Surah 15. Al-Hijr

---

Verses [Section]: 1-15[1], 16-25 [2], 26-44 [3], 45-60 [4], 61-79 [5], 80-99 [6]

---

Quran Text of Verse 61-79فَلَمَّاAnd whenجَآءَcameاٰلَ(to the) familyلُوْطِ(of) Lutلْمُرْسَلُوْنَۙthe messengers قَالَHe saidاِنَّكُمْIndeed youقَوْمٌ(are) a peopleمُّنْكَرُوْنَ unknown قَالُوْاThey saidبَلْNayجِئْنٰكَwe have come to youبِمَاwith whatكَانُوْاthey wereفِیْهِin itیَمْتَرُوْنَ disputing وَ اَتَیْنٰكَAnd we have come to youبِالْحَقِّwith the truthوَ اِنَّاand indeed weلَصٰدِقُوْنَ surely (are) truthful فَاَسْرِSo travelبِاَهْلِكَwith your familyبِقِطْعٍin a portionمِّنَofالَّیْلِthe nightوَ اتَّبِعْand followاَدْبَارَهُمْtheir backsوَ لَاand notیَلْتَفِتْlet look backمِنْكُمْamong youاَحَدٌanyoneوَّ امْضُوْاand go onحَیْثُwhereتُؤْمَرُوْنَ you are ordered وَ قَضَیْنَاۤAnd We conveyedاِلَیْهِto himذٰلِكَ[that]الْاَمْرَthe matterاَنَّthatدَابِرَ(the) rootهٰۤؤُلَآءِ(of) theseمَقْطُوْعٌwould be cut offمُّصْبِحِیْنَ (by) early morning وَ جَآءَAnd cameاَهْلُ(the) peopleالْمَدِیْنَةِ(of) the cityیَسْتَبْشِرُوْنَ rejoicing قَالَHe saidاِنَّIndeedهٰۤؤُلَآءِtheseضَیْفِیْ(are) my guestsفَلَاso (do) notتَفْضَحُوْنِۙshame me وَ اتَّقُواAnd fearاللّٰهَAllahوَ لَاand (do) notتُخْزُوْنِ disgrace me قَالُوْۤاThey saidاَوَ لَمْDid notنَنْهَكَwe forbid youعَنِfromالْعٰلَمِیْنَ the world 15. Al-Hijr Page 266قَالَHe saidهٰۤؤُلَآءِTheseبَنٰتِیْۤ(are) my daughtersاِنْifكُنْتُمْyou would beفٰعِلِیْنَؕdoers لَعَمْرُكَBy your lifeاِنَّهُمْindeed theyلَفِیْwere inسَكْرَتِهِمْtheir intoxicationیَعْمَهُوْنَ wandering blindly فَاَخَذَتْهُمُSo seized themالصَّیْحَةُthe awful cryمُشْرِقِیْنَۙat sunrise فَجَعَلْنَاAnd We madeعَالِیَهَاits highest (part)سَافِلَهَاits lowestوَ اَمْطَرْنَاand We rainedعَلَیْهِمْupon themحِجَارَةًstonesمِّنْofسِجِّیْلٍؕbaked clay اِنَّIndeedفِیْinذٰلِكَthatلَاٰیٰتٍ(are) the Signsلِّلْمُتَوَسِّمِیْنَ for those who discern وَ اِنَّهَاAnd indeed itلَبِسَبِیْلٍ(is) on a roadمُّقِیْمٍ established اِنَّIndeedفِیْinذٰلِكَthatلَاٰیَةًsurely (is) a Signلِّلْمُؤْمِنِیْنَؕfor the believers وَ اِنْAnd wereكَانَAnd wereاَصْحٰبُ(the) companionsالْاَیْكَةِ(of) the woodلَظٰلِمِیْنَۙsurely wrongdoers فَانْتَقَمْنَاSo We took retributionمِنْهُمْ ۘfrom themوَ اِنَّهُمَاand indeed they bothلَبِاِمَامٍ(were) on a highwayمُّبِیْنٍؕ۠clear

---

Translation of Verse 61-79

(15:61) So when the envoys came to the household of Lot,³⁵

(15:62) he said: "Surely you are an unknown folk."³⁶

(15:63) They said: "Nay, we have brought to you that concerning which they have been in doubt.

(15:64) We truly tell you that we have brought to you the Truth.

(15:65) So set out with your family in a watch of the night, and keep yourself behind them,³⁷ and no one of you may turn around,³⁸ and keep going ahead as you have been commanded."

(15:66) And We communicated to him the decree that by the morning those people will be totally destroyed.

(15:67) In the meantime the people of the city came to Lot rejoicing.³⁹

(15:68) He said: "These are my guests, so do not disgrace me.

(15:69) Have fear of Allah, and do not humiliate me."

(15:70) They replied: "Did we not forbid you again and again to extend hospitality to all and sundry?"

(15:71) Lot exclaimed in exasperation: "If you are bent on doing something, then here are my daughters."⁴⁰

(15:72) By your life, (O Prophet), they went about blindly stumbling in their intoxication.

(15:73) Then the mighty Blast caught them at sunrise,

(15:74) and turned the land upside down, and rained down stones of baked clay.⁴¹

(15:75) There are great Signs in this for those endowed with intelligence.

(15:76) The place (where this occurred) lies along a known route.⁴²

(15:77) Verily there is a Sign in this for the believers.

(15:78) And the people of Aykah were also wrong-doers.⁴³

(15:79) So We chastised them. The desolate locations of both communities lie on a well-known highway.⁴⁴

---

Commentary

35. Cf. al-A‘raf 7: 73 ff. and Hid 11: 69 ff.

36. The narration of the incident here is very brief. Its details are to be found in Hud (see verse 77 ff.) where it has been mentioned that Prophet Lot (peace be on him) felt much consternation at the visit of the angels. As soon as he saw them, he felt convinced that something grave lay in store. The reason for Lot’s consternation has been alluded to in the Qur’an, but mentioned in clearer terms in the traditions. The angels had come down to the people of Lot in the form of handsome youths. Lot was fully aware of the perversity and wickedness of his people which made him feel very bad. Lot was also worried at his helplessness for he was neither in a position to send his guests back nor to keep them away from the reach of his wicked people. (See Hid 11: 77 ff. — Ed.)

37. Lot (peace be on him) was asked to follow the members of his family, ensuring thereby that none of them remained behind.

38. This does not mean that as soon as they looked behind, they would be turned into pillars of salt, as the Bible says (Genesis 19: 26). What was being asked was simply that they should not be prompted by the noise behind them to pause and see what was going on. There was no time to lose, no time to feel sorrow at the tragic end which was about to befall that wicked nation. For if they lost any time, they might also be seized by the calamitous punishment aimed at the people of Lot.

39. This gives some idea of the moral degeneration of Lot’s people. The mere fact that some good-looking guests had come to someone in the neighborhood was enough to prompt a mob of people to converge on his house. Not only that, they also publicly demanded that the youths be handed over to them so that they may gratify their sensual desires. Immorality had become so rampant that no section of the population felt the need to protect themselves against it. Nor did the people have the moral sensitivity that would prompt them to refrain from publicly indulging in such shameless vices.

Now, if these people had the audacity to storm the house of someone as well-known for his piety and righteousness.as Lot (peace be on him), it is easy to imagine the extent of the moral corruption that was rampant in that land.

The Talmud provides an account of the people which clearly mirrors the depth of their moral depravity. It mentions that once a stranger was passing through their town. As night was falling, he had to stay in Sodom. He had his own provisions so that he did not need anyone to host him. He lay under a tree, when a Sodomite persuaded him to accompany him to his house. During the night the Sodomite stole his ass and its reins, and all his guest’s merchandise.

Nobody paid any attention to the stranger’s protests. Instead, the other inhabitants of the town looted whatever belongings were left with him and turned him out of the town.

Once Sarah sent one of her slaves to Sodom to inquire about the welfare of Lot’s family. When the slave entered the town he found a Sodomite beating a stranger. When he interfered, asking the Sodomite not to be so unkind to a helpless traveler, he was also subjected to a beating and sustained head injuries.

On another occasion, a poor man came to Sodom. No one gave him anything to eat. Worn out by starvation, he collapsed. The daughter of Lot (peace be on him) spotted him and provided him with food. However, the inhabitants reproached Prophet Lot (peace be on him) and his daughter for their act of kindness. They also threatened that if they did the same again, they would forfeit the right to live among them. : ‘ After recounting several such episodes, the author of the Talmud remarks that Lot’s people in their day-to-day lives were extremely oppressive, habitually resorted to deception, and did not keep their word. If 2 poor man passed through their town, none would give him any food. They even stripped the dead of their shrouds, leaving them stark naked. If any merchant came to them from another town, they robbed him of his merchandise and his protests went unheeded. They even built a spacious garden in their valley which spread over many miles. In that garden they publicly committed every possible act of indecency. There was not a single soul among them except Lot (peace be on him), who tried to dissuade them from indulging in such wickedness. The Qur’an has succinctly portrayed their evil ways: ‘Before this they were wont to commit evil deeds’ (Hud 1 1: 78). ‘Do you approach men [to gratify your sexual desire] and cut off the highway, and commit wickedness even in your councils?’ (al-‘Ankabut 29: 29). :

40. This point has been elaborated in Hud, n. 87 above. It must be remembered that Lot (peace be on him) made these remarks in a state of total desperation, when a mob of people, fully bent upon corruption, was pouncing upon his guests in total disregard of all his pleas and protestations.

It is pertinent to clarify one thing at this point. The sequence of events mentioned in Surah Hid (see verse 77 ff.) indicates that at the time when those people attempted an assault on his guests, Lot was quite unaware that they were angels. He was under the impression that the youths were strangers who, in the course of their travelling, had accidentally come to his house. Hence when a gang of wicked fellows carried out an assault on them, Lot exclaimed: ‘Would that I had the strength to set you straight or could seek refuge in some powerful support’ (Had 11: 80). It is at this point that the angels disclosed their identity.

Then they directed Lot (peace be on him) to get away from the place along with his family so that they might adequately carry out the mission to inflict a severe chastisement on his people.

If we remember the true sequence of events as mentioned in Sarah Hud (see verse 77 ff.), it is easy to appreciate how desperate Lot (peace be on him) must have been when he uttered the words mentioned above. But in the present surah the events have not been referred to in their earlier sequence. This presumably is because the purpose of the narrative here is to emphasize the point for which the story has been narrated. (This purpose is to underscore that God’s chastisement inevitably seizes a people who go too far in their iniquity — Ed.) However, the sequence in which the events. have been mentioned here might lead a common reader to the mistaken view that the angels had already revealed their identity to Lot (peace be on him). This might even lead some to wonder about the plea made by Lot in order to prevent his people from laying their hands on his guests. They might even be led to consider Lot’s statement to be no more than an act that he had put on.

41. The ‘stones of baked clay’ might have been meteorites. Or else volcanic eruptions may have taken place, throwing up some material that subsequently might have fallen on Lot’s people like a rain of stones. Alternatively, a fierce storm may have been the instrument for this extraordinary rain of stones.

42. This devastated piece of land lies on the route from the Hijaz to Syria and Iraq to Egypt. The caravans that pass by this region witness traces of the devastation. In fact, some of these traces can still be observed even today. The area referred to is situated to the east and south of the Dead Sea. As to its southern part, geographers are of the view that it is characterized by a desolation for which there is no parallel on earth.

43. The people of Aykah were the people of Prophet Shu‘ayb (peace be on him). They were known as the Midianites after the name of their capital, Midian. As to the word ‘Aykah’, it was the former name of the city called Tabuk. Lexically, the word denotes ‘dense forest’.

44, The territory of the Midianites also lies on the route from the Hijaz to Palestine and Syria.