Tafsir of Surah Al-Hijr - Verse 64

The Angels coming to Lut

Allah tells us about when the angels came to Lut in the form of young men with handsome faces. When they entered his home, he said:

قَالَ إِنَّكُمْ قَوْمٌ مُّنكَرُونَ - قَالُواْ بَلْ جِئْنَـكَ بِمَا كَانُواْ فِيهِ يَمْتَرُونَ

("Verily, you are people unknown to me." They said: "Nay, we have come to you with that (torment) which they have been doubting.") meaning that they were bringing the punishment and destruction that the people doubted they would ever suffer from.

وَآتَيْنَـكَ بِالْحَقِّ

(And we have brought you the truth) is like the Ayah,

مَا نُنَزِّلُ الْمَلَـئِكَةَ إِلاَّ بِالحَقِّ

(We do not send the angels down except with the truth) 15:8 and

وِإِنَّا لَصَـدِقُونَ

(and certainly, we tell the truth.) They said this in affirmation of the news that they brought him, that he would be saved and his people would be destroyed.

From verse 48: لَا يَمَسُّهُمْ فِيهَا نَصَبٌ وَمَا هُم مِّنْهَا بِمُخْرَ‌جِينَ (No weariness shall touch them therein nor will they be expelled from there), we learn about two features of Jannah: (1) No one shall ever feel tired or weak. This is contrary to what happens in our mortal world where hard work naturally results in fatigue. In fact, even a state of total rest and fun would sometimes tire a person out, no matter how enjoyable are things one is occupied with. (2) The other feature of Jannah we discover is that the blessings once received there shall be eternal. These blessings shall never diminish nor shall anyone be expelled from there. In Surah Sad, it was said:إِنَّ هَـٰذَا لَرِ‌زْقُنَا مَا لَهُ مِن نَّفَادٍ (This is sustenance provided by Us which is never to exhaust - 38:54). And in the present verse, it was said: وَمَا هُم مِّنْهَا بِمُخْرَ‌جِينَ (nor will they be expelled from there) that is, they shall never be deprived of the state of bliss bestowed upon them. This is contrary to the affairs of the mortal world where the recipient of the best of conveniences lives under the apprehension that the Over of the facilities may become displeased with him one of those days and expel him out.

As for the third probability, that the blessings of Jannah may remain everlasting, nor one is expelled from there, but one may himself get bored by living there and wish to go out, the Qur’ an has demolished this probability in one sentence of Surah Al-Kahf with the following words: لَا يَبْغُونَ عَنْهَا حِوَلًا (That is, these people too would never seek to return from there - 18:108).

It was one command with which the angels had gone to Abraham. It was another command with which they reached Lot. The first command was in the shape of a special gift from God and the second one was in the shape of God’s special punishment. Those angels had come to Lot in the shape of human beings. Their task was to carry into effect God’s verdict upon the prophet’s rejectors. According to the angels’ advice, Lot along with other people of the Faith, left the town in the darkness of the night. Thereafter, in the early morning the whole area was devastated by the explosions of a severe earthquake. All the deniers were summarily killed. Where did this devastation take place? It took place in this very world which they had considered their own world; in which all appeared to them their comrades and supporters. That very plan which a man considered his key to success becomes an instrument of destruction for him, if God so commands. That very palace of which a man is so proud is turned into a ruin, like a heap of debris descending upon him.