Tafsir of Surah Hood - Verse 80

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 ﷺ 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 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 Luts 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 عَـلِيَهَا سَافِلَهَا وَأَمْطَرْنَا عَلَيْهَا حِجَارَةً مِّن سِجِّيلٍ مَّنْضُودٍ

Totally exasperated, what Sayyidna Lut (علیہ السلام) could say at that time was: لَوْ أَنَّ لِي بِكُمْ قُوَّةً أَوْ آوِي إِلَىٰ رُ‌كْنٍ شَدِيدٍ that is, ` only if I had enough strength in me to stand against this onslaught by my people, or that I had the backing of some strong group who would have helped me get rid of these oppressors.'

Seeing this anxiety of Sayyidna Lut (علیہ السلام) the angels disclosed their identity and said, ` do not worry. Your group is very strong and very powerful. We are angels of Allah. They cannot touch us. We have come to execute the punishment for them.'

It appears in a Hadith of the Sahih of al-Bukhari that the Holy Prophet ﷺ said about it, ` may Allah Ta` ala have mercy on Lut (علیہ السلام) . He was compelled to seek the protection of some strong group.' And the report in Tirmidhi carries another sentence with it, ` after Sayyidna Lut (علیہ السلام) ، Allah Ta’ ala sent no prophet whose clan or tribe was not his supporter.' (Qurtubi) This was true in the case of the Holy Prophet ﷺ . The disbelieving Quraysh did everything they could against him, but his entire clan supported him - though, they did not agree with him religion-wise. This was the reason why Banu Hashim as a whole sided with the Holy Prophet ﷺ in the boycott imposed by the Quraysh disbelievers whereby they had cut off essential supplies to him.

During this episode, as reported from Sayyidna ` Abdullah ibn ` Abbas ؓ when the people of Sayyidna Lut (علیہ السلام) mobbed his home, he had closed the entrance door. The conversation with these wicked people was going on from behind it. The angels too were inside. The mob was threatening to jump the walls, barge in and break the door. Thereupon, came these words on the lips of Sayyidna Lut (علیہ السلام) . When the angels saw this anxiety of Sayyidna Lut (علیہ السلام) they disclosed their real identity and asked him to open the door. It was time that they took over and gave the miscreants a foretaste of the Divine punishment. When the door was opened, archangel Jibra'il (علیہ السلام) pointed his 'Feather' towards their eyes. They turned blind and started running.

At first, Lot considered the young men who came to him as human beings. When he became anxious, thinking he was in danger, one of them clarified that they were angels and had been sent by God. In other words, this was not an affair of human beings but a divine matter. As the angels put it, ‘These people will not be able to harm you or us.’ When the townspeople persisted in advancing, one of the angels moved his arm, whereupon all of them became blind and turned back saying, ‘Run away! Lot’s guests appear to be great magicians.’ When God decides to destroy a community because of their arrogance, His will prevails throughout the entire area where they live. On such an occasion, all the living things settled there are affected by God’s retribution. However, by God’s special grace, those who had uttered the truth to these arrogant people, are saved. Conveying the message of God to man provides the best guarantee of avoiding being seized upon by God in this world as well as in the Hereafter. It is recorded in a tradition that, at heart, Lot’s wife was not on his side. But at the last moment, when Lot was leaving the town, saying that by morning God’s punishment would be meted out there, she joined Lot’s caravan. However, while Lot’s people were still on the way, the terrible noise of an earthquake and a storm could be heard from behind. Lot and his trustworthy companions did not pay any attention to what was happening in the rear. But Lot’s wife turned to look behind her. When she saw a dust-storm and heard the noise, she uttered the words, ‘Alas! my community!’ At that moment a stone hit her as a punishment and she dropped dead there and then. This incident has a lesson in it. One who is not really loyal to God and His Prophet will not be safeguarded by joining the caravan of righteous people under the influence of some factor other than the fear of God. His weakness will come to light somewhere or the other and he will be doomed.