God sent Lot to guide his people and call them to worship God alone. They were a wicked people who committed immoral acts and assaulted strangers. They lusted after men instead of women. When Lot called them to abandon their sins, they wanted to expel him and his followers. Only a few of his household believed in him, but his wife did not. When Lot despaired, he prayed to God to save them and destroy the wrongdoers. Angels came to him, took Lot and the believers out, and destroyed the others with marked stones.
His Story:The Condition of Lot’s People:
Lot called his people to worship God alone and forbade them from committing sins and immoral acts. His call clashed with hardened hearts, sick desires, and arrogant rejection. They judged Lot and his family to be expelled from the village. The people to whom Lot was sent committed numerous heinous crimes. They blocked the roads, betrayed companions, encouraged sin, and did not forbid any evil. They added to their record of crimes a sin that no one in the world had committed before: they lusted after men instead of women.
The standards of Lot’s people were distorted. Men became desirable targets instead of women, and purity became a crime deserving expulsion. They were sick people who refused and resisted healing. Lot’s heart was saddened by their actions. They committed their crime openly in their gatherings. When a stranger, traveler, or guest entered the city, no one could save him from their hands. They would say to Lot: “Host the women and leave the men for us.” Their infamous reputation spread, and Lot struggled greatly against them, presenting his argument. Days, months, and years passed, and he continued his call without anyone believing in him. Only his household believed in him, but not all of them. His wife was a disbeliever.
The disbelievers mocked Lot’s message, saying: “Bring us God’s punishment if you are truthful.” Lot despaired of them and prayed to God to support him and destroy the wrongdoers.
The Angels’ Visit to Lot’s People:
The angels left Abraham and headed towards Lot’s village. They reached the walls of Sodom, where Lot’s daughter was filling her vessel from the river. She saw them and one of the angels asked her: “O girl, is there a place to stay?” She replied, remembering her people: “Stay here until I inform my father and come back to you.” She hurried to her father and informed him. Lot rushed towards the strangers. When he saw them, he was distressed and felt unable to protect them, saying: “This is a distressful day.” He asked them where they came from and their destination, but they remained silent. They asked him to host them. Embarrassed, he walked ahead of them a little, then stopped and turned to them, saying: “I do not know on earth a people more wicked than the inhabitants of this town.” He said this to dissuade them from staying in the village, but they ignored his words and did not comment. He continued walking with them, trying to steer the conversation and hinting that they should continue their journey without staying in the village.
Night fell on the city. Lot took his guests to his house. No one from the city saw them. As soon as his wife saw the guests, she sneaked out without him noticing. She hurried to her people and informed them. The news spread like wildfire. Lot’s people came rushing to him. Lot wondered who had informed them. The people stood at the door of the house. Lot went out to them, clinging to a last hope, and began to admonish them: (These are my daughters; they are purer for you). He said to them: “Here are the women - your wives - they are purer. They fulfill the natural instinct, as the Creator has prepared them for this purpose.” (So fear God). He touched their souls from the side of piety after touching them from the side of instinct. “Fear God and remember that God hears and sees, gets angry and punishes, and it is wiser for the rational to avoid His anger.” (And do not disgrace me concerning my guests). It was a desperate attempt to touch their sense of honor and traditions. They should honor the guest, not disgrace him. (Is there not among you a single right-minded man?) Is there not a single rational man among you? What you want - if it happens - is sheer madness. However, Lot’s words did not touch their perverted, sick nature, nor their dead hearts, nor their foolish, sick minds. The abnormal frenzy continued unabated. Lot felt his weakness as a stranger among the people, having come from afar without a tribe to protect him, nor male children to defend him. Lot entered angrily and closed the door of his house. The strangers he hosted were sitting quietly and silently. Lot was astonished by their calmness. The people’s knocking on the door increased. Lot cried out in a moment of suffocating despair: (He said, “If only I had against you some power or could take refuge in a strong support!”) He wished he had the power to repel them from his guests. He wished he had a strong support to protect and shelter him. Lot forgot in his distress and anguish that he was taking refuge in a strong support, the support of God who never abandons His prophets and allies. The Messenger of God (peace be upon him) said, while reading this verse: “May God’s mercy be upon Lot; he was indeed taking refuge in a strong support.”
The Destruction of Lot’s People:
When the distress reached its peak and the prophet spoke his words, his guests moved and suddenly stood up. They informed him that he was indeed taking refuge in a strong support. They said to him: “Do not be distressed, Lot, and do not fear. We are angels, and these people will not reach you.” Then Gabriel (peace be upon him) stood up and made a quick gesture with his hand, causing the people to lose their sight. The angels turned to Lot and instructed him to take his family and leave during the night. They would hear terrifying sounds that would shake the mountains, but no one should look back to avoid being afflicted by the same punishment as the people. What kind of punishment was this? It was a strange punishment, where merely looking at it would cause one to be afflicted. They informed him that his wife was among those who would be left behind, as she was a disbeliever like them and would look back, thus being afflicted by the same punishment. Lot asked the angels if God’s punishment would descend upon them now. They informed him that their appointed time for punishment was the morning. (Is not the morning near?) Lot left with his daughters and wife. They walked through the night and hastened their pace. The morning approached, and Lot had distanced himself with his family. Then God’s command came. Scholars say that Gabriel (peace be upon him) lifted their seven cities from their deep foundations with the tip of his wing, raising them to the sky until the angels heard the crowing of their roosters and the barking of their dogs. He then turned the cities upside down and let them fall to the ground. During the fall, the sky rained down stones of fire upon them, hard and strong stones marked with their names and destined for them. The hellfire continued to rain upon them until Lot’s people were completely destroyed. No one remained. The cities were overturned, sank into the ground, and water burst forth from the earth. Lot’s people perished, and their cities were obliterated. Lot heard the terrifying sounds and was careful not to look back. His wife looked towards the source of the sound and perished. Her body disintegrated and crumbled like a pillar of salt.
Scholars say that the location of the seven cities is now a strange lake with brackish water, denser than the salty waters of the sea. In this lake, there are dissolved mineral rocks, indicating that the stones that struck Lot’s people were flaming meteors. It is said that the current lake known as the “Dead Sea” in Palestine is the former location of Lot’s people.
The chapter of Lot’s people was closed. Their cities and names were erased from the earth. They fell from the memory of life and the living. A chapter of corruption was closed. Lot then turned to Abraham, visited him, and told him the news of his people. He was astonished that Abraham already knew. Lot continued his call to God, just as the gentle, compassionate, and repentant Abraham continued his call to God. Both of them continued to spread Islam on earth.
