This alongside all the other articles on the stories of the prophets has been taken from Ṣaḥīḥ Qiṣaṣ al Anbiyāʾ (Authentic Stories of the Prophets) by Salim ibn ʿId al Hilali who revised Ibn Kathir’s (Qiṣas al Anbiyāʾ) Stories of the Prophets by removing weak, fabricated, repeated reports and unreliable Isra’ili reports, he only kept the Quran verses, sound hadiths and reports from the Salaf.
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Lut عليه السلام’s Lineage
The People to Whom He Was Sent
The Story of Lut in the Qur’an
Their Persistence and Plot against Their Messenger
Lut’s Supplication against His People عليه السلام
Ibrahim’s Argument on Behalf of the People of Lut عليه السلام
The Guests of Lut عليه السلام
Lut’s Defence of His Guests عليه السلام
The Destruction of the People of Lut and the Descent of Punishment
The Story of the Wife of Lut عليه السلام and What Happened to Her
The Punishment of Whoever Does the Deeds of the People of Lut
“You Pass By Them Morning and Night”
Summary
Lut عليه السلام’s lineage and Home
Lut عليه السلام was the son of Haran son of Tarah, who is Azar, so he was the nephew of Ibrahim al Khalil عليه السلام. By the instruction and permission of his uncle, he left Ibrahim’s dwelling and settled in the town of Sodom in the lowland of Zughur. Sodom was the main town of its region, with its own land, cultivated fields and attached villages.
The people of Sodom and their sins
The people of Sodom were among the most immoral and disbelieving of people, with corrupt inner state and corrupt apparent conduct. They used to cut off travellers on the road, commit evil openly in their gatherings and feel no shame regarding any shameful act.
They innovated an obscenity that no one from the children of Adam had preceded them in, approaching males and leaving the women Allah had created for them as lawful spouses for His righteous servants.
They also betrayed companions and, in their night assemblies, used foul words and actions, even to the extent of breaking wind loudly and sometimes committing their terrible deed openly, worse in their path than cattle.
Lut عليه السلام’s da’wah and his people’s hostility
Lut عليه السلام called his people to worship Allah alone with no partner and forbade them from their indecencies and repulsive deeds.
Allah mentioned their story in many surahs, describing how they approached men with desire, rejected lawful wives, and exceeded all bounds, until they demanded that he be driven out because he and his family wanted to remain pure, as in the verses of al Araf, al Shuara, al Naml and al Ankabut.
They did not believe in him, not even one man, and persisted in their wickedness, ingratitude and tyranny, to the point that they demanded from him, in arrogance, “Bring upon us the punishment of Allah, if you are among the truthful.” Their persistence made them an example for this sin and a clear warning for all who live on the earth.
Lut’s supplication and the mission of the angels
When their corruption and mockery reached this level, Lut عليه السلام supplicated against them, asking the Lord of the universe to grant him victory over the corrupt people.
Allah became jealous for His own sake and for the sake of His prophet and answered his supplication. He sent noble angels who first came to Ibrahim عليه السلام with the good news of a son, Ishaq, and after him Yaqub, and informed him that they had been sent to destroy the people of Lut because they were wrongdoers, as mentioned in Surahs Hud, al Hijr, al Dhariyat and al Ankabut.
Ibrahim, who was gentle, pleading and turning constantly to Allah, argued on behalf of the people of Lut, hoping they might repent, until he was told to leave this matter because the command of Allah had come and an unreturnable punishment had been decreed for them.
The guests of Lut عليه السلام and his defence of them
After leaving Ibrahim عليه السلام, the angels came to Sodom in the form of handsome young men near sunset as a test for the people and a completion of the proof against them.
They entered upon Lut عليه السلام as guests, and he feared that if he did not take them in someone else would, since his people had already imposed on him a condition not to host anyone. He was distressed and felt constrained because he knew how hard he would have to strive to protect them that night.
When his people came rushing towards him, hastening in desire and already used to committing evil, he said, “My people, here are my daughters, they are purer for you,” guiding them to lawful marriage with women, for a prophet is like a father to his community.
He pleaded with them to fear Allah, not to disgrace him regarding his guests, and asked whether there was among them any right minded man, yet they brazenly replied that they had no desire for his daughters and that he knew very well what they wanted.
Lut عليه السلام’s wish for support and the angels’ intervention
Seeing their shamelessness, Lut عليه السلام said, “If only I had strength against you, or I could take refuge in a strong support,” wishing for power or a strong clan to punish them for their obscenity.
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ later remarked that Lut عليه السلام was truly taking refuge in a strong support, meaning Allah, and that no prophet after him was sent except that he was supported with strength and numbers among his people.
When the people of the city came rejoicing, intent on the guests, Lut عليه السلام repeated his plea, warning them and again directing them to his daughters if they were determined to act.
At this point the angels revealed their reality and said, “Lut, we are messengers of your Lord. They will never reach you,” and Jibril عليه السلام went out and struck their faces with the tip of his wing, blinding them so that their eyes were wiped away and they stumbled back feeling along the walls, still threatening that they would deal with him the next morning.
The destruction of the people of Lut
The angels instructed Lut عليه السلام to leave with his family in part of the night, to walk behind them so that no one would lag behind, and that none should look back. Regarding “except your wife,” one recitation indicates she was excluded from his family and not to be taken with them, while another indicates that she would look back and be struck by what struck the others, both meanings supported by the Qur’an.
The angels informed him that the appointed time for his people was the morning and that the morning was near. When Lut عليه السلام and his daughters had left and the sun rose, Allah’s command came, and He turned their towns upside down and rained upon them stones of baked clay in layers, marked with their Lord for those who exceed all bounds, as mentioned in Surahs Hud, al Hijr, al Naml, al Qamar, al Dhariyat and others.
The commentators mention that Jibril عليه السلام uprooted the towns with the tip of his wing, raising them until the angels heard the crowing of their cocks and the barking of their dogs, then overturned them so their highest part became their lowest, while a rain of hard, written stones followed, each stone bearing the name of its target and striking him whether he was in the town or outside it.
The wife of Lut عليه السلام
The wife of Lut عليه السلام was destroyed with his people. It is said that she remained among them, and it is also said that she went out with him and his daughters but, when she heard the terrifying shout and the fall of the town, she looked back and cried, “My people,” disobeying the command and revealing her attachment to their religion.
A stone then fell upon her and crushed her, joining her to the people whose creed she shared and for whom she had acted as an informer by reporting his guests.
Allah set her and the wife of Nuh عليه السلام as an example for those who disbelieve, confirming that they betrayed their husbands in religion, not in chastity, and that being the wife of a righteous servant of Allah does not protect a disbeliever from punishment.
Ibn Abbas and other imams clarified that Allah never decreed (legislative will) that any prophet’s wife should be unchaste, and whoever claims this has made a grave error.
Ruling on those who do the deeds of the people of Lut
Allah’s words “and they are not far from the wrongdoers” indicate that this punishment is near to anyone who resembles them in their deeds. Because of this, many imams held that the one who commits the act of the people of Lut is to be executed by stoning, whether previously married or not.
Imams al Shafii and Ahmad ibn Hanbal and a large group of other imams clearly stated this, relying among other evidence on the hadith of Ibn Abbas that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “Whoever you find doing the deed of the people of Lut, then kill the one who does it and the one to whom it is done.”
Abu Hanifah held that such a person should be thrown from the top of a high place and then stoned, just as the people of Lut were destroyed, drawing from the verse that their punishment is not far from wrongdoers.
The lasting sign and lessons for believers
Allah turned the land of those towns into a foul lake whose water and surrounding land are of no benefit, known as the Dead Sea, which is the lowest place on the surface of the earth.
This place remains an example, admonition and clear sign of Allah’s power, showing how He takes revenge from those who oppose His command, reject His messengers, follow their desires and disobey their Master, and how He shows mercy to the believers by saving them from the destroyers.
The Qur’an reminds the believers that these ruins lie on a clear highway, that people pass by them morning and night, and that from them Allah left a clear sign for people who use their minds and fear the painful punishment.
Whoever fears Allah, fears meeting Him and forbids his own soul from desire will avoid the path of the people of Lut, hold to lawful wives and slave girls, and beware of resembling those upon whom Allah’s punishment fell, for whoever resembles a people is counted among them, and that punishment “is not far from the wrongdoers.”
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Lut عليه السلام’s Lineage
Lut was the son of Haran son of Tarah, who is Azar. Lut was the son of the brother of Ibrahim al Khalil عليهما السلام. Ibrahim, Haran and Nahur were brothers.
The People to Whom He Was Sent
Lut moved away from the dwelling place of his uncle al Khalil عليهما السلام, by his instruction and with his permission. He came to live in the town of Sodom in the lowland of Zughur. It was the main town of that region, with its own land, cultivated fields and villages attached to it.
Its people were among the most immoral of people, the most unbelieving, the worst in nature. Their inner state and their outward conduct were both corrupt.
They used to cut off travellers on the road, they would commit evil openly in their gatherings, and they did not stop themselves from any shameful act they did. Evil indeed was what they used to do.
They invented an obscenity that no one from the children of Adam had ever preceded them in. They approached males from the creation, and left what Allah had created for them of women for His righteous servants.
So Lut called them to worship Allah the Exalted alone with no partner. He forbade them from these forbidden acts, these terrible indecencies and these repulsive deeds. But they persisted in their misguidance and their tyranny.
They remained upon their wickedness and their ingratitude. So Allah sent upon them a punishment that could not be turned back, beyond anything that had ever entered their minds or thoughts. He made them an example in the universe, a lesson from which people of sound minds in the universe take warning.
The Story of Lut in the Qur’an
Because of this, Allah the Exalted mentioned their story in many places in His clear Book.
He said in Surat al Araf:
وَلُوطًا إِذْ قَالَ لِقَوْمِهِ أَتَأْتُونَ الْفَاحِشَةَ مَا سَبَقَكُم بِهَا مِنْ أَحَدٍ مِّنَ الْعَالَمِينَ إِنَّكُمْ لَتَأْتُونَ الرِّجَالَ شَهْوَةً مِّن دُونِ النِّسَاءِ بَلْ أَنتُمْ قَوْمٌ مُّسْرِفُونَ وَمَا كَانَ جَوَابَ قَوْمِهِ إِلَّا أَن قَالُوا أَخْرِجُوهُم مِّن قَرْيَتِكُمْ إِنَّهُمْ أُنَاسٌ يَتَطَهَّرُونَ فَأَنجَيْنَاهُ وَأَهْلَهُ إِلَّا امْرَأَتَهُ كَانَتْ مِنَ الْغَابِرِينَ وَأَمْطَرْنَا عَلَيْهِم مَّطَرًا فَانظُرْ كَيْفَ كَانَ عَاقِبَةُ الْمُجْرِمِينَ
“Remember Lut when he said to his people, “Do you commit this shameful sin that no one in all the universe has ever done before you? You certainly approach men with desire instead of women. Rather, you are a people who exceed all bounds.”
The only answer of his people was that they said, “Drive them out from your town. They are people who want to keep themselves pure.” S
o We saved him and his family, except for his wife; she was among those who stayed behind. And We rained upon them a rain, so look at how the end of the criminals was.” (al Araf 80 to 84)
He the Exalted said in Surat Hud:
وَلَقَدْ جَاءَتْ رُسُلُنَا إِبْرَاهِيمَ بِالْبُشْرَى قَالُوا سَلَامًا قَالَ سَلَامٌ فَمَا لَبِثَ أَن جَاءَ بِعِجْلٍ حَنِيذٍ فَلَمَّا رَءَا أَيْدِيَهُمْ لَا تَصِلُ إِلَيْهِ نَكِرَهُمْ وَأَوْجَسَ مِنْهُمْ خِيفَةً قَالُوا لَا تَخَفْ إِنَّا أُرْسِلْنَا إِلَى قَوْمِ لُوطٍ وَامْرَأَتُهُ قَائِمَةٌ فَضَحِكَتْ فَبَشَّرْنَاهَا بِإِسْحَاقَ وَمِن وَرَاءِ إِسْحَاقَ يَعْقُوبَ قَالَتْ يَاوَيْلَتَى أَأَلِدُ وَأَنَا عَجُوزٌ وَهَذَا بَعْلِي شَيْخًا إِنَّ هَذَا لَشَيْءٌ عَجِيبٌ قَالُوا أَتَعْجَبِينَ مِنْ أَمْرِ اللَّهِ رَحْمَتُ اللَّهِ وَبَرَكَاتُهُ عَلَيْكُمْ أَهْلَ الْبَيْتِ إِنَّهُ حَمِيدٌ مَّجِيدٌ فَلَمَّا ذَهَبَ عَنْ إِبْرَاهِيمَ الرَّوْعُ وَجَاءَتْهُ الْبُشْرَى يُجَادِلُنَا فِي قَوْمِ لُوطٍ إِنَّ إِبْرَاهِيمَ لَحَلِيمٌ أَوَّاهٌ مُّنِيبٌ يَإِبْرَاهِيمُ أَعْرِضْ عَنْ هَذَا إِنَّهُ قَدْ جَاءَ أَمْرُ رَبِّكَ وَإِنَّهُمْ ءَاتِيهِمْ عَذَابٌ غَيْرُ مَرْدُودٍ وَلَمَّا جَاءَتْ رُسُلُنَا لُوطًا سِيءَ بِهِمْ وَضَاقَ بِهِمْ ذَرْعًا وَقَالَ هَذَا يَوْمٌ عَصِيبٌ وَجَاءَهُ قَوْمُهُ يُهْرَعُونَ إِلَيْهِ وَمِن قَبْلُ كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ السَّيِّئَاتِ قَالَ يَاقَوْمِ هَؤُلَاءِ بَنَاتِي هُنَّ أَطْهَرُ لَكُمْ فَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَلَا تُخْزُونِ فِي ضَيْفِي أَلَيْسَ مِنكُمْ رَجُلٌ رَّشِيدٌ قَالُوا لَقَدْ عَلِمْتَ مَا لَنَا فِي بَنَاتِكَ مِنْ حَقٍّ وَإِنَّكَ لَتَعْلَمُ مَا نُرِيدُ قَالَ لَوْ أَنَّ لِي بِكُمْ قُوَّةً أَوْ ءَاوِي إِلَى رُكْنٍ شَدِيدٍ قَالُوا يَلُوطُ إِنَّا رُسُلُ رَبِّكَ لَن يَصِلُوا إِلَيْكَ فَأَسْرِ بِأَهْلِكَ بِقِطْعٍ مِّنَ الَّيْلِ وَلَا يَلْتَفِتْ مِنكُمْ أَحَدٌ إِلَّا امْرَأَتَكَ إِنَّهُ مُصِيبُهَا مَا أَصَابَهُمْ إِنَّ مَوْعِدَهُمُ الصُّبْحُ أَلَيْسَ الصُّبْحُ بِقَرِيبٍ فَلَمَّا جَاءَ أَمْرُنَا جَعَلْنَا عَالِيَهَا سَافِلَهَا وَأَمْطَرْنَا عَلَيْهَا حِجَارَةً مِّن سِجِّيلٍ مَّنضُودٍ مُّسَوَّمَةً عِندَ رَبِّكَ وَمَا هِيَ مِنَ الظَّالِمِينَ بِبَعِيدٍ
“Our messengers certainly came to Ibrahim with good news. They said, “Peace.” He said, “Peace,” and before long he brought a roasted calf.
When he saw that their hands did not reach for it, he found their behaviour strange and felt afraid of them. They said, “Do not be afraid. We have been sent to the people of Lut.”
His wife was standing by, and she laughed. So We gave her the good news of Ishaq, and after Ishaq, Yaqub. She said, “Alas for me, shall I give birth when I am an old woman and this husband of mine is an old man? This is truly something amazing.”
They said, “Are you amazed at the command of Allah? The mercy of Allah and His blessings are upon you, people of the house. He is Praiseworthy, Glorious.”
When the fear left Ibrahim and the good news came to him, he began to argue with Us about the people of Lut. Ibrahim was indeed gentle, pleading, turning constantly to Allah.
“Ibrahim, turn away from this. The command of your Lord has come, and there will certainly come upon them a punishment that cannot be turned back.” When Our messengers came to Lut, he was distressed on their account and felt constrained for them, and said, “This is a difficult day.”
His people came rushing towards him, and before that they had been doing evil deeds. He said, “My people, here are my daughters, they are purer for you. So fear Allah and do not disgrace me concerning my guests. Is there not among you a right minded man?”
They said, “You know that we have no desire for your daughters, and you know very well what we want.” He said, “If only I had strength against you, or I could take refuge in a strong support.” They said, “Lut, we are messengers of your Lord. They will never reach you.
So travel with your family in part of the night and let none of you look back, except your wife; what will strike them will strike her. Their appointed time is the morning. Is not the morning near?” When Our command came, We turned that town upside down and rained upon it stones of baked clay in layers, marked with your Lord, and they are not far from the wrongdoers.” (Hud 69 to 83)
He the Exalted said in Surat al Hijr:
وَنَبِّئْهُمْ عَن ضَيْفِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ إِذْ دَخَلُوا عَلَيْهِ فَقَالُوا سَلَامًا قَالَ إِنَّا مِنكُمْ وَجِلُونَ قَالُوا لَا تَوْجَلْ إِنَّا نُبَشِّرُكَ بِغُلَامٍ عَلِيمٍ قَالَ أَبَشَّرْتُمُونِي عَلَى أَن مُّسَّنِيَ الْكِبَرُ فَبِمَ تُبَشِّرُونَ قَالُوا بَشَّرْنَاكَ بِالْحَقِّ فَلَا تَكُن مِّنَ الْقَانِطِينَ قَالَ وَمَن يَقْنَطُ مِن رَّحْمَةِ رَبِّهِ إِلَّا الضَّالُّونَ قَالَ فَمَا خَطْبُكُمْ أَيُّهَا الْمُرْسَلُونَ قَالُوا إِنَّا أُرْسِلْنَا إِلَى قَوْمٍ مُّجْرِمِينَ إِلَّا آلَ لُوطٍ إِنَّا لَمُنَجُّوهُمْ أَجْمَعِينَ إِلَّا امْرَأَتَهُ قَدَّرْنَا إِنَّهَا لَمِنَ الْغَابِرِينَ فَلَمَّا جَاءَ آلَ لُوطٍ الْمُرْسَلُونَ قَالَ إِنَّكُمْ قَوْمٌ مُّنكَرُونَ قَالُوا بَلْ جِئْنَاكَ بِمَا كَانُوا فِيهِ يَمْتَرُونَ وَأَتَيْنَاكَ بِالْحَقِّ وَإِنَّا لَصَادِقُونَ فَأَسْرِ بِأَهْلِكَ بِقِطْعٍ مِّنَ الْلَّيْلِ وَاتَّبِعْ أَدْبَارَهُمْ وَلَا يَلْتَفِتْ مِنكُمْ أَحَدٌ وَامْضُوا حَيْثُ تُؤْمَرُونَ وَقَضَيْنَا إِلَيْهِ ذَلِكَ الْأَمْرَ أَنَّ دَابِرَ هَؤُلَاءِ مَقْطُوعٌ مُّصْبِحِينَ وَجَاءَ أَهْلُ الْمَدِينَةِ يَسْتَبْشِرُونَ قَالَ إِنَّ هَؤُلَاءِ ضَيْفِي فَلَا تَفْضَحُونِ وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَلَا تُخْزُونِ قَالُوا أَوَلَمْ نَنْهَكَ عَنِ الْعَالَمِينَ قَالَ هَؤُلَاءِ بَنَاتِي إِن كُنتُمْ فَاعِلِينَ لَعَمْرُكَ إِنَّهُمْ لَفِي سَكْرَتِهِمْ يَعْمَهُونَ فَأَخَذَتْهُمُ الصَّيْحَةُ مُشْرِقِينَ فَجَعَلْنَا عَالِيَهَا سَافِلَهَا وَأَمْطَرْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ حِجَارَةً مِّن سِجِّيلٍ إِنَّ فِي ذَلِكَ لَآيَاتٍ لِّلْمُتَوَسِّمِينَ وَإِنَّهَا لَبِسَبِيلٍ مُّقِيمٍ إِنَّ فِي ذَلِكَ لَآيَةً لِّلْمُؤْمِنِينَ
“And tell them about the guests of Ibrahim. When they entered upon him and said, “Peace,” he said, “We are afraid of you.” They said, “Do not be afraid.
We give you good news of a knowledgeable boy.” He said, “Do you give me good news although old age has touched me? What sort of good news are you giving me?” They said, “We have given you good news in truth, so do not be one of those who despair.”
He said, “Who despairs of the mercy of his Lord except those who are astray?” He said, “So what is your business, messengers?” They said, “We have been sent to a criminal people, except for the family of Lut. We will certainly save them all, except his wife; We have decreed that she will be among those who stay behind.”
When the messengers came to the family of Lut, he said, “You are an unfamiliar people.” They said, “No, we have come to you with what they used to doubt, and We have brought you the truth, and we are indeed truthful. So travel with your family in part of the night and follow behind them, and let none of you look back, and go where you are commanded.”
We conveyed to him this command, that the root of these people would be cut off in the early morning. The people of the city came rejoicing. He said, “These are my guests, so do not disgrace me, and fear Allah and do not shame me.”
They said, “Did we not forbid you from protecting people?” He said, “These are my daughters, if you are going to do anything.”
By your life, they were wandering blindly in their drunkenness. So the blast seized them at sunrise. We turned that town upside down and rained upon them stones of baked clay. In that there are signs for those who read the signs, and it lies on a clearly established road.”
In that there is a sign for the believers.”(al Hijr 51 to 77)
He the Exalted said in Surat al Shuara:
كَذَّبَتْ قَوْمُ لُوطٍ الْمُرْسَلِينَ إِذْ قَالَ لَهُمْ أَخُوهُمْ لُوطٌ أَلَا تَتَّقُونَ إِنِّي لَكُمْ رَسُولٌ أَمِينٌ فَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَأَطِيعُونِ وَمَا أَسْأَلُكُمْ عَلَيْهِ مِنْ أَجْرٍ إِنْ أَجْرِيَ إِلَّا عَلَى رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ أَتَأْتُونَ الذُّكْرَانَ مِنَ الْعَالَمِينَ وَتَذَرُونَ مَا خَلَقَ لَكُمْ رَبُّكُم مِّنْ أَزْوَاجِكُم بَلْ أَنتُمْ قَوْمٌ عَادُونَ قَالُوا لَئِن لَّمْ تَنتَهِ يَلُوطُ لَتَكُونَنَّ مِنَ الْمُخْرَجِينَ قَالَ إِنِّي لِعَمَلِكُم مِّنَ الْقَالِينَ رَبِّ نَجِّنِي وَأَهْلِي مِمَّا يَعْمَلُونَ فَنَجَّيْنَاهُ وَأَهْلَهُ أَجْمَعِينَ إِلَّا عَجُوزًا فِي الْغَابِرِينَ ثُمَّ دَمَّرْنَا الْآخَرِينَ وَأَمْطَرْنَا عَلَيْهِم مَّطَرًا فَسَاءَ مَطَرُ الْمُنذَرِينَ إِنَّ فِي ذَلِكَ لَآيَةً وَمَا كَانَ أَكْثَرُهُم مُّؤْمِنِينَ وَإِنَّ رَبَّكَ لَهُوَ الْعَزِيزُ الرَّحِيمُ
“The people of Lut rejected the messengers when their brother Lut said to them, “Will you not fear Allah? I am a trustworthy messenger to you, so fear Allah and obey me. I do not ask you any wage for this. My wage is only from the Lord of the universe. Do you approach males from the universe and leave what your Lord created for you of your wives? No, you are a people who exceed all bounds.”
They said, “Lut, if you do not stop, you will certainly be one of those driven out.” He said, “I am someone who hates what you do. My Lord, save me and my family from what they do.” So We saved him and all his family, except for an old woman who was among those who stayed behind. Then We destroyed the others, and We rained upon them a rain. How evil was the rain of those who were warned. In that there is a sign, but most of them were not believers. Your Lord is surely the Mighty, the Merciful.”(al Shuara 160 to 175)
He the Exalted said in Surat al Naml:
وَلُوطًا إِذْ قَالَ لِقَوْمِهِ أَتَأْتُونَ الْفَاحِشَةَ وَأَنتُمْ تُبْصِرُونَ أَئِنَّكُمْ لَتَأْتُونَ الرِّجَالَ شَهْوَةً مِّن دُونِ النِّسَاءِ بَلْ أَنتُمْ قَوْمٌ تَجْهَلُونَ فَمَا كَانَ جَوَابَ قَوْمِهِ إِلَّا أَن قَالُوا أَخْرِجُوا آلَ لُوطٍ مِّن قَرْيَتِكُمْ إِنَّهُمْ أُنَاسٌ يَتَطَهَّرُونَ فَأَنجَيْنَاهُ وَأَهْلَهُ إِلَّا امْرَأَتَهُ قَدَّرْنَاهَا مِنَ الْغَابِرِينَ وَأَمْطَرْنَا عَلَيْهِم مَّطَرًا فَسَاءَ مَطَرُ الْمُنذَرِينَ
“And remember Lut when he said to his people, “Do you commit this shameful sin with your eyes open? Do you really approach men out of desire instead of women? No, you are a people who act in ignorance.”
The only answer of his people was that they said, “Drive the family of Lut out of your town. They are people who want to keep themselves pure.” So We saved him and his family, except his wife; We decreed that she would be among those who stayed behind, and We rained upon them a rain. How evil was the rain of those who had been warned.” (al Naml 54 to 58)
He the Exalted said in Surat al Ankabut:
وَلُوطًا إِذْ قَالَ لِقَوْمِهِ إِنَّكُمْ لَتَأْتُونَ الْفَاحِشَةَ مَا سَبَقَكُم بِهَا مِنْ أَحَدٍ مِّنَ الْعَالَمِينَ أَئِنَّكُمْ لَتَأْتُونَ الرِّجَالَ وَتَقْطَعُونَ السَّبِيلَ وَتَأْتُونَ فِي نَادِيكُمُ الْمُنكَرَ فَمَا كَانَ جَوَابَ قَوْمِهِ إِلَّا أَن قَالُوا ائْتِنَا بِعَذَابِ اللَّهِ إِن كُنتَ مِنَ الصَّادِقِينَ قَالَ رَبِّ انصُرْنِي عَلَى الْقَوْمِ الْمُفْسِدِينَ وَلَمَّا جَاءَتْ رُسُلُنَا إِبْرَاهِيمَ بِالْبُشْرَى قَالُوا إِنَّا مُهْلِكُوا أَهْلِ هَذِهِ الْقَرْيَةِ إِنَّ أَهْلَهَا كَانُوا ظَالِمِينَ قَالَ إِنَّ فِيهَا لُوطًا قَالُوا نَحْنُ أَعْلَمُ بِمَن فِيهَا لَنُنَجِّيَنَّهُ وَأَهْلَهُ إِلَّا امْرَأَتَهُ كَانَتْ مِنَ الْغَابِرِينَ وَلَمَّا أَن جَاءَتْ رُسُلُنَا لُوطًا سِيءَ بِهِمْ وَضَاقَ بِهِمْ ذَرْعًا وَقَالُوا لَا تَخَفْ وَلَا تَحْزَنْ إِنَّا مُنجُوكَ وَأَهْلَكَ إِلَّا امْرَأَتَكَ كَانَتْ مِنَ الْغَابِرِينَ إِنَّا مُّنزِلُونَ عَلَى أَهْلِ هَذِهِ الْقَرْيَةِ رِجْزًا مِّنَ السَّمَاءِ بِمَا كَانُوا يَفْسُقُونَ وَلَقَد تَرَكْنَا مِنْهَا آيَةً بَيِّنَةً لِقَوْمٍ يَعْقِلُونَ
“And remember Lut when he said to his people, “You certainly commit this shameful sin that no one in all the universe has ever done before you. Do you really approach men, cut off travellers on the road and commit evil openly in your gatherings?”
The only answer of his people was that they said, ‘Bring upon us the punishment of Allah, if you are among the truthful.’ He said, “My Lord, help me against these corrupt people.’”
When Our messengers came to Ibrahim with good news, they said, “We are going to destroy the people of this town; its people have been wrongdoers.” He said, ‘But Lut is in it.”
They said, “We know very well who is in it. We will certainly save him and his family, except his wife; she will be among those who stay behind.’” When Our messengers came to Lut, he was distressed on their account and felt constrained for them.
They said, “Do not fear and do not grieve. We will certainly save you and your family, except your wife; she will be among those who stay behind.
We are going to send down on the people of this town a punishment from the sky because of their disobedience.” We have certainly left from that town a clear sign for people who use their minds.”(al Ankabut 28 to 35)
He the Exalted said in Surat al Saffat:
وَإِنَّ لُوطًا لَّمِنَ الْمُرْسَلِينَ إِذْ نَجَّيْنَاهُ وَأَهْلَهُ أَجْمَعِينَ إِلَّا عَجُوزًا فِي الْغَابِرِينَ ثُمَّ دَمَّرْنَا الْآخَرِينَ وَإِنَّكُمْ لَتَمُرُّونَ عَلَيْهِم مُّصْبِحِينَ وَبِاللَّيْلِ أَفَلَا تَعْقِلُونَ
“Lut was definitely one of the messengers. We saved him and all his family, except for an old woman who was among those who stayed behind.
Then We destroyed the others. You certainly pass by their ruins in the morning and at night. Will you not understand?”(al Saffat 133 to 138)
He the Exalted said in Surat al Dhariyat, after the story of the guests of Ibrahim and their giving him the good news of a knowledgeable boy:
فَمَا خَطْبُكُمْ أَيُّهَا الْمُرْسَلُونَ قَالُوا إِنَّا أُرْسِلْنَا إِلَى قَوْمٍ مُّجْرِمِينَ لِنُرْسِلَ عَلَيْهِمْ حِجَارَةً مِّن طِينٍ مُّسَوَّمَةً عِندَ رَبِّكَ لِلْمُسْرِفِينَ فَأَخْرَجْنَا مَن كَانَ فِيهَا مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ فَمَا وَجَدْنَا فِيهَا غَيْرَ بَيْتٍ مِّنَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ وَتَرَكْنَا فِيهَا آيَةً لِّلَّذِينَ يَخَافُونَ الْعَذَابَ الْأَلِيمَ
“He said, ‘So what is your business, messengers?’ They said, ‘We have been sent to a criminal people, so that We may send down upon them stones of clay, marked with your Lord for those who exceed all bounds.’
Then We brought out from that town whoever was among the believers. We did not find in it any except one house of Muslims, and We left there a sign for those who fear the painful punishment.”(al Dhariyat 31 to 37)
He the Exalted said in Surat al Qamar:
كَذَّبَتْ قَوْمُ لُوطٍ بِالنُّذُرِ إِنَّا أَرْسَلْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ حَاصِبًا إِلَّا آلَ لُوطٍ نَّجَّيْنَاهُم بِسَحَرٍ نِّعْمَةً مِّنْ عِندِنَا كَذَلِكَ نَجْزِي مَن شَكَرَ وَلَقَدْ أَنذَرَهُم بَطْشَتَنَا فَتَمَارَوْا بِالنُّذُرِ وَلَقَدْ رَاوَدُوهُ عَن ضَيْفِهِ فَطَمَسْنَا أَعْيُنَهُمْ فَذُوقُوا عَذَابِي وَنُذُرِ وَلَقَدْ صَبَّحَهُم بُكْرَةً عَذَابٌ مُّسْتَقِرٌّ فَذُوقُوا عَذَابِي وَنُذُرِ وَلَقَدْ يَسَّرْنَا الْقُرْآنَ لِلذِّكْرِ فَهَلْ مِن مُّدَّكِرٍ
“The people of Lut rejected the warnings. We sent upon them a storm of stones, except the family of Lut; We saved them at daybreak, as a favour from Us. That is how We reward those who give thanks. He had already warned them of Our strong grip, but they disputed the warnings. They tried to tempt him away from his guests, so We blinded their eyes.
‘So taste My punishment and My warnings.’ A lasting punishment caught them in the early morning. ‘So taste My punishment and My warnings.’
We have indeed made the Qur’an easy for remembrance, so is there anyone who will take heed?”(al Qamar 33 to 40)
We have spoken about these stories in their places in these surahs in the tafsir. Allah also mentioned Lut and his people in other places in the Qur’an, which have already been mentioned with the people of Nuh, the people of Ad and the people of Thamud.
The purpose here is to present what happened to them and what Allah sent upon them in a single connected account from the verses and the narrations, and help is sought from Allah.
Their Persistence and Plot against Their Messenger
When Lut عليه السلام called them to worship Allah alone with no partner and forbade them from committing the indecencies that Allah mentioned about them, they did not respond to him and they did not believe in him.
Not even a single man among them believed. They did not leave what they had been forbidden from. Instead, they remained upon their state and did not take heed from their sin and their misguidance.
They intended to expel their messenger from among them. The only answer they could give, when he addressed them and they had no understanding, was that they said:
أَخْرِجُوا آلَ لُوطٍ مِّن قَرْيَتِكُمْ إِنَّهُمْ أُنَاسٌ يَتَطَهَّرُونَ
“Drive the family of Lut out of your town, they are people who want to keep themselves pure.”(al Naml 56)
They made the highest form of praise into blame that, in their eyes, called for expulsion. What carried them to this statement was only stubbornness and hostile argument.
So Allah purified him and his family except his wife, and He brought them out from among them in the best way. He left them in their place, remaining there after them, but after He turned it for them into a foul lake with waves. Yet for them in reality it is a fire that is blazing, and a burning heat, and its water is salty and bitter.
This was their only answer when he forbade them from committing the greatest calamity and the worst obscenity, which no one from the people of the universe, the people of this life, had ever preceded them in. Because of that, they became an example in this sin and a clear warning for those who live on the earth.
Along with that, they used to cut off people on the road and betray their companions. In their public meeting places, where they would gather and sit and talk by night, they used to commit evil words and actions of different kinds.
It is even said that they used to break wind loudly in their gatherings and felt no shame in front of one another. Sometimes the terrible deed itself would occur from them in public assemblies, and they did not feel any disgust or take heed from the admonition of anyone who warned them or the advice of any intelligent person.
In that and other matters they were like cattle, rather they were even more astray in path. They did not stop what they were upon in the present, they did not feel regret for what had passed in the past, and they did not seek any change for the future. So Allah seized them with a severe seizing.
They said to him, among what they said:
ائْتِنَا بِعَذَابِ اللَّهِ إِن كُنتَ مِنَ الصَّادِقِينَ
“Bring upon us the punishment of Allah, if you are among the truthful.”(al Ankabut 29)
They actually asked him to bring upon them the very punishment he had warned them about, the painful punishment and the coming of severe hardship.
Lut’s Supplication against His People عليه السلام
At that point, their noble prophet supplicated against them. He asked the Lord of the universe and the God of the messengers to grant him victory over these corrupt people. Allah became jealous for His own sake and was angry for his anger, and He answered his supplication and granted him what he sought.
He sent His noble messengers, His mighty angels, and they passed by al Khalil Ibrahim عليه السلام and gave him good news of a knowledgeable son. They informed him also of the serious matter and the great decree for which they had been sent:
فَمَا خَطْبُكُمْ أَيُّهَا الْمُرْسَلُونَ قَالُوا إِنَّا أُرْسِلْنَا إِلَى قَوْمٍ مُّجْرِمِينَ لِنُرْسِلَ عَلَيْهِمْ حِجَارَةً مِّن طِينٍ مُّسَوَّمَةً عِندَ رَبِّكَ لِلْمُسْرِفِينَ
“He said, ‘So what is your business, messengers?’ They said, ‘We have been sent to a criminal people, so that We may send down upon them stones of clay, marked with your Lord for those who exceed all bounds.’”(al Dhariyat 31 to 34)
And He said:
وَلَمَّا جَاءَتْ رُسُلُنَا إِبْرَاهِيمَ بِالْبُشْرَى قَالُوا إِنَّا مُهْلِكُوا أَهْلِ هَذِهِ الْقَرْيَةِ إِنَّ أَهْلَهَا كَانُوا ظَالِمِينَ قَالَ إِنَّ فِيهَا لُوطًا قَالُوا نَحْنُ أَعْلَمُ بِمَن فِيهَا لَنُنَجِّيَنَّهُ وَأَهْلَهُ إِلَّا امْرَأَتَهُ كَانَتْ مِنَ الْغَابِرِينَ
“When Our messengers came to Ibrahim with good news, they said, ‘We are going to destroy the people of this town; its people have been wrongdoers.’ He said, ‘But Lut is in it.’ They said, ‘We know very well who is in it. We will certainly save him and his family, except his wife; she will be among those who stay behind.’”(al Ankabut 31 to 32)
Ibrahim’s Argument on Behalf of the People of Lut عليه السلام
Allah the Exalted said:
فَلَمَّا ذَهَبَ عَنْ إِبْرَاهِيمَ الرَّوْعُ وَجَاءَتْهُ الْبُشْرَى يُجَادِلُنَا فِي قَوْمِ لُوطٍ
“When the fear left Ibrahim and the good news came to him, he began to argue with Us about the people of Lut.”(Hud 74)
He did that because he hoped they might respond, turn back and submit. He hoped they might give up and return.
For that reason Allah said:
إِنَّ إِبْرَاهِيمَ لَحَلِيمٌ أَوَّاهٌ مُّنِيبٌ يَإِبْرَاهِيمُ أَعْرِضْ عَنْ هَذَا إِنَّهُ قَدْ جَاءَ أَمْرُ رَبِّكَ وَإِنَّهُمْ ءَاتِيهِمْ عَذَابٌ غَيْرُ مَرْدُودٍ
“Ibrahim was indeed gentle, pleading, turning constantly to Allah. ‘Ibrahim, turn away from this. The command of your Lord has come, and there will certainly come upon them a punishment that cannot be turned back.’”(Hud 75 to 76)
That is, leave this topic and speak about something else, because their matter has been decided, their punishment, destruction and ruin have become binding.
“The command of your Lord has come” means that the One whose command cannot be resisted and whose might cannot be turned back has commanded it, and there is no revising His judgement. “There will certainly come upon them a punishment that cannot be turned back.”
The Guests of Lut عليه السلام
Allah the Exalted said:
وَلَمَّا جَاءَتْ رُسُلُنَا لُوطًا سِيءَ بِهِمْ وَضَاقَ بِهِمْ ذَرْعًا وَقَالَ هَذَا يَوْمٌ عَصِيبٌ
“When Our messengers came to Lut, he was distressed on their account and felt constrained for them, and said, ‘This is a difficult day.’”(Hud 77)
The commentators said that when the angels departed from Ibrahim they were three, Jibril, Mikail and Israfil.
They went until they reached the land of Sodom in the form of handsome young men. This was a test from Allah the Exalted for the people of Lut and a way of establishing the proof against them.
They came to Lut عليه السلام as guests. That was near sunset. He was afraid that if he did not take them in as guests, someone else would host them. He thought they were human beings. So he “was distressed on their account and felt constrained for them” because of what he knew he would have to do that night defending them from his people, just as he used to defend other guests from them.
The people had already imposed on him a condition that he should not host anyone at all, but he saw in these guests people whom it was impossible not to protect.
His saying, “and before that they had been doing evil deeds” means that this was along with the great sins they had already been committing.
Lut’s Defence of His Guests عليه السلام
He said:
يَاقَوْمِ هَؤُلَاءِ بَنَاتِي هُنَّ أَطْهَرُ لَكُمْ
“My people, here are my daughters, they are purer for you.”(Hud 78)
He guided them towards approaching their own women. These were his daughters in law in the legal sense, because the prophet is in the place of a father for his community, as has come in the hadith, and as Allah said:
النَّبِيُّ أَوْلَى بِالْمُؤْمِنِينَ مِنْ أَنفُسِهِمْ وَأَزْوَاجُهُ أُمَّهَاتُهُمْ
“The Prophet is closer to the believers than their own selves, and his wives are their mothers.”(al Ahzab 6)
Some of the companions and earlier imams said, “and he is a father for them.” This is like Allah’s saying:
أَتَأْتُونَ الذُّكْرَانَ مِنَ الْعَالَمِينَ وَتَذَرُونَ مَا خَلَقَ لَكُمْ رَبُّكُم مِّنْ أَزْوَاجِكُم بَلْ أَنتُمْ قَوْمٌ عَادُونَ
“Do you approach males from the universe and leave what your Lord created for you of your wives? No, you are a people who exceed all bounds.”(al Shuara 165 to 166)
This is what was clearly stated by Mujahid, Said ibn Jubayr, al Rabi ibn Anas, Qatadah, al Suddi and Muhammad ibn Ishaq, and it is the correct view.
The other statement is false, taken from the People of the Book, and it has become distorted for them, just as they went wrong when they said that the angels were only two and that they had supper with him. The People of the Book have thoroughly muddled this story.
(This refers to the hadith of Abu Hurayrah, raised to the Prophet ﷺ: “I am to you like a father; I teach you” The hadith was narrated by Abu Dawud 8, al Nasa’i 40, Ibn Majah 313 and Ahmad 2/247–250 and others with a sound chain.) (As in the book of Genesis, chapter 19; in it there is what makes the forehead sweat from shame and is impossible regarding the messengers.)
Allah’s saying:
فَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَلَا تُخْزُونِ فِي ضَيْفِي أَلَيْسَ مِنكُمْ رَجُلٌ رَّشِيدٌ
“So fear Allah and do not disgrace me concerning my guests. Is there not among you a right minded man?”(Hud 78)
means that he forbade them from doing what did not befit them of this obscenity, and he bore witness against them that there was not among them a man with sound reason and any share of good at all. Rather they were all foolish sinners, strong in rebellion, unbelievers and stupid.
This was among the things the angels wanted to hear from him, before they informed him of what they had been commanded to do.
So his people, upon whom is the curse of Allah the Praiseworthy, the Glorious, answered their noble messenger with what shows how they had thrown off restraint and how bold they were toward their Lord:
لَقَدْ عَلِمْتَ مَا لَنَا فِي بَنَاتِكَ مِنْ حَقٍّ وَإِنَّكَ لَتَعْلَمُ مَا نُرِيدُ
“They said, ‘You know that we have no desire for your daughters, and you know very well what we want.’”(Hud 79)
They were saying, may the curses of Allah be upon them, “You know, Lut, that we have no interest in our women, and you know what our aim and wish are.”
They confronted their noble messenger with this foul speech and did not fear the might of the Almighty, possessor of painful punishment. For that reason he عليه السلام said:
لَوْ أَنَّ لِي بِكُمْ قُوَّةً أَوْ ءَاوِي إِلَى رُكْنٍ شَدِيدٍ
“If only I had strength against you, or I could take refuge in a strong support.”(Hud 80)
He wished that he had power over them, or that he had a strong clan and tribe who would support him against them, so that he could inflict on them what they deserved of punishment for such speech.
In another wording from him, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “May Allah have mercy on Lut. He used to take refuge in a strong support, meaning Allah the Mighty and Majestic. No prophet was sent after him except that he was in strength and numbers among his people.” (Narrated by Ahmad 2/332 with a hasan chain.)
Allah the Exalted said:
وَجَاءَ أَهْلُ الْمَدِينَةِ يَسْتَبْشِرُونَ قَالَ إِنَّ هَؤُلَاءِ ضَيْفِي فَلَا تَفْضَحُونِ وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَلَا تُخْزُونِ قَالُوا أَوَلَمْ نَنْهَكَ عَنِ الْعَالَمِينَ قَالَ هَؤُلَاءِ بَنَاتِي إِن كُنتُمْ فَاعِلِينَ
“The people of the city came rejoicing. He said, ‘These are my guests, so do not disgrace me, and fear Allah and do not shame me.’ They said, ‘Did we not forbid you from [protecting] people?’ He said, ‘These are my daughters, if you are going to do anything.’”(al Hijr 67 to 71)
He commanded them again to go to their women, and he warned them against staying on their path and their evil actions.
Yet they did not stop and did not take heed. Rather every time he forbade them, they increased in insistence on what they were in.
All of their concern was to reach these guests. They longed intensely for them and were eager to get to them. They did not know what had been decreed about them, where they would be taken on the morning of the next day, to which they would be overturned.
Allah the Exalted therefore swore by the life of His Prophet Muhammad ﷺ when He said:
لَعَمْرُكَ إِنَّهُمْ لَفِي سَكْرَتِهِمْ يَعْمَهُونَ
“By your life, they were wandering blindly in their drunkenness.”(al Hijr 72)
The Destruction of the People of Lut and the Descent of Punishment
Allah the Exalted said:
وَلَقَدْ أَنذَرَهُم بَطْشَتَنَا فَتَمَارَوْا بِالنُّذُرِ وَلَقَدْ رَاوَدُوهُ عَن ضَيْفِهِ فَطَمَسْنَا أَعْيُنَهُمْ فَذُوقُوا عَذَابِي وَنُذُرِ وَلَقَدْ صَبَّحَهُم بُكْرَةً عَذَابٌ مُّسْتَقِرٌّ
“He had already warned them of Our strong grip, but they disputed the warnings. They tried to tempt him away from his guests, so We blinded their eyes. ‘So taste My punishment and My warnings.’ A lasting punishment caught them in the early morning.”(al Qamar 36 to 38)
The commentators and others mentioned that the prophet of Allah Lut عليه السلام kept pushing his people away from his door and holding them back, while the door was shut.
They were trying to force it open and enter. He was admonishing them and forbidding them from behind the door, while they continued in their insistence and burning desire.
When the matter became very tight and the situation very hard, he said what he said:
لَوْ أَنَّ لِي بِكُمْ قُوَّةً أَوْ ءَاوِي إِلَى رُكْنٍ شَدِيدٍ
“If only I had strength against you, or I could take refuge in a strong support.”(Hud 80)
The angels then said:
يَلُوطُ إِنَّا رُسُلُ رَبِّكَ لَن يَصِلُوا إِلَيْكَ
“Lut, we are messengers of your Lord. They will never reach you.”(Hud 81)
It is mentioned that Jibril عليه السلام went out to them and struck their faces with the tip of his wing, and their eyes were wiped out so that it is said their eyes sank completely and no place for an eye and no trace remained.
They returned feeling along the walls, threatening the messenger of the Most Merciful and saying, “Tomorrow morning we will have a matter with him.”
Allah the Exalted said:
وَلَقَدْ رَاوَدُوهُ عَن ضَيْفِهِ فَطَمَسْنَا أَعْيُنَهُمْ فَذُوقُوا عَذَابِي وَنُذُرِ وَلَقَدْ صَبَّحَهُم بُكْرَةً عَذَابٌ مُّسْتَقِرٌّ
“They tried to tempt him away from his guests, so We blinded their eyes. ‘So taste My punishment and My warnings.’ A lasting punishment caught them in the early morning.”(al Qamar 37 to 38)
The angels had already instructed Lut عليه السلام to travel by night, at the end of the night, with his family. They said, “and let none of you look back” meaning at the sound of the punishment when it falls upon his people.
They ordered him to walk behind his family, in the rear, so that no one would lag behind.
Allah’s saying:
إِلَّا امْرَأَتَكَ
“except your wife”(Hud 81)
according to the recitation where it is in the accusative case, can be understood as an exception from His saying, “So travel with your family” as if He were saying, “except your wife, do not take her with you.”
It can also be understood as an exception from His saying, “let none of you look back, except your wife,” that is, she will look back, so what strikes them will strike her.
This second meaning is strengthened by the recitation where it is in the nominative case, but the first is clearer in meaning, and Allah knows best.
They then gave him the good news of the destruction of those rebels and tyrants, those cursed people and their likes, whom Allah made leaders for all treacherous doubters. They said:
إِنَّ مَوْعِدَهُمُ الصُّبْحُ أَلَيْسَ الصُّبْحُ بِقَرِيبٍ
“Their appointed time is the morning. Is not the morning near?”(Hud 81)
When Lut عليه السلام went out with his family, who were two daughters, it is said that no man from among his people followed him at all. It is also said that his wife did go out with him. Allah knows best.
When they had left their land and the sun rose and reached the time of sunrise, there came upon them from the command of Allah what could not be turned back and from the severe punishment what could not be repelled.
Allah the Exalted said:
فَلَمَّا جَاءَ أَمْرُنَا جَعَلْنَا عَالِيَهَا سَافِلَهَا وَأَمْطَرْنَا عَلَيْهَا حِجَارَةً مِّن سِجِّيلٍ مَّنضُودٍ مُّسَوَّمَةً عِندَ رَبِّكَ وَمَا هِيَ مِنَ الظَّالِمِينَ بِبَعِيدٍ
“When Our command came, We turned that town upside down and rained upon it stones of baked clay in layers, marked with your Lord, and they are not far from the wrongdoers.”(Hud 82 to 83)
They said that Jibril uprooted their towns from their foundations with the tip of his wing, with all who were in them from communities and what was with them of animals and what belonged to those towns of lands, places and cultivated fields.
He raised them up until he reached the sky, so that the angels heard the crowing of their cocks and the barking of their dogs. Then he turned them over upon them and made their highest part their lowest.
Allah’s saying:
وَأَمْطَرْنَا عَلَيْهَا حِجَارَةً مِّن سِجِّيلٍ
“And We rained upon them stones of baked clay”(Hud 82)
means that the sijl is a Persian word that has been made Arabic, meaning hard, strong and solid. “In layers” means that the stones followed one another upon them from the sky.
“Marked” means each stone was distinct and written upon, with the name of the person it would fall upon, striking his head and crushing him. As Allah said:
مُّسَوَّمَةً عِندَ رَبِّكَ لِلْمُسْرِفِينَ
“marked with your Lord for those who exceed all bounds.”(al Dhariyat 34)
And He said:
وَأَمْطَرْنَا عَلَيْهِم مَّطَرًا فَسَاءَ مَطَرُ الْمُنذَرِينَ
“We rained upon them a rain, so how evil was the rain of those who had been warned.”(al Naml 58)
And He said:
وَالْمُؤْتَفِكَةَ أَهْوَى فَغَشَّاهَا مَا غَشَّى فَبِأَيِّ آلَاءِ رَبِّكَ تَتَمَارَى
“And He overturned the ruined towns and covered them with what He covered them. So which of the favours of your Lord do you doubt?”(al Najm 53 to 55)
That is, He overturned them, casting them down, their highest part becoming their lowest, and He covered them with a rain of stones of sijl in succession, marked and written.
Each stone had upon it the name of its owner, and it fell upon him, whether he was present in the town or away from it on a journey, one of those who belonged to it and had left it.
The Story of the Wife of Lut عليه السلام and What Happened to Her
It is said that the wife of Lut remained with his people. It is also said that she did go out with her husband and his two daughters, but when she heard the terrifying shout and the fall of the town, she looked back at her people, disobeying the command of her Lord both in the past and the present, and she cried out, “My people!”
A stone then fell upon her, crushed her head and attached her to her people, since she had been upon their religion. She used to be an informer for them about any guest who came to Lut.
Allah said:
ضَرَبَ اللَّهُ مَثَلًا لِّلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا امْرَأَتَ نُوحٍ وَامْرَأَتَ لُوطٍ كَانَتَا تَحْتَ عَبْدَيْنِ مِنْ عِبَادِنَا صَالِحَيْنِ فَخَانَتَاهُمَا فَلَمْ يُغْنِيَا عَنْهُمَا مِنَ اللَّهِ شَيْئًا وَقِيلَ ادْخُلَا النَّارَ مَعَ الدَّاخِلِينَ
“Allah sets forth as an example for those who disbelieve the wife of Nuh and the wife of Lut. They were under two servants of Ours who were righteous, but they both betrayed them, so those two prophets did not benefit them at all against Allah, and it was said, ‘Enter the Fire with those who enter.’”(al Tahrim 10)
That is, they betrayed them in religion, not that they committed indecency.
That is impossible. Allah never decreed for any prophet that his wife should be unchaste, as Ibn Abbas and other leading imams of the earlier and later generations said. Whoever says otherwise has made a very great error.
Allah said in the story of the great slander, when He sent down the declaration of innocence for the mother of the believers Aisha bint al Siddiq, the wife of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, after the people of slander said about her what they said. He rebuked the believers, warned and admonished them and said:
إِذْ تَلَقَّوْنَهُ بِأَلْسِنَتِكُمْ وَتَقُولُونَ بِأَفْوَاهِكُم مَّا لَيْسَ لَكُم بِهِ عِلْمٌ وَتَحْسَبُونَهُ هَيِّنًا وَهُوَ عِندَ اللَّهِ عَظِيمٌ وَلَوْلَا إِذْ سَمِعْتُمُوهُ قُلْتُم مَّا يَكُونُ لَنَا أَن نَّتَكَلَّمَ بِهَذَا سُبْحَانَكَ هَذَا بُهْتَانٌ عَظِيمٌ
“When you receive it with your tongues and say with your mouths what you have no knowledge of, and you think it light while with Allah it is very great. Why, when you heard it, did you not say, ‘It is not for us to speak about this. Glory be to You, this is a terrible slander.’”(al Nur 15 to 16)
That is, Glory be to You that the wife of Your prophet should be in such a state.
The Punishment of Whoever Does the Deeds of the People of Lut
His saying here:
وَمَا هِيَ مِنَ الظَّالِمِينَ بِبَعِيدٍ
“and they are not far from the wrongdoers.”(Hud 83)
means that this punishment is not far from anyone who resembles them in their deeds. For that reason some of the imams held that the one who commits the act of the people of Lut is to be stoned, whether he is previously married or not.
This was clearly stated by the Imams al Shafii and Ahmad ibn Hanbal and a large group of other imams.
Abu Hanifah held that the one who commits this act is to be thrown from the top of a high mountain and then stones are thrown at him, as was done to the people of Lut, because of Allah’s saying, “and they are not far from the wrongdoers.”
“You Pass By Them Morning and Night”
Allah made the place of those towns a foul lake (This lake is what is called the Dead Sea. It is the lowest place on the surface of the earth) and its water cannot be benefited from and whose surrounding land, close to its shores, cannot be used because of its badness and vileness.
It has become a lesson, an example, an admonition and a clear sign of the power of Allah the Exalted and His greatness and His might in taking revenge from whoever opposes His command, rejects His messengers, follows his desire and disobeys his Master.
It is also proof of His mercy toward His believing slaves, in that He saves them from the destroyers and takes them out from darkness into light, as He said:
إِنَّ فِي ذَلِكَ لَآيَةً وَمَا كَانَ أَكْثَرُهُم مُّؤْمِنِينَ وَإِنَّ رَبَّكَ لَهُوَ الْعَزِيزُ الرَّحِيمُ
“In that there is a sign, but most of them were not believers. Your Lord is surely the Mighty, the Merciful.”(al Shuara 8 to 9)
And Allah the Exalted said:
فَأَخَذَتْهُمُ الصَّيْحَةُ مُشْرِقِينَ فَجَعَلْنَا عَالِيَهَا سَافِلَهَا وَأَمْطَرْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ حِجَارَةً مِّن سِجِّيلٍ إِنَّ فِي ذَلِكَ لَآيَاتٍ لِّلْمُتَوَسِّمِينَ وَإِنَّهَا لَبِسَبِيلٍ مُّقِيمٍ إِنَّ فِي ذَلِكَ لَآيَةً لِّلْمُؤْمِنِينَ
“So the blast seized them at sunrise. We turned that town upside down and rained upon them stones of baked clay. In that there are signs for those who read the signs. It lies on a clearly established road. In that there is a sign for the believers.”(al Hijr 73 to 77)
That is, for whoever looks with the eye of insight and understanding, he will see how Allah changed that land and its people, how He made it, after it had been inhabited and flourishing, destroyed and submerged.
Allah’s saying:
وَإِنَّهَا لَبِسَبِيلٍ مُّقِيمٍ
“It lies on a clearly established road”(al Hijr 76)
means that it is on a clear highway, a visible route that is still travelled to this day, as He said:
وَإِنَّكُمْ لَتَمُرُّونَ عَلَيْهِم مُّصْبِحِينَ وَبِاللَّيْلِ أَفَلَا تَعْقِلُونَ
“You certainly pass by their ruins in the morning and at night. Will you not understand?”(al Saffat 137 to 138)
And He the Exalted said:
وَلَقَد تَرَكْنَا مِنْهَا آيَةً بَيِّنَةً لِقَوْمٍ يَعْقِلُونَ
“We have certainly left from that town a clear sign for people who use their minds.”(al Ankabut 35)
And He said:
فَأَخْرَجْنَا مَن كَانَ فِيهَا مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ فَمَا وَجَدْنَا فِيهَا غَيْرَ بَيْتٍ مِّنَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ وَتَرَكْنَا فِيهَا آيَةً لِّلَّذِينَ يَخَافُونَ الْعَذَابَ الْأَلِيمَ
“Then We brought out from that town whoever was among the believers. We did not find in it any except one house of Muslims, and We left there a sign for those who fear the painful punishment.”(al Dhariyat 35 to 37)
That is, We left it as a lesson and admonition for whoever fears the punishment of the Next Life, who fears the Most Merciful in the unseen, fears meeting his Lord and forbids his own self from desire. Such a person will hold back from the prohibitions of Allah, leave His acts of disobedience and fear resembling the people of Lut.
Whoever resembles a people is from them, even if not in every way, then at least in some ways, as one of them said:
“If you are not exactly the people of Lut, they are not far from you.”
So the intelligent, understanding, fearful person obeys what Allah has commanded him. He accepts what the Messenger of Allah ﷺ has directed him to, which is to come to what Allah created for him from lawful wives and slave girls of beauty. He must beware of following every rebellious devil, and so the threat becomes binding upon him, and he enters into His saying:
وَمَا هِيَ مِنَ الظَّالِمِينَ بِبَعِيدٍ
“and they are not far from the wrongdoers.”(Hud 83)
