us something negative about another person, we do not have to believe it immediately.

Nor do we have to share it immediately.

Sometimes the best thing we can do to prevent harm is not to pass those words on to someone else.

2. An Inheritance Dispute Between Siblings: How Can Words Blind a Person?

Now let us consider another example.

A father has passed away.

He has left behind three children and some inheritance.

The siblings grew up together for years.

They sat at the same table and lived in the same home.

But when the inheritance begins to be discussed, someone comes to the eldest sibling and says:

“You are the eldest. You worked alongside your father the most. You should receive most of this property. What did the others ever do?”

The eldest sibling likes hearing this.

Because those words suit their interests.

Now let us ask.

Why did this person enjoy hearing those words?

Because they say that they should receive a larger share.

But what if the same person had said:

“Look, you need to respect everyone’s rights here. If you contributed your own work, you should assess that justly too. But do not violate your siblings’ rights.”

What would have happened?

Perhaps this time they would not have wanted to listen.

So what is the difference between the two statements?

One says what they want.

The other invites them to justice.

Now let us pay attention.

Sometimes we like the person who agrees with us, rather than the person who tells the truth.

We listen to someone who sides with us even if they are wrong.

We become angry with someone who warns us even if they are right.

Here we can make a very important connection between verse 6 and verse 7.

Verse 6 speaks of words that lead people astray.

Verse 7 speaks of a person who arrogantly turns away from the truth.

Sometimes the reason misleading words affect us is that we already want to hear them.

When someone tells us:

“You are right; the others are wrong,” we can immediately believe them.

But are we really right?

Do we investigate this?

Now let everyone think about their own family.

In our disagreements with our siblings, are we truly seeking justice, or are we looking for words that will justify us?

Let us think about this question for a while.

Because a sibling losing their rights is not merely a material loss.

Sometimes the children of a sibling who has been wronged also grow up with that hurt.

An injustice that begins in one generation can be passed to the next as hostility.

And sometimes all of this begins with just a few wrong words.

3. Luqman 7 — Why Do People Not Want to Hear About Their Own Mistakes?

Now let us come to verse 7.

Here Allah describes a person who arrogantly turns away when the verses are recited to them.

At the end of the verse, there is also a warning of a painful punishment.

This is a very serious warning.

Let us pay particular attention to this:

Not hearing Allah’s verses and arrogantly turning away despite hearing them are not the same thing.

If someone does not know, they can learn.

If they have misunderstood, we can explain.

But if someone says, “I know; no one can teach me anything,” the matter changes.

Because they now care about their own sense of superiority rather than the knowledge before them.

Now let us see this in daily life.

The Business Owner and the Employee: Is Position Right, or Is the Truth Right?

Imagine a factory.

The employer wants production to increase.

They constantly set targets for employees.

One day, an employee comes and says:

“There is a problem with this machine. It could be a safety hazard. We need to stop it and check.”

The employer answers:

“Mind your work. I have been doing this for years.”

The employee tries to explain again.

But the employer does not listen.

Why?

Because the employee holds a lower position.

Now let us ask.

For a statement to be true, must the person saying it be wealthier, older, or higher in rank than us?

No.

A worker can speak the truth too.

A manager can make a mistake too.

An apprentice can notice a detail their master has missed.

But sometimes we care so much about who is speaking that we do not hear what they are saying.

This is how arrogance can blind people.

Let us make a very important distinction here.

Verse 7 directly describes someone who arrogantly turns away from Allah’s verses. An employer not listening to an employee is not subject to exactly the same judgment as the behavior described in the verse.

But through this example, we can consider how the arrogance condemned in the verse may appear in daily life.

When people see themselves as superior to others, they may fail to hear even the most important warning.

Could the same situation arise on the employee’s side?

Of course.

An employer warns an employee:

“Look, you gave the customer incorrect information. We should not act this way.”

What does the employee say?

“I have been doing this for years. Are you going to teach me?”

So arrogance is not found only among the wealthy or managers.

A person without a position of authority can also be arrogant.

Because arrogance is not a matter of title; it concerns how people see themselves and others.

Now let us ask ourselves:

What is our first reaction when we are told we have made a mistake at work?

Do we say, “How can I correct it?”

Or do we ask, “Who said that?”

Sometimes these two questions reveal what kind of person we are.

4. Between Spouses: Proving Ourselves Right, or Understanding Each Other?

Now let us go inside our home.

A woman says to her husband:

“You do not talk with me as much as you used to.”

The man immediately answers:

“What do you mean I do not talk? We talked just yesterday.”

The woman says:

“I am not asking you to talk at length. Sometimes I just want you to listen to me.”

The man answers:

“I work all day. What more should I do?”

Now let us stop here for a moment.

What is the woman saying, and what is the man understanding?

The woman is expressing her need for attention and communication.

The man thinks he is being treated unfairly.

Perhaps both have something they want to say.

But instead of understanding one another, they begin defending themselves.

What happens in this situation?

Two people may live in the same home yet fail to hear each other.

Now let us consider the same example in reverse.

The man says to his wife:

“When I have a problem, I feel that I am immediately criticized. Sometimes I want you to understand me too.”

The woman answers:

“You are never satisfied with anything anyway.”

There is the same problem again.

People become defensive before understanding what is being said to them.

Now let us ask.

Do we really listen to our spouse, or are we waiting to reply?

This is very important.

Because sometimes, while the other person is speaking, we are preparing our answer in our minds.

We wait for their sentence to end.

But we do not try to understand.

What is the result?

Both people see themselves as right.

Both think they are not understood.

And they gradually grow apart.

Now I will ask this question.

What wears a marriage down the most?

Financial difficulties?

Pressure at work?

Tiredness?

Of course, these can have an effect.

But sometimes one of the greatest difficulties may be that two people no longer listen to each other.

The point Luqman 7 prompts us to consider here is this:

Constantly seeing ourselves as right can prevent us from seeing what is right.

So what will we do?

When our spouse points out a mistake, instead of immediately answering, we can ask a question:

“Have I understood how you feel correctly?”

Look, sometimes change in a home begins like this.

No one needs to win.

Two people need to understand each other.

5. If Our Children Do Not Listen to Us, Do We Listen to Them?

Now let us ask ourselves a question as parents.

We want our children to listen to us. But how much do we listen to our children?

Suppose we have a fifteen-year-old child.

They come to us:

“Mom, Dad, I do not think the same way as you about this.”

What do we say?

“You are still a child. You will understand when you grow up.”

But have we really explained anything?

Have we asked why the child thinks that way?

Perhaps they are thinking wrongly.

But being wrong does not mean we should not listen to them.

On the contrary, how can we explain what is right without understanding why they are thinking wrongly?

Now let us ask a slightly harder question.

What do we do when our children notice mistakes in our behavior?

For example, we tell our child:

“Do not lie.”

A little later, the phone rings.

We turn to our spouse and say:

“Say I am not home.”

The child hears this.

Then asks us:

“Dad, you tell me not to lie. But why did you just lie?”

Now what will we answer?

Will we say, “Do not interfere in my business”?

Or will we say:

“You are right. I did wrong”?

There is a very big difference between these two answers.

In the first, we are trying to protect our position.

In the second, we are trying to protect what is right.

So which is more valuable?

Using our fatherhood or motherhood to prove ourselves right?

Or showing our child how to respond to the truth?

Sometimes one of the best lessons a parent can give their child is this:

“I was wrong. I am sorry.”

This sentence does not diminish a person.

On the contrary, it teaches the child a very important moral lesson.

Because the child learns this:

“So growing up does not mean never making mistakes; it means being able to admit them when you do.”

Now one more question:

Do we expect obedience from our children, or do we want them to become people who understand and can choose what is right?

Our answer to this question may also change the relationship we build with them.

6. The Issue That Does Not Change Between Village and City: Why Do People Like Words That Suit Their Interests?

Now let us imagine a businessman living in the city and a farmer living in a village.

The businessman is going to make an investment.

He asks the people around him:

“Should I enter this business?”

One person says:

“It is a great business. Definitely go for it.”

He likes this.

Another person says:

“There are some risks here. You should do the calculations first.”

This time, he is annoyed.

Because he has already made his decision.

He is only looking for someone to support him.

Now let us look at the farmer in the village.

He is going to plant a crop in his field.

His neighbor says:

“The market for that crop may be weak this year. Look into it.”

The farmer gets angry:

“Are you teaching me how to do my job?”

But when someone else comes and says:

“Whatever you plant, you will make money,” he is happy.

Now let us think.

When do people become more vulnerable to making a wrong decision?

When they know nothing?

Or when they listen to no warning because they think they know?

Sometimes the second can be much more dangerous.

Because people who know they do not know ask questions.

But people who think they know everything do not even feel the need to ask.

And there is another very important issue here.

It may not always be necessary to lie to mislead someone.

Sometimes telling only the convenient part of the truth can also be misleading.

Imagine a sales representative.

They explain a product’s advantages to a customer but conceal an important defect.

The advantages they describe may be true.

But the information they deliberately conceal causes the customer to make a wrong decision.

Now let us ask.

Is it enough to say, “I did not lie”?

Or does honesty also require not concealing important facts that would affect the other person’s decision?

This is where we need to reconsider the words that lead people down the wrong path in verse 6.

The danger of words sometimes lies in their being openly false, and sometimes in their deliberately distorting the truth.

7. The Hardest Question: Could We Be Avoiding Ourselves Even While Listening to the Qur’an?

Now let us go a little deeper.

So far, we have given examples from everyday life.

But verse 7 directly concerns our attitude toward Allah’s verses.

So let us not lose sight of the central issue.

Imagine a person like this.

They read verses in the Qur’an that explain justice.

They say, “How beautiful.”

They listen to verses about patience.

They say, “How true.”

They hear verses about mercy.

They say, “People should be like this.”

But then they have an issue with their sibling.

They act unjustly.

They argue with their spouse.

They speak hurtfully.

They delay what they owe their employee.

They look down on someone.

Now let us ask.

Has this person truly heard the Qur’an?

Yes, they may have heard the verses.

They may also have learned their meanings.

But there is still a distance between learning and living.

We need to make a very careful distinction here.

We should not regard everyone who makes a mistake as the person described in verse 7, arrogantly turning away from the verses.

Because people may believe and accept what is right, yet give in to their desires and make a mistake. Then they may feel remorse and correct themselves.

That is a different situation.

What is dangerous is trying to present what is wrong as right and dismissively rejecting Allah’s warning.

For example, when someone acts unjustly, they may say:

“I did wrong. I know Allah’s command, but I could not control myself.”

The door to reform is open for this person.

But if someone else says:

“Whatever I did was right. No one can interfere with me,” they may gradually lose the ability to question themselves.

Now let us ask:

What do we do when we encounter something in the Qur’an that does not suit us?

Do we try to correct our behavior according to the verse?

Or do we try to neutralize the verse’s warning to fit our behavior?

This question matters for all of us.

Because the Qur’an is not read only to see other people’s mistakes.

It is read first to recognize our own.

If someone looks in a mirror and sees a mark on their face, do they become angry at the mirror?

Do they say, “Why are you showing me this?”

No.

They go and clean their face.

In the face of the Qur’an’s warnings, what we should do is also try to correct ourselves, rather than blame the mirror.

8. Sometimes People Seek an Excuse That Will Comfort Them, Rather Than the Truth

Now let us look at a situation we encounter very often in daily life.

Someone is not speaking to a relative.

We ask:

“Why are you not speaking?”

“They did this to me years ago.”

But have you spoken to that relative and tried to resolve the matter?

“No.”

Why?

“Let them come first.”

But what will happen if the other person thinks the same thing?

Both will wait.

Years will pass.

Perhaps their parents will pass away.

Perhaps their children will grow up without knowing each other.

Then one day they will say:

“We did not really need to make such a big issue of it.”

Now let us ask.

Do people sometimes refuse to reconcile because they are right, or because they cannot overcome their pride?

Of course, not every hurt is the same. In cases of serious injustice, rebuilding trust, setting boundaries, and protecting oneself from harm may be necessary.

But in ordinary family disagreements, sometimes neither side is willing to take a step.

Why?

Because they think whoever takes the first step loses.

But is that really so?

Does the person who takes the first step toward reconciliation lose, or do the people who spend years longing for each other?

Now let us all think about our own lives.

Perhaps we are estranged from a sibling.

Perhaps we are not speaking to a relative.

Perhaps we need to apologize to our spouse.

Perhaps we have treated an employee unjustly.

Perhaps we scolded our child without listening.

So what prevents us from correcting these mistakes?

Sometimes it is not money.

Sometimes it is not time.

Sometimes it is not a lack of means either.

Only the thought, “Why should I take the first step?”

When reflecting on arrogance, we need to ask ourselves this question too.

9. Let Us Consider the Two Verses Together: Where Does Our Tongue Lead Others, and Where Do Our Ears Lead Us?

Now let us look at verses 6 and 7 together.

Verse 6 speaks of people being led away from Allah’s path.

Verse 7 speaks of arrogantly turning away from Allah’s verses.

From this, we can draw two important questions for our own lives.

The first question: Where do my words lead others?

Do we make something wrong seem normal to a friend?

Do we incite one sibling against another?

Do we teach an employee dishonest behavior?

While explaining what is right to our child through our words, do we show something else through our actions?

The second question: What do I do when the truth is spoken to me?

Do I listen?

Do I investigate?

Do I try to understand?

Or do I immediately become defensive?

Now there is an interesting situation here.

We very much want others to listen to us.

Our spouse should listen to us.

Our child should listen to us.

Our employee should listen to us.

Our sibling should listen to us.

But what about us?

Whose words do we truly listen to?

An even more important question:

When we listen to Allah’s word, what changes in our lives?

Sometimes a verse we hear seems very beautiful to us.

But if that beauty remains only in our ears, how much can we benefit?

The purpose of the Qur’an’s warnings is not only to make us think, but also to help us turn toward what is right.

So let us not be content merely to listen.

Let us correct a behavior.

Let us give someone their due.

Let us apologize.

Let us give up an injustice.

Let us listen more carefully to someone.

Because a verse touching our lives can sometimes begin with a change that seems very small but is very valuable.

Closing — Which Words Do We Love Most?

Now, before leaving the lesson, let us think about one final example.

Suppose we have two friends.

The first constantly tells us:

“You are right. You are very good. You never do anything wrong.”

The second loves us but, when necessary, says:

“Look, you made a mistake here. Come, let us put it right.”

Which is the more beneficial friend for us?

Perhaps spending time with the first is easier.

Because they never make us uncomfortable.

But the second may truly care about our well-being.

Now let us go a step further.

What kinds of friends do we choose?

Those who always agree with us?

Or those who can point out our mistakes when necessary?

And what kind of friend are we?

Do we participate in someone’s wrongdoing?

Or can we invite them toward what is right without hurting or belittling them?

This is one of the very important lessons we can bring into our lives from verses 6 and 7 of Surah Luqman.

On one side are words that distance people from the truth.

On the other is a person who arrogantly turns away even though the truth has reached them.

Let us neither speak words that lead others down the wrong path nor turn our backs on what is right when we hear it.

Today, I ask a small thing of all of us.

When we go home this evening, let us ask ourselves two questions:

“Which words I spoke today benefited someone?”

“Which truth I heard today helped me correct a mistake?”

Perhaps our answers to these two questions will change how we live tomorrow.

And finally, let us not forget this:

Having open ears does not mean being open to the truth. Being open to the truth also means accepting the need to face our own mistakes.

May our Lord make us among those who understand the truth and bring it into their lives, rather than those who turn away when they hear it.