Part 69

forbad e them , the more strenuous became th e ir effo rts to reac h

the guests and the more exci ted Lhey became, But they did not

know the fat c that had been decreed for them and to w hich they

were head ing, Thi s is why All ah, Most Hi gh, says, swearing

by the life of Hi s Prophet, Muha mm ad ( Vordy, by your life (0,

Muhammad), in the ir wild intoxil:lItion. they were wande ring

blindl y , (SoO/"ail AI-Nijr 15:72) He, Most High, says, ( And

he (Loot) indct.!d had warnl.!d them of Ou r IJrasp. but they did

doubt the warni ngs! And Ihey indeed sought to shame his guests

(by ask in g to commit sodomy with them). So We blinded the ir

eyes. "Then taste you My Torlllt.!111 and My Warnings." And

verily. an abiding punislun..:nt sc i/cd thel11 ..:arly in the morning

) (SoO/"oil A I-Qolllor 54:36-38)

Scholars of tafreel' and others have said th at the Pro phet of

All ah, Loot ~, tried to prevent hi s people fro m entering and

res isted the m; the door was loc ked and they were tryi ng to

open it and en te r th rough il. Loot :i!t9 warn ed them to desist and

forbade the m fro m behind the door, whi le they tried to forc e

entry from outside. When the s ituation became stra itened for

hi m, he sa id , ( " Would that I had strength (men) to overpower

YO ll . ur lhall coul d betake myself to some powerful su pport (to

res isl you):' ) (SoOl-all "Iood II :80) That is, I wo uld inflic t th e

puni shment on you. The angels sa id, ( "0. Loo t! Ve ril y. we arc

the Messengers from your Lord! They sha ll n OI rl.!<lc h yo u!"

(SoO/"ail Nood 11 :8 1)

The scho lars) sai d that Gabrie l ~ attacked them and

struck their faces with the edge o f hi s w ing and their sight

was removed , Indeed, it was even sai d that th eir eyes we re

comple te ly e fTaced, leav ing no trace. They retu med to the ir

homes, feeling the walls and threatening th e Messe nge r orA llah

~ and say ing, " In thc mornin g, wc will dea l with him." All ah.

Most High, says, " An d they indeed sought to shame his guests

(by ask in g to commi t sodomy with them). So We bli nded their

eyes. "Thc n taste you My Pun ishment and My Warnings." And

vcri Iy, an ab iding punishment se ized the m carl y in the morn ing .

) (Soorall AI-Qal11ar 54:37,38) Th is wns a fter the ange ls had

approached Loot ~ and commanded him 10 travel in th e latte r

pan of the night with hi s family and th ey comma nded them

that none should look back, i.e. when they heard the sound of

the punishm ent be ing inflicted on Loo t's people. As for His

Words: ( except you r wire ) (Soorah I-load 11: 8 1) if the word

fo r " wi fe" is read in A rabi c as illlra 'a/ak, then it is possibl e that

th e meani ng is that hi s wife was cxccp ted from the comma nd:

( "SO tra vel wit h your famil y in a part o r the nigh!." ) (Soorall

/-load I I :8 1), as if it was bein g sa id, "cxcep t your wife, do not

make the j ourney by night with her." It is also pl1ssib lc that it

is from His Words: I' and let not an y of you look bac k, except

your wife ) (SoOl'oll /-load I I :8 1) That is, shc will ccrtain ly

look back and th at whi ch will affli ct them wil l affl ict her al so.

This interp retation is stre ngthened by the rec itati on of lhe word

" wire" in Ara bi c as imra 'otak. However, the formcr is more

apparen t in meani ng. And All ah knows better.

As ror His Words: ( and \Ve rai ned on thc m ston es or ba ked

clay, piled up ) (Soorah I-load II :82) The word sijjeel is an

Arabi cisecl Pe rsian word and it mean s forceful . hard and

strong. ( Pi led .up ) that is, falling one upon ano ther upon them

from the sky. ( Ma rked ) that is, the sto nes were marked and

sealed, all of them having th e names o r their victims writte n

on them, as He, Most Hi gh, says, ( Marked by your Lord

for the IIl1ls r{(ooll (pol yth eists, crimina ls, sinn ers those who

trespass All a h's set limi ts in ev il -doings by commilling great

310 Amo11g lite Greal EI'ellls

sins) ) (SoO/'ah Adh-Dhariym 51 :34) and as He, Most Hi gh,

says, ( And We rai ned on them a rai n (of punishment). And

how evil was the rai n of those who had been wanted ) (Soorab

Ash-SIIII'ara' 26: 173) And He, Most High, says, ( And He

destroyed the ove rthrown cit ies (of Sodam to which Prophet

Loot was scnt). So there covered them tha t which did cove r

) (Soomh An-Najm 53:53,54) Thai is, he in ve rt ed th em and

dropped them face down and then covered them wi th a deluge

of stones from sWeet, whi ch followed one upon another, each

one of thcm marked wi th the name of the perso ll among those

present in the city upon whom it wo uld fa ll and al so upon those

who were abse nt on journeys, those in di stant land s and those

who were isola ted from it. It was said that th e wife of Loot ~

remai ned with her people and it was also said that she set out

wi th her husband and her two daughters, but when she heard

the shout and the falling of the city, she tUllled round toward

her people, disobey ing the COlllmand of her Lord ilnd said,

"0, my people!" Then a rock fell on her and crushed her and

she joined her people, since she fo llowed their relig ion and

she spied for them on the gues ts who stayed with Loot ifiY.

Al lah, Most Hi gh, says, ( Allah sets forth an example for those

who disbelieve, the wife of Noah and the wife of Lool. They

were und er two of our righteous slaves, but they bOl h betrayed

(their husbands) so they (Noah and Loot) benefited them (th eir

respective wives) not, aga inst Allah, and It was said, " Enter

the Fire along with those who enler!" ) (Soorah At-Tahreem

66: I0). That is, betray them by not following their Reli gion; it

docs not mean that they llsec\ to co mmit adultery - Allah forbid

that! Never! For Allah wou ld not ordain for His Prophet that

his wife should commit ad ultery, as 'Abdullah Ibn 'Abbas '*"

and othe r Imams among earlier and the later scholars said, "No

Among lhe Greal E"ellls 311

wife of a Prophet ever comm itt ed adultery." (2) And whoever

claimed otherwise has committed a grave error.

Allah made th e location of this city into a pu trid sea, whose

wa ter provides no benefi t and neither do the lands surrounding

ii, due to th eir ruin, their bad ness and poor qua li ty. Thus they

beca me a lesson, a warn ing and a sign of All ah 's Omnipotence,

His Greatness and His Powe r in inn ic lin g retribution 011 those

who di sobey I-li s COll1mand, belie His Messenge rs and follow

th eir own lusts. These verses arc also" proof of Hi s Mercy

towards Hi s bel ievi ng slaves, in lh at He saved th em from being

among those who wcre destroyed and '-Ie brought them QUI

from darkness into li ght , as I-Ie, Most Hi gh, says, ( Verily, in

thi s is a n Ayah (proof or sign), yet most of them (polythe ists,

pagans. etc., who do not believe in the Resurrec ti on) arc not

believers. And ve rily, your Lord! He is tru ly th e Almi ghty, th e

Most Merciful ) (Saarah Ash-Slllt 'ara '26:8,9)

And I-Ie, Most High, says, ( So As-Sailwh (punishment -

aw ful cry, etc.) overtook them at the lime of su nri se; and We

turned them (t he towns of Sodom in Pa les tine) upside down

and rained down on them stones of baked clay. Surely! In this

arc signs, for th ose who see (or understand or lea rn the lessons

from the Signs of A ll ah). And ve rily, they (the citi es) were right

on the hi ghroad (from Makkah to Syria i.e. the pJace where

the Dead Sea is now) . Surely! Therein is indeed a sign for

the Believers ) (Saarah AI-/-lijr J 5:73-77) Tha t is, those who

look with a keen and in tuiti ve eye at them , ca n see how Allah

changed that land and its people and how \-I e destroyed it and

flooded it, after it had been popul ated and made prosperous, as

(2) Narrated by Ibn ' Asakir(14/636). on the authority of Ashras AI-Khurasani.

in a IIImfo o' fonn. though in Ad-DIIIT III-Mall/floor (6/245), As-Su}'ooti

ascribed it to Ibn AI-Mundhir and said that il is mnll'qooj. being 11 saying

of' Abdullah Ibn 'Abba s ~ .

312 AIIIVllg fhe Creal Evc/ l ts

narrated by At-Tirmidh i and others in a mw/oo' form: "Fear

th e keen eye of the Believer, for verily, it looks wi th the Light

of Allah," Then he reci ted, "( In this are signs, for those who

see (o r understand or learn th e lessons fro m the Signs of Allah)

) (Soora" AI-Hijr 15:75)." ())

As for I-lis Saying: ( And verily, they (t he cities) we re right

on the hi ghroad (from Makka h to Syria i.e, the place where

the Dead Sea is now) ) (Som'ah AI-l-Iijr 15:76) it means they

were on a road that is broad and we ll travelled and it is so until

now, as He, Most High, says, ( Ve ri ly, you pass by them in the