Tafsir of Surah Al-'Ankabut - Verse 32

The Angels went to Ibrahim and then to Lut, may peace be upon them both

When Lut, peace be upon him, asked Allah to help him against them, Allah sent angels to help him. They first came to Ibrahim in the form of guests, so he offered them hospitality in the appropriate manner. When he saw that they had no interest in the food, he felt some mistrust of them and was fearful of them. They started to calm him down and gave him the news of a righteous son born by his wife Sarah, who was present, and she was astonished by this, as we have already explained in our Tafsir of Surat Hud and Surat Al-Hijr. When they brought this news to Ibrahim and told him that they were sent to destroy the people of Lut, he began to speak up for them, hoping to win more time for them so that they might be guided by Allah. When they said, "We have come to destroy the people of this township,"

قَالَ إِنَّ فِيهَا لُوطاً قَالُواْ نَحْنُ أَعْلَمُ بِمَن فِيهَا لَنُنَجِّيَنَّهُ وَأَهْلَهُ إِلاَّ امْرَأَتَهُ كَانَتْ مِنَ الْغَـبِرِينَ

((Ibrahim) said: "But there is Lut in it." They said: "We know better who is there. We will verily, save him and his family except his wife, she will be of those who remain behind.") meaning, one of those who will be destroyed, because she used to support them in their disbelief and wrongdoing. Then the angels left him and visited Lut in the form of handsome young men. When he saw them like that,

سِىءَ بِهِمْ وَضَاقَ بِهِمْ ذَرْعًا

(he was grieved because of them, and felt straitened on their account.) means, he was worried since if he had them as guests then he was afraid for them and what his people might do to them, but if he did not host them, he was still afraid of what might happen to them. At that point he did not know who they were.

وَلَمَّآ أَن جَآءَتْ رُسُلُنَا لُوطاً سِىءَ بِهِمْ وَضَاقَ بِهِمْ ذَرْعاً وَقَالُواْ لاَ تَخَفْ وَلاَ تَحْزَنْ إِنَّا مُنَجُّوكَ وَأَهْلَكَ إِلاَّ امْرَأَتَكَ كَانَتْ مِنَ الْغَـبِرينَ - إِنَّا مُنزِلُونَ عَلَى أَهْلِ هَـذِهِ الْقَرْيَةِ رِجْزاً مِّنَ السَّمَآءِ بِمَا كَانُواْ يَفْسُقُونَ

(They said: "Have no fear, and do not grieve! Truly, we shall save you and your family except your wife: she will be of those who remain behind. Verily, we are about to bring down on the people of this town a great torment from the sky, because they have been rebellious.") Jibril, peace be upon him, uprooted their town from the depths of the earth, lifted it up to the sky, then threw it upside down upon them. Allah rained upon them:

فَلَمَّا جَآءَ أَمْرُنَا جَعَلْنَا عَـلِيَهَا سَافِلَهَا وَأَمْطَرْنَا عَلَيْهَا حِجَارَةً مِّن سِجِّيلٍ مَّنْضُودٍ - مُّسَوَّمَةً عِندَ رَبِّكَ وَمَا هِى مِنَ الظَّـلِمِينَ بِبَعِيدٍ

(stones of Sijjil, in a well-arranged manner one after another. Marked from your Lord; and they are not ever far from the evil doers.) 11:82-83 Allah turned the place where they had lived into a putrid, stinking lake, which will remain as a lesson to mankind until the Day of Resurrection, and they will be among those who are most severely punished on the Day of Resurrection. Allah says:

وَلَقَد تَّرَكْنَا مِنْهَآ ءَايَةً بَيِّنَةً

(And indeed We have left thereof an evident Ayah) i. e., a clear sign, n

لِّقَوْمٍ يَعْقِلُونَ

(for a folk who understand.) This is like the Ayah,

وَإِنَّكُمْ لَّتَمُرُّونَ عَلَيْهِمْ مُّصْبِحِينَ - وَبِالَّيْلِ أَفَلاَ تَعْقِلُونَ

(Verily, you pass by them in the morning And at night; will you not then reflect) (37:137-138)

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)

A severe earthquake destroyed the region where Lot’s community lived in the towns of Sodom and Gomorrah. The green and flourishing valley, inhabited by this community for four thousand years, was filled with the dense salt water of the Dead Sea. According to the Quran, this incident of destruction had occurred through the agency of God’s angels. But, geologists and archeologists say that as a result of a natural geological process when mountains appeared in this area, a chasm was formed, the southern part of which was later filled by sea water. In this way, a stretch of dry land came under water. It is now known as the Shallow Southern Coast of the Dead Sea. The event, which seems to be only a physical occurrence in non-Quranic observation, is, according to the Quran, a sign from God. It is the view of the experts that the ruins of the area which was laid waste are still extant at the bottom of the sea. Undoubtedly, there is a lesson in this. But this lesson is only for those who try to study things in depth.