Loot 3
اَلْحَمْدُ لِلّهِ بِجَمِیعِ مَحَامِدِه کُلِّهَا عَلَی جَمِیعِ نِعَمِهِ کُلِّهَا… اَلْحَمْدُ لِلّهِ مالِکِ الْمُلْکِ مُجْرِی الْفُلْکِ مُسَخِّرِ الرِّیاحِ فالِقِ الاْصْباحِ دَیّانِ الدّینِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمینَ اَلْحَمْدُ لِلّهِ عَلی حِلْمِهِ بَعْدَ عِلمِهِ وَالْحَمْدُ لِلّهِ عَلی عَفْوِهِ بَعْدَ قُدْرَتِهِ وَالْحَمْدُ لِلّهِ عَلی طُولِ اَناتِهِ فی غَضَبِهِ وَهُوَ قادِرٌ عَلی ما یُریدُ
Praise is to God with all his praises, for all his blessings. . . Praise is to God, the owner of the property, the operator of the orbit, the bender of the wind, the glory of the morning, the religion of the beliefs, lord of the worlds; praise is to God for his dream after his knowledge and thank God for forgiveness after his power, and praise be to God for his long patience in his wrath and he is capable to do what he wills
و نشهد أن لا اله الا الله وحده لا شریک له، و أَنَّ محمداً عبده و رسوله ارسله بالهدی و دین الحق لیظهره علی الدین کله و لو کره المشرکون اوصیکم عبادالله و نفسی بتقوی الله و اتباع امره و نهیه، و اخوفکم من عقابه
And we bear witness that there is no god but God alone, without partner, and that Muhammad is his servant and messenger, he sent him with guidance and the religion of truth, that he might proclaim it over all religion, even if the polytheists hated it.
Ibrahim’s argument with God over the torment of Loot’s people
The Torah gives more details about the argument and intercession of the prophet Ibrahim with God to remove the torment from the people of the Loot tribe:
God said to Ibrahim, “The cry against the people of Sodom and Gomorrah has been raised, and their sins have increased.”
… Ibrahim said, “Lord, wilt thou destroy the righteous with the wicked? There may be fifty honest people in that city. Won’t you give up destroying the tribe because of them?”
… God said to Ibrahim, “If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will not destroy them there.”
This bargaining of Ibrahim the prophet to remove the divine torment from the city of Sodom continued, until the last case:
Ibrahim said, again, “Lord, perhaps ten righteous people will be found in that city!”
God said, “If ten people are righteous, I will not destroy the city.”[1]
This argument and intercession of Ibrahim, is also praised by God: إِنَّ إِبْرَاهِيمَ لَحَلِيمٌ أَوَّاهٌ مُنِيبٌ Abraham was indeed most forbearing, plaintive, [and] penitent. (Hood:75) this behavior of the Prophet shows both the kindness of the divine prophets and their compassion for their people, and also shows the peak of the infidels, the blessing of God’s guidance from the people of Sodom and their enmity with their prophet, to whom even ten people did not believe.
The angels of divine punishment in the presence of the prophet Loot
The divine angels, after meeting the prophet Ibrahim, and the answer they gave to Ibrahim in response to his request for relief: يَا إِبْرَاهِيمُ أَعْرِضْ عَنْ هَذَا إِنَّهُ قَدْ جَاءَ أَمْرُ رَبِّكَ وَإِنَّهُمْ آتِيهِمْ عَذَابٌ غَيْرُ مَرْدُودٍ؛ So when the awe had left Abraham and the good news had reached him, he pleaded with Us concerning the people of Lot (Hood: 76). They came to Loot. The Qur’an says that the prophet Loot was saddened by their arrival. This was because they were his guests, and Loot was worried that his people might disturb his guests and that he might not be able to protect them:
وَلَمَّا جَاءَتْ رُسُلُنَا لُوطًا سِيءَ بِهِمْ وَ ضَاقَ بِهِمْ ذَرْعًا وَ قَالَ هَذَا يَوْمٌ عَصِيبٌ؛
When Our messengers came to Lot, he was distressed on their account and in a predicament for their sake, and he said, ‘This is a terrible day!’ (Hood:77)
According to the Holy Quran, the people of Lot attacked him: وَجَاءَهُ قَوْمُهُ يُهْرَعُونَ إِلَيْهِ …؛ Then his people came running toward him, (Hood: 78) and Loot could not deal with them: قَالَ لَوْ أَنَّ لِي بِكُمْ قُوَّةً أَوْ آوِي إِلَى رُكْنٍ شَدِيدٍ؛ He said, ‘If only I had the power to deter you, or could take refuge in a mighty support!’ (Hood: 80).
The divine angels introduced themselves at this time and calmed the prophet Loot, informing him of the divine punishment on his people, and protecting him and the believers:
قَالُوا يَا لُوطُ إِنَّا رُسُلُ رَبِّكَ، لَنْ يَصِلُوا إِلَيْكَ، فَأَسْرِ بِأَهْلِكَ بِقِطْعٍ مِنَ اللَّيْلِ وَلَا يَلْتَفِتْ مِنْكُمْ أَحَدٌ، إِلَّا امْرَأَتَكَ إِنَّهُ مُصِيبُهَا مَا أَصَابَهُمْ، إِنَّ مَوْعِدَهُمُ الصُّبْحُ أَلَيْسَ الصُّبْحُ بِقَرِيبٍ؛
They said, ‘O Lot, we are messengers of your Lord. They will never get at you. Set out with your family in a watch of the night; and none of you shall turn round, except your wife; indeed she will be struck by what strikes them. Indeed their tryst is the dawn. Is not the dawn [already] near?’ (Hood:81)
According to this order, the divine angels of Loot and his family left the city at dawn. The destination of this departure from the city is not mentioned in the Qur’an; however village Torah called “Soghar” is mentioned in some cases.
The realization of the divine punishment on the people of Loot
The beginning of the torment for the people of Loot is depicted in the Torah as follows:
The sun was rising, Loot entered into the fire. Then the Lord sent rain of burning sulfur from the sky on Sodom and Gomorrah; and he destroyed them with all the cities and villages of that plain and all its inhabitants and plants …
Ibrahim got up early in the morning and hurried to the place where he was standing before God. He looked at the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah and that plain, and saw that the smoke was rising from the cities like the smoke of a furnace.[2]
The Holy Qur’an reports about the torment that was revealed to the people of Loot in different chapters:
فَلَمَّا جَاءَ أَمْرُنَا جَعَلْنَا عَالِيَهَا سَافِلَهَا وَأَمْطَرْنَا عَلَيْهَا حِجَارَةً مِنْ سِجِّيلٍ مَنْضُودٍ؛ مُسَوَّمَةً عِنْدَ رَبِّكَ وَمَا هِيَ مِنَ الظَّالِمِينَ بِبَعِيدٍ؛
sent in from your Lord [for the profligate], never far from the wrongdoers. (Hood: 83)
إِنَّا أَرْسَلْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ حَاصِبًا إِلَّا آلَ لُوطٍ نَجَّيْنَاهُمْ بِسَحَرٍ؛ نِعْمَةً مِنْ عِنْدِنَا كَذَلِكَ نَجْزِي مَنْ شَكَرَ؛
We unleashed upon them a rain of stones, excepting the family of Lot, whom We delivered at dawn; as a blessing from Us. Thus do We reward those who give thanks. (Qamar: 34-35)
لَعَمْرُكَ إِنَّهُمْ لَفِي سَكْرَتِهِمْ يَعْمَهُونَ؛ فَأَخَذَتْهُمُ الصَّيْحَةُ مُشْرِقِينَ؛ فَجَعَلْنَا عَالِيَهَا سَافِلَهَا وَأَمْطَرْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ حِجَارَةً مِنْ سِجِّيلٍ؛ إِنَّ فِي ذَلِكَ لَآيَاتٍ لِلْمُتَوَسِّمِينَ؛ وَإِنَّهَا لَبِسَبِيلٍ مُقِيمٍ؛
By your life, they were bewildered in their drunkenness. So the Cry seized them at sunrise, and We made its topmost part its nethermost, and rained on them stones of shale. There are indeed signs in that for the percipient. Indeed it is on a standing road, (Hajar: 72-76)
Loot’s wife, an example of an infidel
The holy Qur’an mentions the wife of the prophet Loot as an example for infidels:
ضَرَبَ اللَّهُ مَثَلًا لِلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا امْرَأَتَ نُوحٍ وَامْرَأَتَ لُوطٍ كَانَتَا تَحْتَ عَبْدَيْنِ مِنْ عِبَادِنَا صَالِحَيْنِ فَخَانَتَاهُمَا فَلَمْ يُغْنِيَا عَنْهُمَا مِنَ اللَّهِ شَيْئًا وَقِيلَ ادْخُلَا النَّارَ مَعَ الدَّاخِلِينَ؛
Allah cites an example of the faithless: the wife of Noah and the wife of Lot. They were under two of our righteous servants, yet they betrayed them. So they did not avail them in any way against Allah, and it was said [to them], ‘Enter the Fire, along with those who enter [it].’ (Tahrim: 10)
This teaches a very instructive lesson that one should never be proud of being dependent on pure human beings. Noah’s wife and Loot’s wife were partners of the two great prophets of God, but both became samples for infidels.
[1] Creation: 18
[2] Creation: 19