Prophet Lut (Lot, peace be upon him)

Prophet Lut in Islam

Lut ibn Haran (peace be upon him) was the nephew of Ibrahim (peace be upon him) and one of the earliest people to believe in his message. He migrated with Ibrahim from the land of Iraq, and Allah subsequently appointed him as a prophet and messenger to the people of Sodom and its surrounding cities in the region of the Dead Sea.

His Belief and Migration with Ibrahim

Lut was the son of Haran, the brother of Ibrahim. When Ibrahim called his people to the worship of Allah alone and they rejected him, Lut was among those who believed. Allah says: "And Lut believed him" (Al-Ankabut 29:26). He then accompanied Ibrahim on his migration from Iraq to the Levant, where Allah blessed them both. Lut was later sent to the cities of the plain, known in Islamic sources as the cities of the people of Lut, to call them to tawhid and to warn them against the grave sins they had invented.

The Sin of the People of Lut

The inhabitants of Sodom and its sister cities had fallen into a practice so unprecedented that no nation before them had committed it. They approached men with desire instead of women, committing homosexual acts openly and without shame. Allah records Lut's words to them: "Do you indeed approach men with desire instead of women? Rather, you are a people behaving ignorantly" (An-Naml 27:55). In another verse: "Indeed, you approach men and obstruct the road and commit in your gatherings every evil" (Al-Ankabut 29:29).

Ibn Kathir notes in his tafsir that their sin was not merely a private failing but had become the defining feature of their society. They practiced it publicly in their assemblies and attacked travelers who passed through their lands. The Quran emphasizes that they were the first people in history to institutionalize this act: "You commit such immorality as no one has preceded you with from among the worlds" (Al-A'raf 7:80).

The Call of Lut

Lut called his people with patience and sincerity over a long period, warning them of Allah's punishment and urging them to repent. He reminded them of the blessings Allah had given them and pleaded with them to turn to lawful relationships. His people responded not with reflection but with hostility and mockery. They threatened to expel him from their city: "Drive out the family of Lut from your city. Indeed, they are people who keep themselves pure" (An-Naml 27:56). They used Lut's righteousness as a reason to mock him, turning purity itself into an insult.

Lut had no supporters among his people. He once cried out in frustration: "If only I had against you some power or could take refuge in a strong support" (Hud 11:80). The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) commented on this verse, saying: "May Allah have mercy on Lut. He was indeed taking refuge in a strong support," meaning Allah Himself (reported by al-Bukhari and Muslim).

The Coming of the Angels

Allah sent angels in the form of handsome young men to Lut as guests. They had first visited Ibrahim and given him the glad tidings of a son, then informed him of the impending destruction of Lut's people. Ibrahim pleaded on their behalf, but the decree of Allah had already been passed.

When the angels arrived at Lut's home, the men of the city rushed to his door, demanding access to his guests. Lut stood at the entrance in deep anguish, trying to protect them. He said: "These are my guests, so do not bring shame upon me. Fear Allah and do not disgrace me" (Al-Hijr 15:68-69). His pleas fell on deaf ears. The angels then revealed their true nature and told Lut not to fear, for the people could not reach them. They struck the aggressors with blindness, and the men groped about unable to find the door.

The Destruction

The angels instructed Lut to depart with his family during the night and to not look back. His wife was excluded from salvation, for she had been disloyal to his mission and sympathized with the people. Allah says: "So We saved him and his family, except for his wife. She was of those who remained behind" (Al-A'raf 7:83).

At dawn, the punishment descended. Allah overturned the cities, lifting them high and then casting them down. He rained upon them stones of baked clay, layered and marked by their Lord: "So when Our command came, We made the highest part of the city its lowest and rained upon them stones of layered hard clay, marked from your Lord. And it is not from the wrongdoers very far" (Hud 11:82-83).

Lessons and Warnings

The story of Lut's people is mentioned in over a dozen surahs of the Quran, more frequently than the stories of many other destroyed nations. This repetition underscores the severity of their sin and the certainty of its consequences. The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "What I fear most for my nation is the deed of the people of Lut" (reported by at-Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah, graded hasan).

The destruction of Sodom stands as one of the clearest examples in the Quran of a civilization that was annihilated not for shirk alone but for a specific moral transgression that they refused to abandon. The region of the Dead Sea, where these cities once stood, remains to this day a barren and lifeless landscape, a silent witness to the fate of those who defied the command of Allah.