Tafheem ul Quran

Surah 11 Hud, Ayat 81-81

قَالُوۡا يٰلُوۡطُ اِنَّا رُسُلُ رَبِّكَ لَنۡ يَّصِلُوۡۤا اِلَيۡكَ​ فَاَسۡرِ بِاَهۡلِكَ بِقِطۡعٍ مِّنَ الَّيۡلِ وَلَا يَلۡتَفِتۡ مِنۡكُمۡ اَحَدٌ اِلَّا امۡرَاَتَكَ​ؕ اِنَّهٗ مُصِيۡبُهَا مَاۤ اَصَابَهُمۡ​ؕ اِنَّ مَوۡعِدَهُمُ الصُّبۡحُ​ؕ اَلَيۡسَ الصُّبۡحُ بِقَرِيۡبٍ‏ ﴿11:81﴾

(11:81) Thereupon the angels said: 'O Lot! We indeed are messengers of your Lord. And your people will in no way be able to hurt you. So depart with your family in a part of the night and let no one of you turn around89 excepting your wife (who shall not go); for what will befall them shall also befall her.90 In the morning their promised hour will come. Is not the morning near?'


Notes

89. This meant to impress on them the urgency of the matter so that they should get out of the doomed place and should not even turn round to look behind to see what was happening there. They were warned lest they should be attracted by the loud noises caused by the explosions and by the wailing of the people and thus lag behind in the territory that had been marked for the scourge and was to be overtaken by it.

90. The doom of the wife of Prophet Lot (peace be upon him) is the third incident related in this Surah to serve as a lesson that no relationship can deliver a people from the horrible consequences of their sin.