“Do not turn your nose up at people, nor walk about the place arrogantly, for God does not love arrogant or boastful people.”
Luqman · Quran, Surah Luqman 31:18
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Be modest in your bearing and lower your voice, for the ugliest of all voices is the braying of asses.
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About this quote
Meaning
This piece of advice pairs two related virtues: physical modesty in how one carries the body, and restraint in how one uses the voice. Walking with ease rather than swagger, and speaking with measured quietness rather than loudness, are presented here as signs of good character. The comparison to a braying donkey is deliberately striking. It is not merely a colorful insult but a pointed observation that a loud, uncontrolled voice, stripped of content or wisdom, is more noise than communication and reflects poorly on the speaker.
Context
This verse is part of the moral instruction found in Surah Luqman, where a wise man addresses his son with a series of practical and spiritual guidelines for living well. The counsel moves between large theological ideas and small behavioral habits, which is part of what makes the chapter feel so grounded and human. By placing guidance about posture and tone of voice alongside guidance about gratitude and humility, the text suggests that ethics are not confined to grand gestures but are expressed in everyday manner and bearing.
About the author
Luqman is honored in Islamic tradition as a paragon of wisdom, a figure whose moral clarity was so valued that an entire chapter of the Quran bears his name. He is generally understood to have been a righteous man rather than a prophet, and his teachings have been transmitted and admired across centuries of Islamic scholarship and literature. His advice has endured because it addresses enduring human tendencies, including vanity, arrogance, and the desire to be noticed, with calm and precise language that still feels relevant today.
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“I am the most unpleasant, rude, ignorant, and all-round obnoxious arsehole that anyone could possibly have the misfortune to meet. I am dismissive of the virtuous, unaware of the beautiful, and uncomprehending in the face of the happy. So if I didn't understand I was being asked to be best man, it is because I never expected to be anybody's best friend.”
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