Surah Al-'Ankabut 29:23-30 - Quran Translation Commentary

(29:23) As for those who rejected Allah’s revelations²⁴ and the encounter with Him, it is they (who) are despaired of My mercy, and it is they for whom awaits a painful chastisement.

(29:24) But there was no answer of his people except that they said, ‘Kill him, or burn him.’ But Allah rescued him from the fire. Surely, in that there are signs for a people who believe.

(29:25) And he said, ‘You have only taken to yourselves, other than Allah, idols as (bonds of) mutual love between you for the life of this world. But on the Day of Standing you will disown one another, and you will curse one another. Your abode will be the Fire, and you will have no helpers.’²⁵

(29:26) But Lut believed in him.²⁶ And he said, ‘I am emigrating toward my Lord.²⁷ He indeed is the All-mighty, the All-wise.’

(29:27) Then We bestowed on him Is-haq and Ya`qub²⁸ and appointed Prophethood and the Book to be among his progeny;²⁹ and We gave him his reward in this world,³⁰ and in the world to come he shall surely be among the righteous.

(29:28) And (recall) Lut when he said to his people, ‘Verily, you commit a lewdness that no one has preceded with before you in the worlds.³¹

(29:29) What, do you approach men, cut off the highway,³² and commit abomination in your assembly?’³³ But there was no answer of his people except that they said, ‘Bring us Allah’s chastisement if you are of the truthful.’

(29:30) He said, ‘O my Lord. Help me against the corrupting people.’

Commentary

24. The translation of the word ayah as ‘revelation,’ has the backing of Qurtubi (Au.).

25. Yusuf Ali comments on high level of co-operation seen among those who reject the truth, but who will end in sorrow: “In sin and wickedness there is as much log-rolling as in politics. Evil men humor each other and support each other; they call each other's vice by high-sounding names. They call it mutual regard or friendship or love; at the lowest, they call it toleration. Perhaps they flourish in this life by such arts. But they deceive themselves, and they deceive each other. What will be their relations in the Hereafter? They will disown each other when each has to answer on the principle of personal responsibility. Each will accuse the others of misleading him, and they will curse each other. But there will then be no help, and they must suffer in the Fire.‏”

In connection with “some helping others” on the Day of Judgment, Ibn Kathir has the following to report from Ibn Abi Hatim. Umm Haani, the sister of `Ali ibn Abi Talib said,

أخبرِك أن الله تعالى يجمع الأولين والآخرين يوم القيامة في صعيد واحد، فَمَنْ يدري أين الطرفان ، فقالت الله ورسوله أعلم . "ثم ينادي مناد من تحت العرش: يا أهل التوحيد، فيشرئبون" قال أبو عاصم: يرفعون رؤوسهم . "ثم ينادي: يا أهل التوحيد، ثم ينادي الثالثة: يا أهل التوحيد، إن الله قد عفا عنكم" قال: "فيقول الناس قد تعلق بعضهم ببعض في ظُلامات الدنيا -يعني: المظالم -ثم ينادي: يا أهل التوحيد، ليعف بعضكم عن بعض، وعلى الله الثواب

“The Prophet told me, ‘Let me inform you that Allah is going to gather together whole of mankind in one field on the Day of Judgment. Then who knows the two ends?’ She said, ‘Allah and His Messenger know best.’ He said, ‘Then a caller will call out from below the `Arsh: “Ya Ahl al-Tawhid.” They will raise their heads. Then he will call out again, “Ya Ahl al-Tawhid.” Then he will call out a third time and say, “Allah has forgiven you.”’ The Prophet added, ‘Then some people (of the Ahl al-Tawhid) will remain who would be held back because of wrongs committed against others in the world. Then it will be announced, “Ya ahl al-Tawhid, let you forgive each other, and Allah will recompense.”’

Al-Haythamiyy noted that Abu Hatim declared the above hadith as “munkar” – a kind of quite weak a hadith (Au.).

26. That is, he believed in Ibrahim the moment he presented his call, and accepted all that he had brought as true (Alusi).

Lut was a nephew of Prophet Ibrahim (Qurtubi from Ibn Is-haq).

27. It is Ibrahim who said this (Ibn Jarir from the Salaf). Qatadah however said that both he and Lut emigrated (along with Ibrahim’s wife Sarah) from Kutha (a place near Kufa) to Syria. He also said that we used to hear that the Prophet had said,

سَتَكُونُ هِجْرَةٌ بَعْدَ هِجْرَةٍ، فَخِيَارُ أَهْلِ الأَرْضِ إِلَى مُهَاجَرِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ عَلَيْهِ السَّلامُ، يَبْقَى فِيهَا شِرَارُ أَهْلِهَا، تَلْفِظُهُمُ الأَرْضُ، وَتَقْذَرُهُمْ نَفْسُ اللَّهِ، فَيَبْعَثُ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِمْ نَارًا تَحْشُرُهُمْ مَعَ الْقِرَدَةِ وَالْخَنَازِيرِ

“There will be hijrah after hijrah. In droves peoples of the earth will go to the places Ibrahim migrated. Only the worst kind of people will be left in the earth, their lands will throw them out, Allah will disapprove of them, until Allah will send upon them the fire that will collect them along with monkeys and swine.”

The report is in Abu Da’ud also (Ibn Kathir).

But Albani declared it weak; although meaning-wise there are other reports of trustworthy nature (Au.).

Ibn Jurayj however said that Lut first migrated to Harran. Then he was ordered to move to the Syrian region (Ibn Jarir).

It has been thought by some scholars however, that the words are those of Lut (asws). In this context Anas b. Malik reported that `Uthman b. `Affan left with Ruqayyah – the Prophet’s daughter - to the Abyssinian lands. For some time no news reached the Prophet about them, until a Qurayshi woman, who had just come back from a journey, told him: “I saw your son-in-law with your daughter.” He asked, “In what state did you find them?” She said, “I saw him having mounted his wife on a lean donkey, while he led it on.” The Prophet said,

إِنَّ عُثْمَانَ أَوَّلُ مَنْ هَاجَرَ إِلَى اللَّهِ بِأَهْلِهِ بَعْدَ لُوطٍ.

“`Uthman is the first after Lut, to migrate along with his family” (Qurtubi).

Asad comments on the term “muhajir”: “In the present instance this term is obviously used in both its physical and spiritual senses, analogous to the early allusion (in 19: 48-49) to Abraham’s ‘withdrawal’ (i`tizal) from his evil, native environment and to his physical emigration to Harran (in northern Mesopotamia), and thence to Syria and Palestine.”

28. That is, a son Is-haq, and a grandson Ya`qub. It is in this sense that Ibn `Abbas meant to say when he said that the two were sons of Ibrahim (Ibn Kathir).

29. So that, writes Ibn Kathir, every Prophet who came after Ibrahim (asws) was raised from his progeny.

30. It is said that Mujahid sent someone to `Ikrimah to find out what was the ‘this-worldly’ reward that Ibrahim was given. He told him, his ‘this-worldly’ reward was that all the nations of the world love to own him as theirs. When the man returned with the answer to Mujahid he remarked, “He is correct.” This is the opinion of Ibn `Abbas and others who added that another of the rewards of this world granted to him was righteous progeny (Ibn Jarir).

31. `Amr b. Dinar used to say that no one in the world ever committed homosexuality before the people of Lut (Ibn Jarir); perhaps he meant as a nation (Au.).

32. Ibn Zayd has said that the allusion is to their habit of waylaying passers-by and forcing anal sex on them (Ibn Jarir, Qurtubi).

Another connotation of “taqta`una al-sabil” is, as offered by Hasan and quoted by Zamakhshari: “to cut across the way (of nature).” And, as noted by Asad, “Imam Razi adopts it exclusively and without reservation.”

33. While a report from `A’isha said that the allusion is to wind-passing contests in their assemblies; Umm Haani says she was told by the Prophet that they squatted on the roads, threw pebbles at the passers by, (especially women: Qurtubi), and made fun of them (Ibn Jarir).

Umm Hani’s report is in Tirmidhi also, but who declared it not so reliable. The report is also in Hakim who declared it trustworthy (Alusi). The allusion could in general be to all sorts of indecencies that they committed in their assemblies (Ma`arif).

The report about throwing pebbles etc., is in Abu Da’ud Tayaalisi, Nuhhas, Tha`labi, Mahdawi and Mawardi. As regards reports about passing winds, it also comes from Ibn `Abbas and Qasim b. Abi Bazzah. Several other indecencies are reported of them, including lesbianism (Qurtubi), such as, as one coming from Ibn `Abbas which says that the allusion is to finger-joints crackling, chewing gum, rubbing miswak in public, removing clothes before others, calling names, and indecency in jokes (Zamakhshari).

The above report has not been authenticated. We have presented it to give some idea of what our ancestors disapproved of, some of which have entered into Muslim society of our times (Au.).