Tafsir of Surah Hood - Verse 83

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

Allah, the Exalted, says,

فَلَمَّا جَآءَ أَمْرُنَا

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

جَعَلْنَا عَـلِيَهَا

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

سَافِلَهَا

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

فَغَشَّـهَا مَا غَشَّى

(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,

حِجَارَةً مِّن طِينٍ

(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,

مَّنْضُودٍ

(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,

مَّنْضُودٍ

(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,

مُّسَوَّمَةً

(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,

وَمَا هِى مِنَ الظَّـلِمِينَ بِبَعِيدٍ

(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 ,

«مَنْ وَجَدْتُمُوهُ يَعْمَلُ عَمَلَ قَوْمِ لُوطٍ فَاقْتُلُوا الْفَاعِلَ وَالْمَفْعُولَ بِه»

(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).)

At the end of the verse (83), after having mentioned the actual punishment that hit the people of Sayyidna Lut (علیہ السلام) was to warn the contemporary peoples of the world that it was said: وَمَا هِيَ مِنَ الظَّالِمِينَ بِبَعِيدٍ (And it is not far from the transgressors). It means that people who insist upon indulging in this shameful act should not consider themselves very far from this punishment. It can come even today. The Holy Prophet said, ` even in my Ummah, some people will do what the people of Lut (علیہ السلام) used to do. When this starts happening, then wait, for they too would be subjected to the same punishment that was inflicted on the people of Lut (علیہ السلام) .'

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.