Prophet Lut (Lot)

Lut ibn Haran (Lot, peace be upon him) is a prophet of Allah and the nephew of Ibrahim. He accompanied Ibrahim on his migrations from Mesopotamia and settled near the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah — known in Islamic tradition as the towns of the people of Lut — in the region bordering the Dead Sea in present-day Jordan and southern Palestine. Allah commissioned Lut as a prophet specifically to these cities, whose inhabitants had fallen into unprecedented moral depravity: they were the first people in history to openly practice sexual acts between men and combined this with highway robbery and violence against travelers.

Lut called them relentlessly to fear Allah and abandon their practices. Allah records his direct challenge in Surah Al-Araf (7:80-81): "Do you commit such immorality as no one has preceded you with from among the worlds? Indeed, you approach men with desire, instead of women. Rather, you are a transgressing people." His people responded with mockery and threats, saying they would expel him from the city if he did not stop. They demanded that he bring his guests to them for their evil purposes.

When angels were sent in the form of handsome young men, passing through Ibrahim's home first with news of Ishaq's birth before proceeding to Lut's people, Ibrahim interceded for the towns, but Allah confirmed the punishment was irreversible. The angels arrived at Lut's house, and his people gathered at his door. Lut was distressed at his inability to protect his guests, saying as recorded in Surah Hud (11:80): "Would that I had against you some power or could take refuge in a strong support." The angels revealed their nature and commanded Lut to depart with his family before dawn, warning him not to look back. His wife, who had sided with the disbelievers, was told to remain.

Allah then destroyed the cities with a cataclysmic punishment: He rained upon them stones of baked clay (sijjil) and overturned the towns completely. Surah Hud (11:82-83): "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 in the presence of your Lord." Lut's wife looked back in violation of the command and was destroyed. Lut and his daughters were saved.

The Prophet Muhammad ☪ said: "May Allah have mercy on Lut; he took refuge with a strong support" — meaning his Lord. His story appears in Surahs Al-Araf, Hud, Al-Hijr, Ash-Shuara, An-Naml, Al-Ankabut, and As-Saffat. It stands as the Quran's most powerful statement about the divine response to the specific moral transgression of the people of Lut — and the mercy extended to those who remain steadfast with the prophets even when surrounded by universal opposition.