Tafsir of Surah An-Naml - Verse 58

Lut and His People

Allah tells us about His servant and Messenger Lut, peace be upon him, and how he warned his people of Allah's punishment for committing an act of immorality which no human ever committed before them -- intercourse with males instead of females. This is a major sin, whereby men are satisfied with men and women are with women (i.e., homosexuality). Lut said:

أَتَأْتُونَ الْفَـحِشَةَ وَأَنتُمْ تُبْصِرُونَ

(Do you commit immoral sins while you see) meaning, `while you see one another, and you practice every kind of evil in your meetings.'

أَءِنَّكُمْ لَتَأْتُونَ الرِّجَالَ شَهْوَةً مِّن دُونِ النِّسَآءِ بَلْ أَنتُمْ قَوْمٌ تَجْهَلُونَ

(Do you practice your lusts on men instead of women Nay, but you are a people who behave senselessly.) means, `you do not know anything of what is natural or what is prescribed by Allah.' This is like the Ayah:

أَتَأْتُونَ الذُّكْرَانَ مِنَ الْعَـلَمِينَ - وَتَذَرُونَ مَا خَلَقَ لَكُمْ رَبُّكُمْ مِّنْ أَزْوَجِكُمْ بَلْ أَنتُمْ قَوْمٌ عَادُونَ

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

فَمَا كَانَ جَوَابَ قَوْمِهِ إِلاَّ أَن قَالُواْ أَخْرِجُواْ ءَالَ لُوطٍ مِّن قَرْيَتِكُمْ إِنَّهمْ أُنَاسٌ يَتَطَهَّرُونَ

(There was no other answer given by his people except that they said: "Drive out the family of Lut from your city. Verily, these are men who want to be clean and pure!") means, `they feel embarrassed because of the deeds you are doing, and because you approve of your actions, so expel them from among yourselves, for they are not fit to live among you in your city.' So, the people resolved to do that, and Allah destroyed them, and a similar end awaits the disbelievers. Allah says:

فَأَنجَيْنَـهُ وَأَهْلَهُ إِلاَّ امْرَأَتَهُ قَدَّرْنَـهَا مِنَ الْغَـبِرِينَ

(So, We saved him and his family, except his wife. We destined her to be of those who remained behind.) meaning, she was one of those who were destroyed, with her people, because she was a helper to what they did and she approved of their evil deeds. She told them about the guests of Lut so that they could come to them. She did not do the evil deeds herself, which was because of the honor of the Lut and not because of any honor on her part.

وَأَمْطَرْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ مَّطَرًا

(And We rained down on them a rain.) means; stones of Sijjil, in a well-arranged manner one after another. Marked from your Lord; and they are not ever far from the evildoers. Allah said:

فَسَآءَ مَطَرُ الْمُنذَرِينَ

(So, evil was the rain of those who were warned.) meaning, those against whom proof was established and whom the warning reached, but they went against the Messenger and denied him, and resolved to drive him out from among them.

لَنُبَيِّتَنَّهُ وَأَهْلَهُ ثُمَّ لَنَقُولَنَّ لِوَلِيِّهِ مَا شَهِدْنَا مَهْلِكَ أَهْلِهِ وَإِنَّا لَصَادِقُونَ

We shall attack him (Salih علیہ السلام) and his family at night, then will say to his heir, We did not witness the destruction of his family and we are really truthful - 27:49.

The plan was that all of them together should attack him and his companions in the darkness of night, and kill them all. And when the claimant of the blood would make the claim, they would say that they did not kill him, and also they did not know who had killed him. In saying so they would have uttered the truth because no one could have known who had killed whom in the darkness of the night.

The point to note here is that all the acts of infidelity, disbelief, killing and pillage were being performed by the infidels, rather than those among them who were hardened criminals. Yet they were careful that they don't speak a lie or get blamed for falsehood. This shows how great the sin of falsehood is, that even the perpetrators of heinous crimes avoid it for the sake of their self-respect.

The other thing worth noting in this verse is that the one whom these infidels had mentioned as the Wall or heir of Sayyidna Salili (علیہ السلام) was a man of his own family. So, why did they leave him out from being assassinated? The answer to this question is that he might have been the successor from the lineage point of view, but otherwise he could be an infidel and be a party with the infidels. There could have been the consideration that he might claim the compensation for the blood of Sayyidna Salih (علیہ السلام) because of his relationship with him. The other possibility is that he might have been a Muslim but enjoyed a prominent position and hence there could have been the risk of uprising and reprisal among the people. Only Allah knows best.

The community of Lot, in its excessive sexual indulgence, had stooped to homosexuality. Lot, trying to stir their conscience, said, ‘O, subjects of God! You have been given eyes to observe things and the moral sense to be able to differentiate between good and bad. Then, how can you indulge in conduct which amounts to open shamelessness?’ The community had no reply to this. They could not reject the prophet’s words on the basis of logical arguments. So, they resorted to violence against him. But, when this stage is reached, the time comes for God’s final decision to be made without further delay. So they were destroyed by a volcanic eruption. Lot’s wife was also not exempt from this fate either, as she was one of the unbelievers. God deals with individuals according to their personal conduct and not on the basis of their being someone’s relatives or on the basis of their worldly connections. One who gives serious consideration to the aforesaid events of history, will cry out with feeling, ‘I express my heartfelt gratitude to God, who has arranged for the guidance of humanity in every age!’ And then his heart will be filled with respect for those who dedicated their lives to God and completed the mission of providing God’s guidance to everyone.