• The Angels sent by God first meet Abraham

• Abraham’s wife given the glad tidings of Isaac and Jacob

• Abraham pleads for the people of Lot but asked to leave the people to have their own earning

• The Angels appear to Lot

• Lot admonishes his people who reject the warning and thus were destroyed

Hud Verses 69 – 83

وَلَقَدْ جَاءَتْ رُسُلُنَا إِبْرَاهِيمَ بِالْبُشْرَىٰ قَالُوا سَلَامًا قَالَ سَلَامٌ فَمَا لَبِثَ أَنْ جَاءَ بِعِجْلٍ حَنِيذٍ

And indeed Our messengers (the angels) came unto Abraham with glad tidings; Said they: “Peace! (Abraham in reply), said (And on you also be) “Peace”! and delayed not to bring a roasted calf. (11:69)1

فَلَمَّا رَأَىٰ أَيْدِيَهُمْ لَا تَصِلُ إِلَيْهِ نَكِرَهُمْ وَأَوْجَسَ مِنْهُمْ خِيفَةً قَالُوا لَا تَخَفْ إِنَّا أُرْسِلْنَا إِلَىٰ قَوْمِ لُوطٍ

But when he saw that their hands extended2not towards it,3(he) mistrusted4them and conceived fear of them. Said they (the Angels): “Fear (thou) not; Verily we are sent unto Lot’s people.” (11:70)

وَامْرَأَتُهُ قَائِمَةٌ فَضَحِكَتْ فَبَشَّرْنَاهَا بِإِسْحَاقَ وَمِنْ وَرَاءِ إِسْحَاقَ يَعْقُوبَ

And his wife was standing (by), and she laughed,5then We gave her the glad tidings of Isaac and after Isaac of (a son’s6son) Jacob. (11:71)7

قَالَتْ يَا وَيْلَتَىٰ أَأَلِدُ وَأَنَا عَجُوزٌ وَهَٰذَا بَعْلِي شَيْخًا إِنَّ هَٰذَا لَشَيْءٌ عَجِيبٌ

Said she: “O’ Woe unto me! shall I bear a son (now) when I am an (extremely) old (woman) and this my husband an (extremely) old (man)?8Verily this is a thing wonderful!” (11:72)9

قَالُوا أَتَعْجَبِينَ مِنْ أَمْرِ اللَّهِ رَحْمَتُ اللَّهِ وَبَرَكَاتُهُ عَلَيْكُمْ أَهْلَ الْبَيْتِ إِنَّهُ حَمِيدٌ مَجِيدٌ

Said they:10“What! wonderest thou at the decree of God? The mercy of God and His blessings be on ye, O’ People of the House;11Verily He (alone) is Praiseworthy, the All-Glorious!” (11:73)

فَلَمَّا ذَهَبَ عَنْ إِبْرَاهِيمَ الرَّوْعُ وَجَاءَتْهُ الْبُشْرَىٰ يُجَادِلُنَا فِي قَوْمِ لُوطٍ

And when had gone away from Abraham the awe and the glad tidings came unto him, he began pleading with Us for Lot’s people. (11:74)

إِنَّ إِبْرَاهِيمَ لَحَلِيمٌ أَوَّاهٌ مُنِيبٌ

Verily Abraham was indeed forbearing, compassionate, oft- returning (to God). (11:75)

يَا إِبْرَاهِيمُ أَعْرِضْ عَنْ هَٰذَا إِنَّهُ قَدْ جَاءَ أَمْرُ رَبِّكَ وَإِنَّهُمْ آتِيهِمْ عَذَابٌ غَيْرُ مَرْدُودٍ

“O’12Abraham! Forsake this! Indeed the decree of thy Lord hath come to pass; and verily unto them cometh a torment (which is) irreversible.” (11:76)

وَلَمَّا جَاءَتْ رُسُلُنَا لُوطًا سِيءَ بِهِمْ وَضَاقَ بِهِمْ ذَرْعًا وَقَالَ هَٰذَا يَوْمٌ عَصِيبٌ

And when Our messengers (the angels) came unto Lot, he was grieved for them and felt his arm straitened13to protect them and said: “This is a distressful day.” (11:77)14

وَجَاءَهُ قَوْمُهُ يُهْرَعُونَ إِلَيْهِ وَمِنْ قَبْلُ كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ السَّيِّئَاتِ قَالَ يَا قَوْمِ هَٰؤُلَاءِ بَنَاتِي هُنَّ أَطْهَرُ لَكُمْ فَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَلَا تُخْزُونِ فِي ضَيْفِي أَلَيْسَ مِنْكُمْ رَجُلٌ رَشِيدٌ

And came his people rushing unto him; for aforetime they did evil deeds; Said he (Lot): “O’ my people! these my daughters are - they are purer for you, so guard ye against (the punishment of) God, and disgrace me not about my guests; Is there not among you a single man rightminded?” (11:78)

قَالُوا لَقَدْ عَلِمْتَ مَا لَنَا فِي بَنَاتِكَ مِنْ حَقٍّ وَإِنَّكَ لَتَعْلَمُ مَا نُرِيدُ

Said they: “Indeed knowest thou that we need not thy daughters, and verily well-knoweth thou what we intend.” (11:79)

قَالَ لَوْ أَنَّ لِي بِكُمْ قُوَّةً أَوْ آوِي إِلَىٰ رُكْنٍ شَدِيدٍ

Said he:15“Would that I had strength to resist you or betake myself to a strong supporter.” (11:80)

قَالُوا يَا لُوطُ إِنَّا رُسُلُ رَبِّكَ لَنْ يَصِلُوا إِلَيْكَ فَأَسْرِ بِأَهْلِكَ بِقِطْعٍ مِنَ اللَّيْلِ وَلَا يَلْتَفِتْ مِنْكُمْ أَحَدٌ إِلَّا امْرَأَتَكَ إِنَّهُ مُصِيبُهَا مَا أَصَابَهُمْ إِنَّ مَوْعِدَهُمُ الصُّبْحُ أَلَيْسَ الصُّبْحُ بِقَرِيبٍ

Said they:16“O’ Lot! Verily we are messengers from thy Lord! Never shall they reach thee! so depart thou with thy people while a part of the night remaineth, and let none of you turn back - but thy wife; Verily shall befall her what befalleth them; Verily their appointed time is the morning; Is not the morning nigh?” (11:81)17

فَلَمَّا جَاءَ أَمْرُنَا جَعَلْنَا عَالِيَهَا سَافِلَهَا وَأَمْطَرْنَا عَلَيْهَا حِجَارَةً مِنْ سِجِّيلٍ مَنْضُودٍ

So when Our decree came to pass, We turned their (township) upside down, and rained on them hard stones of baked clay, (spreading) layer on layer. (11:82)

مُسَوَّمَةً عِنْدَ رَبِّكَ وَمَا هِيَ مِنَ الظَّالِمِينَ بِبَعِيدٍ

Marked (for punishment) with thy Lord; Nor are they (the ruins of their township) far distant from the unjust ones. (11:83)18

Commentary

Verse 73

Since in the mercy and the bounty of God offered in this verse to the people of the house of Abraham and Sarah the wife of Abraham happens to be the probable person included in the address of ‘Ahl Al-Bayt’ some commentators in their anxiety to find some argument, for their counting the wives of the Holy Prophet in the term, ‘Ahl Al-Bayt’ have said that since Sarah the wife of Abraham is included in the term ‘Ahl Al-Bayt’ used in this verse, all the wives of the Holy Prophet are included in the Verse 33:33 relating to the purity and the excellence of the godly Ahl Al-Bayt of the Holy Prophet Muhammad.

The commentators intentionally or unintentionally ignore the fact and the significance of the address by the angels. If Sarah was one of the addressees of the Angel, it was not as the wife of Abraham but as she was going to be the mother of Isaac, another apostle of God, the matrimonial relation between a man and a woman can never always be permanent. It is only circumstantial which can at any moment be given up. A wife would be with one, and after a divorce could also go to another. Hence, she could never be a permanent partner to any husband to be included in such a heavenly address meant only for those who are endowed with the unique heavenly excellence and purity.

Besides, Sarah, the wife of Abraham, was a cousin of Abraham, being the daughter of his uncle. Hence, she is by all means one of the ‘Ahl Al-Bayt’ of Abraham as she owned the same blood and flesh in her physical body of the same family but this was not the case with the wives of the Holy Prophet. The conduct of some of the wives of the Holy Prophet is well-recorded in the Islamic history as to who were those of his wives, with whom the Holy Prophet was pleased and who were those who teased him and used to give him the headache by their behaviour with him which necessitated their being discarded for about a month until sura 16 was revealed.19

Sarah was considered as a member of the House because she would be the mother of Isaac and not because of her being the wife of Abraham. Besides the spiritual merit which existed there.

And it seems that this term Ahl Al-Bayt has a peculiar or special significance used for the chosen members of the family of Abraham of both the Israelite and the Ismailite branches. As the chosen ones of God since time immemorial they strived to establish houses of prayer for God and tried to keep the house clean for the supplicants, and they themselves were the purified ones by God Himself. (A.P.).

Verse 74

Owing to his being extremely merciful, Abraham began to continuously argue with the angels about the punishment they had come to inflict upon the people of Sodom but when he received the commandment from God, he kept fully reconciled with the will of the Lord.

Verse 77

It is evident from the feeling of helplessness expressed by Lot that even being sinless like that of an apostle of God could not be sufficient to defend the people against any heavenly calamity.

• 1. Refer to verses 51:24-28 & 29:31.
• 2. Reached. Refer to verses 7:80, 21:71-74 & 15:59.
• 3. The food which Abraham had offered.
• 4. deemed strange.
• 5. ROT Gen. 18/10-12.
• 6. Grandson.
• 7. Refer to verse 15:53.
• 8. The wonder on the part of the Lady clearly indicates that her giving birth to Isaac was a miraculous act enacted by the Will of the Lord.
• 9. Refer to verse 15:54.
• 10. The angels.
• 11. Arabic: Ahl Al-Bayt refer to note on verse 33:33. See note on the use of the address Ahl Al-Bayt on this note & verse 33:33.
• 12. Said God unto Abraham.
• 13. Helpless.
• 14. Refer to verses 7:80 & 15:61-74
• 15. Lot.
• 16. The angels.
• 17. Refer to verse 37:135.
• 18. This sort of punishment is always there not far away from any people who transgress the limits of the Law of the Lord.
• 19. Refer to note on verse 66:1.