Description of the
People of Sodom
Prophet Abraham (pbuh) left Egypt accompanied by his nephew
Lot (pbuh), who then went to the city of Sodom (Sadum),
which was on the western shore of the Dead Sea.
This city was filled with evil. Its residents waylaid,
robbed and killed travelers. Another common evil among them
was that men had sex with men instead of with women. This
unnatural act later became known as sodomy (after the city
of Sodom). It was practiced openly and unashamedly.
Lot's Message
It was at the height of these crimes and sins that Allah
revealed to Prophet Lut (pbuh) that he should summon the
people to give up their indecent behavior, but they were so
deeply sunk in their immoral habits that they were deaf to
Lot's preaching. Swamped in their unnatural desires, they
refused to listen, even when Lot warned them of Allah's
punishment. Instead, they threatened to drive him out of the
city if he kept on preaching.
Allah the Almighty revealed:
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Al-Quran,
Chapter 26 Ash-Shu'araa, Verse 160-171 |
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In
the Name of Allah, The Benevolent, The Merciful |
The people
of Lut rejected
the messengers.
Behold, their brother Lut said to them: "Will ye not
fear (Allah)?
"I am to you a messenger worthy of all trust.
"So fear Allah and obey me.
"No reward do I ask of you for it: my reward is only
from the lord of the Worlds.
"Of all the creatures in the world, will ye approach
males,
"And leave those whom Allah has created for you to
be your mates? Nay, ye are a people transgressing (all
limits)!"
They said: "If thou desist not, O Lut! thou wilt
assuredly be cast out!"
He said: "I do detest your doings."
"O my Lord! deliver me and my family from such
things as they do!"
So We delivered him and his family,- all
Except an old woman who lingered behind. |
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Lot's Wife
The doings of Lot's people saddened his heart. Their
unwholesome reputation spread throughout the land, while he
struggled against them. As the years passed, he persisted in
his mission but to no avail. No one responded to his call
and believed except for the members of his family, and even
in his household, not all the members believed. Lot's wife,
like Noah's wife, a disbeliever.
Allah the Almighty declared:
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Al-Quran,
Chapter 66At-Tahrim, Verse 10 |
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In
the Name of Allah, The Benevolent, The Merciful |
Allah sets
forth, for an example to the Unbelievers, the wife of
Noah and the wife of Lut: they were (respectively) under two of our righteous
servants, but they were false to their (husbands), and they
profited nothing before Allah on their account, but were
told: "Enter ye the Fire along with (others) that enter!" |
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Angels Come to Meet Lot
If home is the place of comfort and rest, then Lut found
none, for he was tormented both inside and outside his home.
His life was continuous torture and he suffered greatly, but
he remained patient and steadfast with his people. The years
rolled by, and still not one believed in him. Instead, they
belittled his message and mockingly challenged him:
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Al-Quran,
Chapter 29 Al-Ankabut, Verse 29 |
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In
the Name of Allah, The Benevolent, The Merciful |
"Do ye indeed
approach men, and cut off the highway?- and practice
wickedness (even) in your councils?" But his people gave
no answer but this: they said: "Bring us the Wrath of
Allah if thou tellest the
truth." |
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Overwhelmed with despair, Lot prayed to Allah to grant him
victory and destroy the corrupt. Therefore, the angels left
Abraham (pbuh) and headed for Sodom the town of Lut (pbuh).
They reached the walls of the town in the afternoon. The
first person who caught sight of them was Lot's daughter,
who was sitting beside the river, filling her jug with
water. When she lifted her face and saw them, she was
stunned that there could be men of such magnificent beauty
on earth.
One of the tree men (angels) asked her: "O maiden, is there
a place to rest?"
Remembering the character of her people she replied, "Stay
here and do not enter until I inform my father and return."
Leaving her jug by the river, she swiftly ran home.
"O father!" she cried. "You are wanted by young men at the
town gate and I have never before seen the like of their
faces!"
Lot felt distressed as he quickly ran to his guests. He
asked them where they came from and where they were going.
They did not answer his questions. Instead they asked if he
could host them. He started talking with them and impressed
upon them the subject of his people's nature. Lot was filled
with turmoil; he wanted to convince his guests without
offending them, not to spend the night there, yet at the
same time he wanted to extend to them the expected
hospitality normally accorded to guests. In vain he tried to
make them understand the perilous situation. At last,
therefore, he requested them to wait until the night fell,
for then no one would see them.
The Mob at Lot's House
When darkness fell on the town, Lot escorted his guest to
his home. No one was aware of their presence. However, as
soon as Lot's wife saw them, she slipped out of the house
quietly so that no one noticed her. Quickly, she ran to her
people with the news and it spread to all the inhabitants
like wildfire. The people rushed towards Lot quickly and
excitedly. Lot was surprised by their discovery of his
guests. and he wondered who could have informed them. The
matter became clear, however, when he could not find his
wife, anywhere, thus adding grief to his sorrow.
When Lot saw the mob approaching his house, he shut the
door, but they kept on banging on it. He pleaded with them
to leave the visitors alone and fear Allah's punishment. He
urged them to seek sexual fulfillment with their wives, for
that is what Allah had made lawful.
Lot's people waited until he had finished his short sermon,
and then they roared with laughter. Blinded by passion, they
broke down the door. Lot became very angry, but he stood
powerless before these violent people. He was unable to
prevent the abuse of his guests, but he firmly stood his
ground and continued to plead with the mob.
The Punishment
At that terrible moment, he wished he had the power to push
them away from his guests. Seeing him in a state of
helplessness, and grief the guests said: "Do not be anxious
or frightened, Lot for we are angels, and these people will
not harm you."
On hearing this, the mob was terrified and fled from Lot's
house, hurling threats at him as they left. The angels
warned Prophet Lut (pbuh) to leave his house before sunrise,
taking with him all his family except his wife.
Allah had decreed that the city of Sodom should perish. An
earthquake rocked the town. It was as if a mighty power had
lifted the entire city and flung it down in one jolt. A
storm of stones rained on the city. Everyone and everything
was destroyed, including Lot's wife.
The Angels Meet Abraham
Allah the Almighty recounted this story:
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Al-Quran,
Chapter 15 Al-Hijr, Verse 51-77 |
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In
the Name of Allah, The Benevolent, The Merciful |
Tell them
about the guests of Abraham.
When they entered his presence and said, "Peace!" He
said, "We feel afraid of you!"
They said: "Fear not! We give thee glad tidings of a
son endowed with wisdom."
He said: "Do ye give me glad tidings that old age
has seized me? Of what, then, is your good news?"
They said: "We give thee glad tidings in truth: be
not then in despair!"
He said: "And who despairs of the mercy of his Lord,
but such as go astray?"
Abraham said: "What then is the business on which ye
(have come), O ye messengers (of Allah)?"
They said: "We have been sent to a people (deep) in
sin,
"Excepting the adherents of Lut: them we are
certainly (charged) to save (from harm),- All -
"Except his wife, who, We have ascertained, will be
among those who will lag behind."
At length when the messengers arrived among the
adherents of Lut,
He said: "Ye appear to be uncommon folk."
They said: "Yea, we have come to thee to accomplish
that of which they doubt.
"We have brought to thee that which is inevitably
due, and assuredly we tell the truth.
"Then travel by night with thy household, when a
portion of the night (yet remains), and do thou bring up the
rear: let no one amongst you look back, but pass on whither
ye are ordered."
And We made known this decree to him, that the last
remnants of those (sinners) should be cut off by the
morning.
The inhabitants of the city came in (mad) joy (at
news of the young men).
Lut said: "These are my guests: disgrace me not:
"But fear Allah, and shame me not."
They said: "Did we not forbid thee (to speak) for
all and sundry?"
He said: "There are my daughters (to marry), if ye
must act (so)."
Verily, by thy life (O Prophet), in their wild
intoxication, they wander in distraction, to and fro.
But the (mighty) Blast overtook them before morning,
And We turned (the cities) upside down, and rained
down on them brimstones hard as baked clay.
Behold! in this are Signs for those who by tokens do
understand.
And the (cities were) right on the high-road.
Behold! in this is a sign for those who believed. |
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Allah the Exalted also declared:
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Al-Quran,
Chapter 26 Ash-Shu'araa, Verse 170-175 |
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In
the Name of Allah, The Benevolent, The Merciful |
So We delivered him and his family,- all
Except an old woman who lingered behind.
But the rest We destroyed utterly.
We rained down on them a shower (of brimstone): and
evil was the shower on those who were admonished (but heeded
not)!
Verily in this is a Sign: but most of them do not
believe.
And verily thy Lord is He, the Exalted in Might Most
Merciful. |
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Lot's Life after Sodom
The book was closed on the people of Lot (pbuh). Their town
and names have been erased from the face of the Earth. One
book was closed of the books of corruption.
Lot (pbuh) proceeded towards Abraham (pbuh). He visited him,
and when he recounted the story of his people, he was
surprised to learn that Abraham(pbuh) already knew. So Lut
(pbuh) continued to invite people to Allah, as did Abraham
(pbuh), the patient one who turned to Allah repentantly, and
the two held firmly to their mission.
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