Rameen Ashraf Ali

In the same ayah, we have learned about the acts of the nation of Lut A.S. and their persistence and why those acts were put in the category of ٱلْفَـٰحِشَةَ.

The next section of the ayah encloses the response of the nation. I recall the response of the nation of Ibrahim A.S. when he preached the message of Tawheed. His nation tried to punish him so that they would stay on kufr, but the nation of Lut had a very different response.

The ayah says:

فَمَا كَانَ جَوَابَ قَوْمِهِۦٓ إِلَّآ أَن قَالُوا۟ ٱئْتِنَا بِعَذَابِ ٱللَّهِ إِن كُنتَ مِنَ ٱلصَّـٰدِقِينَ

So, the answer of his nation was nothing except that they said, 'Bring us the punishment of Allah if you are from the truthful.

Lut A.S.

The previous ayah discussed the فَاحِشَةَ and, as we reflected before, فحش can make speech and both actions impure. Here in this ayah, we will analyze what kind of فحش the nation of was committing.

Let's dive a bit deeper and contemplate.

The first sin mentioned is لَتَأْتُونَ ٱلرِّجَالَ. (you all approach men) The grammatical structure of this section is: Fi'l Mudari' / Present tense + Maf'ool bihi)

Looking up the root words أ ت ي in عمدة الحفاظ dictionary helped me understand the meaning. According to عمدة الحفاظ, the word أتى means coming absolutely, and it was also said that it means coming with ease. The other meaning is that ألإتيان is also used as a respectful indirect expression f

The ayah now narrates the difficulties faced by Prophet Lut. Lut A.S. was the one who believed in Ibrahim A.S. as a Prophet and the message of Tawheed and Allah S.W.T. bestowed upon him with Prophethood. But with that honor and responsibility, he faced something that no other prophet had faced before.

I related that so much to our daily lives. Whenever a problem comes, you can have logical answers to it because of your experience or because of the legacy of the experienced ones. His nation committed many sins, and one of them is one that no one else committed before.

وَلُوطًا إِذْ قَالَ لِقَوْمِهِۦٓ إِنَّكُمْ لَتَأْتُونَ ٱلْفَـٰحِشَةَ مَا سَبَقَكُم بِهَا مِنْ أَحَدٍ مِّنَ ٱلْعَـٰلَمِينَ

Reading this ayah made me teary; how much Prophet Ibrahim A.S. suffered while preaching, how much he sacrificed and was tested, and despite everything, what level of tawakkul he had on Allah. Allah opened His chest of blessings on Ibrahim A.S and he has been rewarded in a very special way; no other prophet has been blessed.

In the previous ayah, Allah tells us the response of Ibrahim A.S and in this ayah Allah mentions the major rewards He blessed him with. In this ayah, three types of blessings are mentioned. The first blessing is the blessing of righteous offspring; the second blessing is giving Prophethood to his offspring. The third blessing is the reward in this duya and the last rewar

In ayah 24, Allah recorded the response of the nation of Ibrahim A.S and they not only did kufr but passed the decree to kill him as well. And Allah protected Ibrahim. Now, in this ayah, Allah records the response of a member of his nation. Lut A.S., he was.

So, let's go a bit deeper into the ayah. Allah says, فَـَٔامَنَ لَهُۥ لُوطࣱۘ. Ibn Aashoor narrates that the fāʾ in فآمن indicates that Lūṭ quickly and immediately affirmed Ibrāhīm. Also, the fact that only Lūṭ is mentioned shows that no man believed in Ibrāhīm except Lūṭ, and he was the single man who believed in him.

I looked further into this section of the ayah. The structure of the ayah is a bit unusual grammatically. The Faa'il

They passed the ruling to burn Ibrahim A.S. alive but Allah saved him. What was his response towards his nation. Allah quoted his words in the Quran that were nothing but giving them a reality check of their wrongdoings and stubbornness.

He said that you have taken besides Allah are just idols. Again, the word used for idols has been used previously i.e., أَوۡثَـٰنࣰ, which means crafted and shaped idols. The Prophet is again telling them that these idols are only idols that you crafted and shaped. The first message he delivered to them was making them realize that idols are false and again, after being saved his message remains the same.

Next, he says, مَّوَدَّةَ بَیۡنِكُمۡ فِی ٱلۡحَیَوٰةِ

The ayah states one of the famous events in the life of Prophet Ibrahim A.S. The people to whom he preached the Tawheed of Allah gave the most brutal reaction to him.

After reading the ayah, you will note that his nation gave two options as an answer. The answer was neither polite at all nor a simple rejection, and the response was in the form of a command. He demanded an answer from them, and as a result, they passed the order of death. They said ٱقْتُلُوهُ أَوْ حَرِّقُوهُ means 'kill him or burn him." And out of the two options, the death sentence was given by burning him alive, despite both options killing him eventually. But they chose the brutal one.

I looked حَرِّقُو up on Almaany a

There are three main sections of the ayah. The first section denies the miraculous signs of Allah and denies meeting with Allah. Al-Razi explains that after Allah clarified the two foundations, i.e., tawḥīd and resurrection, and established them with proof, He then warned those who oppose them in detail in this ayah.

The first thing I noticed is the word used for denying is كَفَرُوا. It is derived from root words ك ف ر and also means covering up the truth. What do they deny? آياتِ اللَّهِ and لِقائِهِ.

What does آياتِ اللَّهِ mean? Why does Allah mention their denying meeting Him? Al-Alusi stated something really beautiful. He stated that His signs and proofs, both creative signs and reve

The ayah involves so much negation, but there is nothing ordinary in the negation.

Sometimes, Allah uses a lot of words that are extensive in meaning. But sometimes the sentence structure

In Arabic grammar, there are four levels of negation (from low to high). The first level of negation is the simple negation. The second level of negation is for the confused audience or a conflicted topic. The third level of negation is used when you are correcting someone's opinion. The fourth and strongest form of negation is the refutation when a debate is going on. The first two levels of negation in Arabic grammar use ليس, while for the other two levels, ما is used.

The ayah uses the fourth and s

The previous ayah ended, "Indeed Allah has power over all things," and now in this ayah Allah is talking about His power to punish and show mercy to anyone He wants.

After reading the ayah, I looked up the words that were new to my eyes but had a familiar meaning.

Allah says He punishes whoever He wills and He shows mercy to whoever He wants. For punishment, یُعَذِّبُ, a fi'l mudaari' (present tense), for mercy یَرۡحَمُ, and for willing or wanting, یَشَاۤءُ is used.

The word یُعَذِّبُ is made of the root letters ع ذ ب. The meanings explained by Al-Raghib Al-Isfahani: عَذَّبَهُ He punished him severely, and here it comes in the meaning of severe punishment, painful punishment, causing som

This ayah begins with a command, while the previous ayah was in the form of a question. That's the first thing I observed, and I couldn't help myself from looking more deeply into this ayah.

Allah says to the Prophet, 'Say (to them) travel in the earth and see how He originated the creation' In the previous ayah, Allah asked us, 'Do you not see?' and in this ayah, Allah commands us to travel the earth (سِیرُوا۟) and see (ٱنظُرُوا۟) His signs by ourselves. I thought for a little while about why Allah commanded us using those words. And also Al-Razi noticed that in the previous ayah, for 'seeing' Allah used the word ruʾyah — seeing. In this āyah, He used the word naẓar — looking/observing. Wh

This ayah is so powerful. Remember where the last ayah ends. When Ibrahim A.S says to his nation that to Allah you all will be returned.

Allah says, "Do they not see how Allah originates the creation, then He repeats it?" The comment begins with a question word. The words whose sarf was unknown to me in the vocabulary were یُبۡدِئُ, خَلۡقَ, یُعِیدُ, and یَسِیرࣱ.

Firstly, I looked into the word یَرَوۡا۟.. It is fiʿl muḍāriʿ majzūm with the nūn removed from يَرَوْنَ. I looked it up on Almaany, and it means they see, they think.

The word یُبۡدِئُ has the root words ب د ء. I looked up its meaning in the dictionary, and it means He originates, initiates, and begins. According to Ibn-e Aashoor

The ayah explains the mission of the Prophets. "If you all deny it, then there were nations that denied it as well."

I thought: why are Prophets mentioned so much, and why are their conversations with their nations quoted in the Quran? Because it's an example for us of what happened to them, what consequences they faced denying the ultimate truth, denying the Tawheed of Allah. S.W.T. Allah exists, it's the reality, and what He has done to the nations who denied the message of Tawheed is told by Allah Himself. They were destroyed completely, and Allah accurately quoted the message they received from the Prophets, how they denied the Truth and became persistent in their wrongdoings, and what

The Prophet Ibrahim A.S. starts by making them realize what they are doing. What you are doing is worshipping idols, and that is not the right thing to do. The word used for idols is أَوۡثَـٰن, which is the plural of وَثَنَ. وَثَنَ means something fixed, settled, or lasting. The other word is صَنَم, used for idols. In Ibn ʿĀshūr’s explanation, وَثَن usually refers to a shaped idol, like an image or statue made from stone or wood in the form of a human, while صَنَم can be broader and used for shapeless objects. The use of أَوۡثَـٰن was appropriate, targeting their mindset and thinking of idols as lasting.

Worshipping idols and creating falsehood about them is the second thing he made them

The Ayah reflects the continuation of the Prophets with the same message. Allah mentioned Ibrahim A.S. Allah is quoting his preaching in the ayah. Allah make all of us recall the time when Ibrahim A.S. preached the same message to his nation, who were committing shirk with Allah. He preached two things: ٱعۡبُدُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ وَٱتَّقُوهُۖworship Allah and be mindful of Him, be conscious of Him, have fear of Him.

The ayah is simple, but reflecting on it today makes it most relatable.

The message of Prophet Ibrahim A.S. helps us in realizing that Allah comes first in everything. If we become totally true to His teachings and rules and trust Him and only fear Him, the result is Ultimate goodness.

The Prophet Nuh A.S.'s struggle and years of patience bore fruit. We know that few people accepted Islam. In this ayah, Allah says that He rescued them from the punishment of the flood. The use of 1st person plural represents the dignity, honor, and power of Allah. S.W.T. that He rescued them.

I noticed Allah mentioned both the Prophet and أَصۡحَـٰبَ ٱلسَّفِینَةِ, the companions of the ship. ٱلسَّفِینَة is from the root word "سفن," which means "a ship" or "a vessel." Allah mentioned those who were on the Haq, who accepted the message delivered by the Prophet Nuh (A.S.). Although those companions were in the minority, they are most appreciable and valuable to Allah. In the previous ayah, Al

The ayah discusses the Prophet's Patience and his ummah's wrongdoings. When I looked at the ayah, I felt the glory, the pride in words when Allah said: "And certainly We sent down the Nuh (A.S) towards his nation." The use of Laam al-taukid emphasizes that. The use of "We" instead of I, Subhan Allah.

Later, this emphasis made me think, why is Nuh A.S. mentioned here? Out of all the prophets, why Nuh A.S? And the why comes when Allah says that he was within his nation for 1000 years except for 50 years. I got the answer. The only Prophet who preached to his nation for such a long time, tried hard to protect them from their nafs, from the sins, while bearing all the consequences and challeng

The Ayah is so heavy. The statement is for those who think carrying weight is easy and transferable, just like in this world's dealings.

Allah called the people who arrogantly claimed to carry the other people's burdens true liars, and here, in this ayah, Allah says they'll certainly carry their own burdens. "أثقال" is a word for heavy loads. And apart from their own burdens, they'll carry the other burdens, especially the burden of misleading others, misguiding and motivating people to leave Allah's path.

The use of the Lam of emphasis and the Noon of emphasis in carrying the burden demonstrates how true Allah is and his speech and the day of Aakhirah and how false are the claims of the d

The ayah highlights one aspect of societal influence. The people who refused to believe in Allah say to the people who believe, Follow our paths; we shall carry your sins.

If you notice, the disbelievers didn't ask them for obedience; they wanted the believers to follow them. I reflected upon the fact that this happens when manifesting iman seems challenging and difficult; automatically practicing kufr seems easier and supported. That happens mostly when the majority of people on the wrong side keep pressuring, influencing you, and advising you to follow them. And once you start following, the iman gets weaker and weaker

The strength of iman matters, and according to one hadith narrated b

This is a long ayah, and sometimes such long ayahs are blessings as you put more of your time and effort into understanding them.

Just like a long or a big thing is based on some primary parts, so I discovered three parts in the whole ayah. In the first part, there is a reaction of people who are tested; in the second part, Allah exposes us; and in the third part, Allah asks a question to all of us.

Allah says there are some among the people who claim to believe, but whenever they are harmed, in the way of Allah, they take people's persecution as seriously as Allah's punishment. In this first part, I zoomed in on something that was obvious but still between the lines, hidden but prominent