Худ 11:74–84

The Dispute of Ibrahim over the People of Lut

Allah, the Exalted, informs of what happened after the fright of Ibrahim left him and he felt no more fear of the angels when they refused to eat. After this, they gave him the glad tidings of the birth of a son and the destruction of the people of Lut. When they told him of this, he spoke to them as Sa`id bin Jubayr narrated concerning this verse. Sa`id said: When Jibril and the other angels who were with him came to Ibrahim, they said,

(Verily, we are going to destroy the people of this town.) Ibrahim said to them, "Will you destroy a town that has three hundred believers in it" They said, "No." He then said, "Will you destroy a town that has two hundred believers in it" They said, "No." He said, "Will you destroy a town that has forty believers in it" They said, "No." He then said, "Thirty" They still replied, "No." This continued until he said, "Five" They said, "No." Then he said, "What do you think if there is one Muslim man in the town, would you destroy it" They said, "No." With this, Ibrahim said,

(But there is Lut in it. They said: "We know better who is there. We will verily, save him and his family except his wife.") Therefore, Ibrahim remained silent and his soul was at rest. Concerning Allah's statement,

(Verily, Ibrahim was, without doubt, forbearing, used to invoke Alllah with humility, and was repentant (to Allah).) 11:75 This is a commendation for Ibrahim because of these beautiful characteristics. Then Allah says,

(O Ibrahim! Forsake this. Indeed, the commandment of your Lord has gone forth.) This means the decree was settled concerning them and the Word was already given that they should be destroyed. The evil torment was coming to them, that cannot be averted from wicked people.

The Coming of the Angels to Lut, His Grief, and His Discussion with His People

Allah, the Exalted, informs about the coming of His messenger angels. After they informed Ibrahim of their mission to destroy the people of Lut, they left him and set out to destroy Lut's people that very night. After leaving Ibrahim, they came to Lut. Some say that they came to him while he was on a piece of land that belonged to him. Others say that they came to him while he was in his home. They approached him while they were in the most handsome of forms. They appeared in the forms of young men with handsome faces. This was a test from Allah that contained much wisdom and a firm evidence. Their appearance saddened him (Lut) and he felt grief in his soul because of them. He was afraid that if he did not host them as his guests, someone else of his people would host them and harm them.

(He said: "This is a distressful day.") Ibn `Abbas and others said that this means, "A severe test for him." This was because he knew that he would have to defend them and it would cause great problems for him. Qatadah said, "They came to him while he was on a piece of land that belonged to him. They requested him to host them. He agreed, but he was shy of them and he walked in front of them. On the way to his home he said to them in attempt to convince them to go away, `By Allah, I do not know any people on the face of the earth more wicked and disgusting than these people of this town.' Then he walked on a little further. Then he repeated the same statement to them. He continued doing this until he had repeated the same thing four times." Then Qatadah said, "They were ordered not to destroy them until their Prophet testified against them of this." Concerning Allah's statement,

(rushing towards him.) meaning, they made haste and rushed due to their delight of this (new young men). Concerning the statement,

(and since aforetime they used to commit crimes.) This means that this did not cease being their behavior until they were seized (by Allah's torment) and they were still in the same condition.

(He said: "O my people! Here are my daughters (the women of the nation), they are purer for you...") This was his attempt to direct them to their women, for verily the Prophet is like a father for his nation. Therefore, he tries to guide them to that which is better for them in this life and the Hereafter. This is similar to his statement to them in another verse,

(Go you in unto the males of the nation, and leave those whom Allah has created for you to be your wives Nay, you are a trespassing people!)26:165-166 Allah said in another verse,

(They (the people of the city) said: "Did we not forbid you from entertaining any of the `Alamin")15:70 This means, "Didn't we forbid you from hosting men (male) guests"

(Lut said: "These (the girls of the nation) are my daughters, if you must act (so)." Verily, by your life, in their wild intoxication, they were wandering blindly.)15:71-72 Then, Allah said, in this noble verse,

(Here are my daughters, they are purer for you.) Mujahid said, "Actually, they were not his daughters, but they were from among his nation. Every Prophet is like a father to his nation." A similar statement has been reported from Qatadah and others. Concerning the statement,

(So have Taqwa of Allah and disgrace me not with regard to my guests!) This means, "Accept what I command you by limiting the fulfillment of your desires to your women."

(Is there not among you a single right-minded man) This means, "Is there not a good man among you who will accept what I am enjoining upon you and abandon what I have forbidden for you"

(They said: "Surely, you know that we have no need of your daughters...") This means, "Verily, you know that we do not want our women, nor do we desire them."

(and indeed you know well what we want!) This means, "We only want males and you know that. So what need is there for you to continue speaking to us about this"

Lut's Inability, His Desire for Strength and the Angels' Informing Him of the Reality

Allah, the Exalted, says that Lut was threatening them with his statement,

لَوْ أَنَّ لِى بِكُمْ قُوَّةً

(Would that I had strength (men) to overpower you,) meaning, 'I would surely have made an example of you and done (harm) to you from myself and my family.' In this regard, there is a Hadith which is reported from Abu Hurayrah that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said,

«رَحْمَةُ اللهِ عَلَى لُوطٍ لَقَدْ كَانَ يَأْوِي إِلَى رُكْنٍ شَدِيد»

يَعْنِي اللهَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ

«فَمَا بَعَثَ اللهُ بَعْدَهُ مِنْ نَبِيَ إِلَّا فِي ثَرْوَةٍ مِنْ قَوْمِه»

(May Allah's mercy be upon Lut, for verily, he betook himself to a powerful support --meaning Allah, the Mighty and Sublime. Allah did not send any Prophet after him, except amidst an influential family among his people.) With this, the angels informed him that they were the messengers of Allah sent to them. They also told him that his people would not be able to reach him (with any harm).

قَالُواْ يلُوطُ إِنَّا رُسُلُ رَبِّكَ لَن يَصِلُواْ إِلَيْكَ

(They (messengers said): "O Lut! Verily, we are the messengers from your Lord! They shall not reach you!) They commanded him to travel with his family during the last part of the night and that he should follow them from behind. In this way it would be as though he were driving his family (as a cattle herder).

وَلاَ يَلْتَفِتْ مِنكُمْ أَحَدٌ

(and let not any of you look back;) This means, "If you hear the sound of what (torment) befalls them (the people of the village), do not rush towards that disturbing noise. Rather, continue leaving."

إِلاَّ امْرَأَتَكَ

(but your wife,) Most of the scholars said that this means that she would not travel at night and she did not go with Lut. Rather, she stayed in her house and was destroyed. Others said that it means that she looked back (during the travel). This later group says that she left with them and when she heard the inevitable destruction, she turned and looked back. When she looked, she said, "O my people!" Thus, a stone came down from the sky and killed her. Then they (the angels) brought close to him the destruction of his people as good news for him, because he said to them, "Destroy them in this very hour." They replied,

إِنَّ مَوْعِدَهُمُ الصُّبْحُ أَلَيْسَ الصُّبْحُ بِقَرِيبٍ

(Indeed, morning is their appointed time. Is not the morning near) They were saying this while Lut's people were standing at his door. They tried to rush his door from all sides, and Lut was standing at the door repelling them, deterring them, and trying to prevent them from what they were doing. Yet, they would not listen to him. Instead, they threatened him and sought to intimidate him. At this point, Jibril came out to them and struck them in their faces with his wing. This blow blinded their eyes, and they retreated, unable to see their way. This is as Allah said,

وَلَقَدْ رَاوَدُوهُ عَن ضَيْفِهِ فَطَمَسْنَآ أَعْيُنَهُمْ فَذُوقُواْ عَذَابِى وَنُذُرِ

(And they indeed sought to shame his guest (asking to commit sodomy with them). So We blinded their eyes (saying), "Then taste you My torment and My warnings.")54:37

فَلَمَّا جَآءَ أَمْرُنَا جَعَلْنَا عَلِيَهَا سَافِلَهَا وَأَمْطَرْنَا عَلَيْهَا حِجَارَةً مِّن سِجِّيلٍ مَّنْضُودٍ

The Town of Lut's People is overturned and Their Destruction

Allah, the Exalted, says,

(So when Our commandment came,) This happened at sunrise.

(We turned it...) The city of Sadum (Sodom)

(upside down,) This is similar to Allah's statement,

(So there covered them that which did cover (torment with stones).)53:54 This means, "We rained upon it with stones made of Sijjil." Sijjil is a Persian word meaning stones made of clay. This definition has been mentioned by Ibn `Abbas and others. Some of the scholars said that it (Sijjil) derived from the word Sang, which means a stone. Some others said it means Wakil, which is clay. In another verse Allah says,

(the stones of clay,) This means clay made into strong, hard stone. Some of the scholars said it means baked clay. Al-Bukhari said, "Sijjil means that which is big and strong." Concerning Allah's statement,

(in an array. ) Some of the scholars said that Mandud means the stones were arranged in the heavens and prepared for that (destruction). Others said,

(in an array.) This word means that some of them (the stones) followed others in their descent upon the people of Lut. Concerning the statement,

(Marked) meaning the stones were marked and sealed, all of them having the names of their victims written on them. Qatadah and `Ikrimah both said, "Musawwamah means each stone was encompassed by a sprinkling of red coloring." The commentators have mentioned that it (the shower of stones) descended upon the people of the town and upon the various villages around it. One of them would be speaking with some people when a stone would strike him from the sky and kill him while he was among the people. Thus, the stones followed them, striking the people in the entire land until they destroyed them all. Not a single one of them remained. Concerning Allah's statement,

(and they are not ever far from the wrongdoers.) This means that this vengeance (of Allah) is not far from similar wrongdoers. Verily, it has been reported in a Hadith of the Sunan collections, from Ibn `Abbas, which he attributed to the Prophet ,

(Whoever you find doing the deed of Lut's people homosexuality, then kill the doer and the one who allows it to be done to him (both partners).)

The Story of the People of Madyan and the Call of Shu`ayb

Allah, the Exalted, says, `We sent a Messenger to the people of Madyan.' They were a tribe of Arabs who lived between the land of the Al-Hijaz and Ash-Sham, close to the land of Ma`an. Their land was known by the name of their tribe and was thus, called Madyan. Allah sent unto them the Prophet Shu`ayb and he was of the noblest of them in lineage. For this reason, Allah said,

(their brother Shu`ayb.) Shu`ayb commanded them to worship Allah alone without associating any partners with him. He also prohibited them from cheating in their weights and measures (for business transactions).

(I see you in prosperity) meaning, `in your livelihood and your provisions. And verily, I fear that you will be deprived of this bounty that you are enjoying by violating Allah's prohibitions.'

(and verily, I fear for you the torment of a Day encompassing.) This means the abode of the Hereafter.