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Verses 80–84
وَ لُوطاً إِذْ قالَ لِقَوْمِهِ أَ تَأْتُونَ الْفاحِشَةَ ما سَبَقَكُمْ بِها مِنْ أَحَدٍ مِنَ الْعالَمِينَ ٨٠ إِنَّكُمْ لَتَأْتُونَ الرِّجالَ شَهْوَةً مِنْ دُونِ النِّساءِ بَلْ أَنْتُمْ قَوْمٌ مُسْرِفُونَ ٨١ وَ ما كانَ جَوابَ قَوْمِهِ إِلاَّ أَنْ قالُوا أَخْرِجُوهُمْ مِنْ قَرْيَتِكُمْ إِنَّهُمْ أُناسٌ يَتَطَهَّرُونَ ٨٢ فَأَنْجَيْناهُ وَ أَهْلَهُ إِلاَّ امْرَأَتَهُ كانَتْ مِنَ الْغابِرِينَ ٨٣ وَ أَمْطَرْنا عَلَيْهِمْ مَطَراً فَانْظُرْ كَيْفَ كانَ عاقِبَةُ الْمُجْرِمِينَ ٤٨
- And Lot, when he said to his people, “What! Do you commit an outrage none in the world ever committed before you?!
- Indeed you come to men with lust instead of women! Rather, you are a profligate lot.”
- But the only answer of his people was that they said, “Expel them from your town! They are indeed a puritanical lot.”
- So We delivered him and his family, except his wife; she was one of those who remained behind.
- Then We poured down upon them a rain [of stones]. So observe how was the fate of the guilty!
Commentary
وَ لُوطاً إِذْ قالَ لِقَوْمِهِ أَ تَأْتُونَ الْفاحِشَةَ ما سَبَقَكُمْ بِها مِنْ أَحَدٍ مِنَ الْعالَمِينَ ٨٠
(7:80) And Lot, when he said to his people, “What! Do you commit an outrage none in the world ever committed before you?!
Apparently the conjunction “and” connects this verse to the other stories in the series, going back to the verse that introduced Noah: Certainly We sent Noah (). Therefore, the meaning would be: “And certainly We sent Lot, when he said to his people…” However, usually in cases like this in the Qur’an, the “and” at the beginning of the story implies an omitted command: udhkur (remember). This is inferred from the theme and flow of the verses. In that case, the meaning would be: “And remember Lot, whom We sent, when he said to his people…”
There is a slight difference between how Prophet Lot is introduced here and how Prophets Hūd and Ṣāliḥ were introduced above [in verses and ]. This is apparently because Lot was a follower of Abraham’s code of law, as opposed to Hūd and Ṣāliḥ who were followers of Noah’s religion. This difference is indicated by how he is introduced. For the same reason the verses revert to the previous way of introduction in the next story, about Prophet Shuʿayb [because he followed Noah’s code of law, not Abraham’s].
Lot was sent to Sodom and its vicinity and called them to the religion of monotheism, since they were polytheists and idol-worshipers. We shall discuss his story in detail in Sūrah Hūd [under verses ], by God’s will.
… What! Do you commit an outrage (al-fāḥishah)…: By saying fāḥishah (indecency, outrage, flagrant act) he meant lawāṭ (sodomy, homosexuality). This is clarified by the next verse: Indeed you come to men with lust ().
… none in the world ever committed before you: The verse literally says, “None of al-ʿālamīn,” where ʿālamīn means “human communities and nations.” This shows that the history of homosexuality goes back to the time of Lot and his people. We shall have an elaborate discussion about this history in Sūrah Hūd.
إِنَّكُمْ لَتَأْتُونَ الرِّجالَ شَهْوَةً مِنْ دُونِ النِّساءِ بَلْ أَنْتُمْ قَوْمٌ مُسْرِفُونَ ٨١
(7:81) Indeed you come to men with lust instead of women! Rather, you are a profligate lot.”
“Coming” (ityān) is used as an indirect reference to intercourse, as indicated by: with lust.
… instead of women…: This phrase also indicates that the verse is about sexual intercourse. It also shows that they had completely abandoned mating with women, and were satisfying their sexual desire only with men.
… Rather, you are a profligate lot: They are called musrif (profligate, extravagant) because they exceeded the limits of their natural makeup and transgressed beyond it.
The word “indeed” (inna, anna) implies the certain occurrence and realization of the event. The verse involves an omitted interrogative hamzah at the beginning. The implied meaning is: “Is it really true that you come to men…?” This rhetorical question shows how shocking and unbelievable their act was. They had invented an indecency that no one in the world had committed prior to them.
وَ ما كانَ جَوابَ قَوْمِهِ إِلاَّ أَنْ قالُوا أَخْرِجُوهُمْ مِنْ قَرْيَتِكُمْ إِنَّهُمْ أُناسٌ يَتَطَهَّرُونَ ٨٢
(7:82) But the only answer of his people was that they said, “Expel them from your town! They are indeed a puritanical lot.”
This means that they really had no answer for him, so instead they threatened him with expatriation. Lot challenged them by asking: What! Do you commit an outrage none in the world ever committed before you? (). In order to answer this, they had to either provide an explanation showing that he was wrong in his judgment, or accept and admit its truth. However, their response was neither of these two, as they said: Expel them from your town… When respondents give an answer that is completely irrelevant to the question, it shows two things about the respondents: (1) their lack of answer; (2) their lack of intelligence.
… Expel them from your town! They are indeed a puritanical lot: This statement shows their contempt and derogation of Lot. It means: “The town belongs to you [O people], while Lot and his followers are immigrants who are not originally from here. They keep themselves clear and pure of what you do. Let them not concern you because they are a few individuals who are small in number and power.”
فَأَنْجَيْناهُ وَ أَهْلَهُ إِلاَّ امْرَأَتَهُ كانَتْ مِنَ الْغابِرِينَ ٨٣
(7:83) So We delivered him and his family, except his wife; she was one of those who remained behind.
This verse shows that no one believed in Lot outside his family. Elsewhere God says: but We did not find there other than one house of muslims [or submitters] ().
she was one of those who remained behind (al-ghābirīn): That is, she was among those who were left behind or stayed behind (māḍīn). This is an indirect way of saying that she was killed. The rest of the verse should be clear.
وَ أَمْطَرْنا عَلَيْهِمْ مَطَراً فَانْظُرْ كَيْفَ كانَ عاقِبَةُ الْمُجْرِمِينَ ٤٨
(7:84) Then We poured down upon them a rain [of stones]. So observe how was the fate of the guilty!
Given the context of the verses [with comparison to the previous stories], it is naturally expected here to describe their exterminating punishment. This contextual expectation shows that the “rain” was indeed their punishment. “A rain” is mentioned in an indefinite form (nakirah), which shows that it was an unusual event with a tremendous impact. God explains it elsewhere in the Qur’an: and We rained on it stones of laminar shale, marked with your Lord [for the profligate], never far from the wrongdoers ().
… So observe how was the fate of the guilty: This is addressed to the Prophet Muḥammad, so that he and his nation may learn a lesson.
The hamzah is explicitly mentioned in the last verse, and implied here because this verse is a continuation of Lot’s address. The hamzah is elided and merged with inna in this verse. That is why the first word has been recited in three ways: innakum, annakum, a-innakum. (Trans.) ↩︎
In other words: “Do not be afraid of them. They are no big deal.” (Trans.) ↩︎