Luqman And His Son

Difference of opinion about whether Luqman was a prophet or not

What is a prophet?
Difference between a prophet and a messenger
Majority opinion is that Luqman was not a Prophet
However, it is strange for a regular person to be quoted so extensively in Quran

Some say he was a slave and carpenter
Story of sheep tongue and heart
Don’t really agree with idea of him being a slave
Some say he may have been Aesop from Aesop’s fables
Islamic scholars probably got Luqman/slave idea from European depictions of Aesop
Ancient, mostly fictional tale called Aesop’s Romance depicts his life and describe him
as an ugly slave who uses cunning to get his freedom and become an royal advisor
Medieval historians thought the name Aesop came from the word Ethiopian
Modern historians say that is not true and they are not connected
Most likely, ancient Muslim scholars came across stories of Aesop and made them one person
That is a problem with Islamic scholarship
Surah 31 is named after Luqman and contains a lecture he gave his son
Allah describes Luqman, commands him, and then quotes him
He’s described as being wise, commanded to be grateful, 31:12-13
Then Allah quotes the conversation with the boy

End of the Surah also has sound advice and mentions five things that only Allah knows:

Next to last verse reminds that father and son cannot help each other in next life, connection to
Luqman’s advice to his son 33:33