As the morning dawned, a loud, piercing cry ensued through the city that shook the occupants with great pain and fear. Jibril (Angel) then grabbed the nation from the edge of his wing, raised them high up, twisted the land, and crashed it to the ground.
Allah then caused the skies to rain down stones of hard
clay—each stone inscribed with the name of a sinner for whom it was intended
for, ending the vain lives of the occupants of Sodom.
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| Salt Pillar of Lut's (AS) Wife |
This
incident of Lut’s people, which is recounted in the Qur’an, occurred around
1800 B.C. according to estimates. Based on his archaeological and geological
researches. The cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were in fact located in the Sodom
Valley which was the region at the furthers and lowest end of the Lake of Lut,
and that there were once big and widely inhabited sites in those regions.
Dead Sea-Lake of Lut
This is the lowest
point on the earth. In other areas which are lower than sea level, the depth is
at most 100 meters. Another property of the Lake of Lut is that the salt
content of its water is very high, the density being nearly 30 %. Because of
this, no living organism, such as fish or moss, can survive in this lake. This
is why the Lake of Lut is called the “Dead Sea” too.
Today, the Dead Sea
lies at the site of the corrupt city of Sodom, and remains as a powerful
reminder of Allah’s wrath against the people of Prophet Lut. Allah the Exalted
says in the Holy Quran: “Surely! In this are signs for those who see. And
verily! They (the cities) are right on the highroad (from Mecca to Syria, i.e.
the place where the Dead Sea is now). Surely! Therein is indeed a sign for the
believers.”
The expression “When
Our Decree issued, We turned (the cities) upside down” which occurs in the same
verse, must be referring to the earthquake which caused volcanoes to erupt over
the surface of the earth with devastating impact, and to the fissures and
debris brought by it, and only Allah knows the truth of it.
In
general, the events which are related in the Qur’an take place in the Middle
East, the Arabian Peninsula and Egypt. Right in the middle of these lands, is
the Lake of Lut. The Lake of Lut, as well as the incidents that have taken
place around it, deserves attention geologically. The Lake is approximately 400
meters below the surface of the Mediterranean. Since the deepest place in the
Lake is 400 meters, the bottom of the Lake is 800 meters below the surface of
the Mediterranean.
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| Dead Sea |
Who was Prophet Lut
Prophet Lut AS was
the nephew of the Prophet Ibrahim AS. The story of his people and the
punishment they were afflicted with was a shocking incident in the life of
Ibrahim AS. Lut AS, as you will recall, left Ur with Ibrahim AS and settled in
Palestine.
Nothing authoritative
is known of Lut’s AS earlier life. What is evident is that as some point after
his settling, Allah appointed him as prophet to communities on the shore of
what is now the Dead Sea, at a distance of 24 hours’ journey from Ibrahim’s AS
home.
Lut AS went to the
city of Sodom after Ibrahim AS had asked him to do so. It was the main city of
that region with suburbs and satellite villages, prosperous and well-populated.
In the region where Lut AS settled, there were 5 cities, referred to in the
Qur’an as Al-Mu’tafikat (Qur’an 9:70; 53:53, 69:9), meaning “the Overturned
Cities”. Sodom was the largest of these.
People of Sodom were involved in sin of
Homosexuality
The people of Sodom were of the most immoral and insolent
nature. Although they were guilty of many vices, one stands out glaringly among
all the rest – homosexuality or sodomy – they were the first people in human
history to practice homosexuality.
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| Location of Dead Sea |
The people of the
twin cities transgressed against the bounds of God. According to the Quran,
their sins included inhospitality and robbery. They hated strangers and robbed
travellers, apart from other mistreatments and rape.
It was their sin of sexual misconduct as well which was seen as
particularly egregious, with Lot strongly chiding them for approaching men with
sexual desire instead of women.
Prophet Lut warned his people
“Will you not fear
Allah?” he said, appealing to them to reflect on their accountability to their Creator.
And assuring his people of his absolute reliability, he added, “Indeed, I am to
you a trustworthy messenger. So fear Allah and obey me. And I do not ask you for
it any payment. My payment is only from the Lord of the worlds.” (Qur’an
26:161-164)
As if holding up a
mirror in front of his people, Lut AS tried to make them look at the awfulness
of their perverted habits and criminal behaviors.
Do you commit
immorality while you are seeing? Do you indeed approach men with desire instead
of women? Rather, you are a people behaving ignorantly.” (Qur’an 27:54-55)
Lut’s (AS) warning
became stronger: “Do you commit such immorality as no one has preceded you with
from among the worlds?” (Qur’an 7:80), he asked. The people simply replied with
the same words as before, asking to drive Lut AS and his family out.
And the answer of his people was not but they said, “Bring
us the punishment of Allah, if you should be of the truthful.” (Qur’an
29-28-29)
Angels disguised as handsome males, came to
Lut (AS) house as guests.
One day angels,
disguised as handsome males, came to Sodom Lot.
When Lut AS heard of
the strangers, he felt distressed and wondered how he could convince them to
bypass the towns of Sodom and continue on their travels. He tried to make them
understand the nature of the towns people but only succeeded in convincing the
messengers to wait for nightfall before entering the town.
Lut’s wife informed her people about
handsome male guests in house of Prophet LUT (AS)
He brought them to
his house secretly so that no one but his family knew that they were there.
However, his wife went out to inform her people, saying, “In Lut’s house there
are men whose like I have never seen, nor have I ever seen such handsome
faces.”
“Indeed, you are
people unknown.” (Qur’an 15:62), Lut AS said to this visitors, thus giving them
an indirect hint of what they might expect in his town.
His guests showed no trace of fear or
concern.
“But we have come to
you with that about which they were disputing, and we have come to you with
truth, and indeed, we are truthful. So set out with your family during a
portion of the night and follow behind them and let not anyone among you look
back and continue on to where you are commanded,” (Qur’an 15:63-65), they
instructed Lut AS.
Despite this reassurance,
Lut AS remained greatly troubled about the strangers’ safety. Although, as his
guests, they were under his protection, he knew well enough that as soon as
their presence became known, the men of his town would be at his door .
Soon a crowd of people gathered outside the door of Prophet Lot Lut demanding that Prophet Lot Lut give them his guests for mistreatment which was the law of mistreating visitors in Sodom.
He warned the people
that the men were his guests and not to disgrace him in front of his guests.
The intruders flung back at their prophet saying “indeed you know what we
want!” (Qur’an 11:79)
Lut AS cried in
anguish, feeling totally powerless to save the guests to whom he had given the
protection of his house.
“O Lut, indeed we are
messengers of your Lord; [therefore], they will never reach you,” (Qur’an
11:80) his guests reassured him.
The last words suggest that the attackers
intended to eliminate Lut AS to get at his guests. But as they men approached
in the heat of their unnatural lust, or perhaps tried to force their way in,
the angels took away their sight. (Qur’an 54:37; 15:72)
The angels said to Lut AS to leave the place,
So set out with your
family during a portion of the night and let not any among you look back –
except your wife; indeed, she will be struck by that which strikes them .
Indeed, their appointment is [for] the morning. Is not the morning near?”
(Qur’an 11:81)
Then
it was early dawn, Lut AS departed with his family, except his wife. She
remained behind and was afflicted by the punishment along with the wrong doers
and wicked townspeople. (Qur’an 54:34)
Allah (ﷻ) says in the Holy Quran: “We saved him and
all his family, except for an old woman who behind.“ [26:170-171]
There are two
interpretations about how his wife was destroyed. Either she remained inside
the city or she looked back at the punishment and as a result was punished
herself.
The Decree of Allah fell upon people of non believer’s his justice
As he had been
directed, Lut AS set out with his family. When Lut AS and his party had cleared
the area, the divine command came forth to destroy Lut’s AS people. (Qur’an
15:73-74; 7:84; 53:53-54)
Various commentators
have said that angel Jibril AS lifted up all the sinful towns into the sky
together with their inhabitants, and turn them over; hence the name
Al-Mu’tafikat, the Overturned Cities.
Then Allah rained
upon them a rain [of stones], and evil was the rain of those who were warned
(Qur’an 26:173) as He sent upon them a storm of stones (Qur’an 54:34) of clay,
marked in the presence of your Lord for the transgressors.” (Qur’an 51:33-34).
Thus were the
flourishing cities of Sodom and the 4 other towns in the vicinity obliterated
with all their people, including the wife of their prophet, as a recompense for
the wickedness and perverse lusts of its inhabitants.
Thus, the pages were closed on the people of Lut AS.
Their names were erased from historical memory. The punishment that Allah
promised, and Prophet Lut AS warned about, happened, for surely Allah keeps His
promises.
May Allah’s highest blessings be upon Lut
AS, the much tried prophet of the Overturned Cities.
Let us all take a
minute to pray to Allah to keep us and all our loved ones guided, protected and
enveloped in His Highest Mercy, shielded and away from such Satanic vices.
Ameen ya Rabbil Alameen.
The End
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