Tafsir of Surah Al-'Ankabut - Verse 28

The preaching of Lut and what happened between Him and His People

Allah tells us that His Prophet Lut, peace be upon him, denounced his people for their evil deed and their immoral actions in having intercourse with males, a deed which none of the sons of Adam had ever committed before them. As well as doing this, they also disbelieved in Allah and rejected and opposed His Messenger, they robbed wayfarers, they would lie in wait on the road, kill people and loot their possessions.

وَتَأْتُونَ فِى نَادِيكُمُ الْمُنْكَرَ

(And practice Al-Munkar in your meetings.) This means, `in your gatherings you do and say things that are not befitting, and you do not denounce one another for doing such things.' Some said that they used to have intercourse with one another in public; this was the view of Mujahid. Some said that they used to compete in passing gas and laughing. This was the view of `A'ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, and Al-Qasim. Some of them said that they used to make rams fight one another, or organize cockfights. They used to do all of these things, and they were even eviler than that.

فَمَا كَانَ جَوَابَ قَوْمِهِ إِلاَّ أَن قَالُواْ ائْتِنَا بِعَذَابِ اللَّهِ إِن كُنتَ مِنَ الصَّـدِقِينَ

(But his people gave no answer except that they said: "Bring Allah's torment upon us if you are one of the truthful.") This is indicative of their disbelief, scornful attitude and stubbornness. So Allah's Prophet asked for help against them, and said:

رَبِّ انصُرْنِى عَلَى الْقَوْمِ الْمُفْسِدِينَ

(My Lord! Give me victory over the people who are corrupt.)

Commentary

وَلُوطًا إِذْ قَالَ لِقَوْمِهِ إِنَّكُمْ لَتَأْتُونَ الْفَاحِشَةَ (And [ We sent ] Sayyidna Lut (علیہ السلام) when he said to his people, "Indeed you commit the shameful act - 29:28). Here Sayyidna Lut (علیہ السلام) has described three vicious sins of his people. One, unnatural offence of man with man; two, highway robbery against travelers; and three, commitment of sin openly before others in their group meetings. There is no specification of the third sin in the Holy Qur'an. Thus, it is deduced that every sin, which is a sin in its own right, if committed openly with indifference, it becomes a double sin, irrespective of the type of sin. At this point, some Imams of Tafsir (exegesis) have listed all such sins, which these wretched persons used to commit in their meetings. For instance, throwing stones on travelers and making fun of them, as Umm Hani' ؓ reports it in a hadith. Other commentators have reported that these insolent people were in the habit of committing sins openly before all others.

Out of the three sins mentioned in this verse the first one is most disgusting, which was never committed before in the whole world, and even wild beasts abstain from it. The entire ummah is unanimous on that it is a worse sin than adultery. (Ruh)

Lot left Babylon and settled in Jordan. God made him a prophet and assigned to him the task of reforming his community. This community inhabited the town of Sodom near the Dead Sea and was addicted to the unnatural habit of sodomy. Through this evil, other evils had become prevalent among them. But they would not reform themselves. The words, ‘Bring down God’s punishment upon us’ were directed at Lot and not at God. Lot’s people so looked down upon Lot that, according to them, it was impossible that, on disobeying him, they would have to face God’s scourge. So, they challenged him to bring God’s punishment down on them if what he said was really true.