Verses 160–175
These verses pertain to the story of Prophet Lot who came after Ṣāliḥ.
Commentary
كَذَّبَتْ قَوْمُ لُوطٍ الْمُرْسَلِينَ ١٦٠ إِذْ قالَ لَهُمْ أَخُوهُمْ لُوطٌ أَ لا تَتَّقُونَ ١٦١ إِنِّي لَكُمْ رَسُولٌ أَمِينٌ ١٦٢ فَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَ أَطِيعُونِ ١٦٣
(26:160-164) The people of Lot rejected the messengers. When their brother Lot said to them: Will you not guard (against evil)? Surely I am a trustworthy messenger to you; Therefore guard against (the punishment of) Allah and obey me. And I do not ask you any reward for it; my reward is only with the Lord of the worlds;
The exposition of these verses was discussed above.
أَ تَأْتُونَ الذُّكْرانَ مِنَ الْعالَمِينَ ١٦٥
(26:165) What! Do you come to the males (al-dhukrān) from among all people (al-ʿālamīn).
This is a censuring and disapproving rhetorical question. Dhukrān is the plural of dhakar (male) which is the opposite of unthā (female). “Coming to them” metaphorically means “sodomy” (lawāṭ) which was prevalent among them. ʿĀlamīn is the plural of ʿālam, meaning “a group of people.”
…from among all people (al-ʿālamīn): This part of the verse could be connected to the subject that is implied by the conjugate form of taʾtūna (that is, “you” in “do you come”). The meaning would be: “What! Do you, among all people, do such an abhorrent act?” This would make the verse similar to what he has said elsewhere: Which no one in the world has ever done before you? (, ).
It could also be connected to “the males” (al-dhukrān). The meaning would then be: Among all of the people—despite their large number and inclusion of women—do you come to the males alone?
وَ تَذَرُونَ ما خَلَقَ لَكُمْ رَبُّكُمْ مِنْ أَزْواجِكُمْ بَلْ أَنْتُمْ قَوْمٌ عادُونَ١٦٦
(26:166) And leave (tadharūna) what (mā) your Lord has created for you (lakum) of your wives (min azwājikum)? Nay, you are a people exceeding limits.
Tadharūna means “to leave, to abandon.” There is no past tense for its root.
One only needs to reflect on the creation of humankind, the classification of its individuals into male and female, and the specific organs and faculties that each class has been equipped with. Then one will not doubt that the purpose of creation in setting this difference, placing sexual desire in both classes, and dividing the active and passive roles between them, has been to make them join together in sexual intercourse as a means of procreation, so that the human species may subsist until its appointed time.
A man (or a male human), inasmuch as he is a man, has been created for a woman (or a female human), not for a man like himself; and a woman (or a female human), inasmuch as she is a woman, has been created for a man (or a male human), not for a woman like herself. The exclusive part of man’s creation is for the woman, and the exclusive part of woman’s creation is for the man. This is the “natural wedlock” that creation has set between man and woman as they compose a pair.
Marriage is a social and conventional custom that is established by social and/or religious considerations in order to place exclusivity between the couples and define the boundaries of the natural wedlock mentioned above. Therefore, human nature and one’s specific creation [as male or female] lead to the pairing of men with women, and women with men; not men with men or women with women. This is because the foundation of marriage is procreation and reproduction, not merely a mutual partnership in life.
Based on the above, it is most plausible to say that “what your Lord has created for you” (lakum) refers to the female organ that becomes lawful for men by marriage. The letter lām in lakum (“for” in “for you”) indicates an ownership that is set in nature. The particle min in min azwājikum (“of” in “of your wives”) is partitive (tabʿīḍiyyah). This verse concerns “natural marriage” [that is, marriage as the natural coupling of males and females], although in a way it could also refer to marriage as a social convention.
Some exegetes have mentioned the possibility that particle mā (“what” in “what your Lord has created for you”) refers to women. Then “of your wives” would be an explanation and clarification of that. However, this is unlikely.
…Nay, you are a people exceeding limits (ʿādūn): ʿĀdūn here means “you transgress and go beyond the limits that creation and your nature has drawn for you.” This is equivalent to: What! Do you come to males and accost wayfarers? ().
All of the points above show that what he said was based on a rational argument latent in his speech.
قالُوا لَئِنْ لَمْ تَنْتَهِ يا لُوطُ لَتَكُونَنَّ مِنَ الْمُخْرَجِينَ ١٦٧
(26:67) They said: If you desist not, O Lot! You shall surely be of those who are expelled (al-mukhrajīn).
Mukhrajīn means “those who have been expelled from their land.” This is similar to what is narrated from them in another verse: Turn out Lot’s followers from your town ().
قالَ إِنِّي لِعَمَلِكُمْ مِنَ الْقالِينَ ١٦٨
(26:168) He said: Surely I am of those who utterly abhor your action (al-qālīn).
Given the context, “your action” means coming to the males and leaving the females. Qālī means one who dislikes and is averse to something. They threatened him with exile but he answered with these words instead of responding to their threat. Therefore what he means is: “I am not afraid of being expelled from your town and do not care about it. Instead, I abhor your actions and want to be saved from the grim consequences that shall certainly befall you.” That is why he continued by saying: My Lord! Deliver me and my family from what they do ().
رَبِّ نَجِّنِي وَ أَهْلِي مِمَّا يَعْمَلُونَ ١٦٩
(26:169) My Lord! Deliver me and my family from what they do.
He is asking for deliverance from the very action that they used to commit, meaning that he did not want to be present there and hear about it. This shows how he detested it. It could also mean deliverance from the consequence of their action, meaning the punishment that would undoubtedly follow it.
He only mentioned himself and his family because no one else in his town had believed in him. This is seen in the verse: But We did not find therein save a (single) house of those who submitted ().
فَنَجَّيْناهُ وَ أَهْلَهُ أَجْمَعِينَ ١٧٠ إِلاَّ عَجُوزاً فِي الْغابِرِينَ ١٧١ ثُمَّ دَمَّرْنَا الْآخَرِينَ ١٧٢
(26:170-172) So We delivered him and his followers all, Except an old woman, among those who remained behind (al-ghābirīn). Then We utterly destroyed (dammarnā, from tadmīr) the others.
It has been said that ghābir means “one who stays behind after the departure of those who were with him.” Tadmīr means “to destroy and kill.” The rest is clear.
وَ أَمْطَرْنا عَلَيْهِمْ مَطَراً فَساءَ مَطَرُ الْمُنْذَرِينَ ١٧٣
(26:173) And We rained down upon them a rain, and evil was the rain on those who were warned.
This was a rain of sijjīl (heated clay), as He says: And We rained down upon them stones of baked clay ().
إِنَّ فِي ذلِكَ لَآيَةً وَ ما كانَ أَكْثَرُهُمْ مُؤْمِنِينَ ١٧٤ وَ إِنَّ رَبَّكَ لَهُوَ الْعَزِيزُ الرَّحِيمُ ١٧٥
(26:174-175) Most surely there is a sign in this, but most of them were not believers. And most surely your Lord is the Mighty, the Merciful.
The exposition of these verses was discussed above
Min tabʿīḍiyyah means “some of” or “part of.” So the meaning is: You leave the part of your wives that your Lord has created for you and assigned to you. (Trans.) ↩︎
Thus particle min would be bayāniyyah (explanatory, interpretive). The meaning would be: You leave the women—meaning your wives—whom your Lord has created for you and assigned to you. (Trans.) ↩︎