Stories
Lut
A prophet in a town that would not listen
3 min, Intro
Lut (Lot), who tradition says was Ibrahim's nephew, believed in Ibrahim's message. He was sent to a town that tradition places near the Dead Sea. He warned its people against what the Qur'an calls open wrongdoing, and was saved with his family, except his wife.
Draft written with AI help: awaiting scholar review
The thread
Lut believes Ibrahim's message and leaves home with him. Then he is sent to a town of his own, a town that will not listen. Angels come as his guests, and the men of the town rush to his door. Lut leaves by night with his family. All but his wife.
He left home with Ibrahim
Lut's story begins beside another prophet. The Qur'an says Lut believed in Ibrahim, who then declared that he was emigrating to his Lord. Lut travelled with him from their homeland.
Then Lut was sent as a messenger to a town of his own. Its name is not given in the Qur'an. Tradition identifies it with Sodom, near the Dead Sea.
۞ فَـَٔامَنَ لَهُۥ لُوطࣰۘ وَقَالَ إِنِّي مُهَاجِرٌ إِلَىٰ رَبِّيٓۖ إِنَّهُۥ هُوَ ٱلۡعَزِيزُ ٱلۡحَكِيمُ ٢٦
26 Lot believed in him, and Abraham said, “I am emigrating to my Lord. He is indeed the All-Mighty, the All-Wise.”
Lut believed in Ibrahim, and left home with him.
What the town did
What was wrong in Lut's town? The Qur'an lists it: approaching men with desire instead of women, cutting off the road (understood as robbing travellers), and committing wrongs openly in their gatherings. Their only answer was a dare: bring us God's punishment, if you are telling the truth.
Then angels came to Lut in the form of guests. He was troubled as soon as they arrived. This is a distressing day, he said. The men of the town rushed to his house. Lut pleaded with them not to disgrace him before his guests. Was there not one right-minded man among them? Then the guests told him who they were: messengers of his Lord. The men would never reach him.
How is the story read? Classical scholars read it as condemning same-sex acts, and that remains the mainstream view. Some modern writers argue its focus is assault and violence against guests; most scholars reject that reading. Muslims today discuss how it bears on modern questions.
وَلُوطًا إِذۡ قَالَ لِقَوۡمِهِۦٓ إِنَّكُمۡ لَتَأۡتُونَ ٱلۡفَٰحِشَةَ مَا سَبَقَكُم بِهَا مِنۡ أَحَدࣲ مِّنَ ٱلۡعَٰلَمِينَ ٢٨ أَئِنَّكُمۡ لَتَأۡتُونَ ٱلرِّجَالَ وَتَقۡطَعُونَ ٱلسَّبِيلَ وَتَأۡتُونَ فِي نَادِيكُمُ ٱلۡمُنكَرَۖ فَمَا كَانَ جَوَابَ قَوۡمِهِۦٓ إِلَّآ أَن قَالُواْ ٱئۡتِنَا بِعَذَابِ ٱللَّهِ إِن كُنتَ مِنَ ٱلصَّٰدِقِينَ ٢٩
28 And [remember] Lot, when he said to his people, “You surely commit a shameful act that no one in the world has ever done before you.
29 Do you approach men with lust, engage in highway robbery, and practice immoral acts in your gatherings?” But the only response his people gave was to say, “Bring us Allah’s punishment, if you are truthful.”
The Qur'an names several wrongs in Lut's town, all done openly.
The wife who stayed behind
The angels told Lut to leave by night with his family and not look back. Their time is the morning, they said. Is the morning not near? By morning the town was destroyed. The Qur'an says stones of clay rained down on it.
One person did not leave with him. His wife stayed behind and shared the town's fate. The angels had said so already, to Ibrahim. When they told him the town would be destroyed, he said: but Lut is there. They knew who was there, they answered. They would save him and his family, except his wife.
The Qur'an gives the wives of Nuh and Lut as examples. Both were married to righteous servants of God, yet that closeness did not save them. Each person answers for their own choices.
ضَرَبَ ٱللَّهُ مَثَلࣱا لِّلَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ ٱمۡرَأَتَ نُوحࣲ وَٱمۡرَأَتَ لُوطࣲۖ كَانَتَا تَحۡتَ عَبۡدَيۡنِ مِنۡ عِبَادِنَا صَٰلِحَيۡنِ فَخَانَتَاهُمَا فَلَمۡ يُغۡنِيَا عَنۡهُمَا مِنَ ٱللَّهِ شَيۡـࣱٔا وَقِيلَ ٱدۡخُلَا ٱلنَّارَ مَعَ ٱلدَّٰخِلِينَ ١٠
10 Allah sets forth an example for the disbelievers: the wife of Noah and the wife of Lot, who were under two of Our righteous slaves, but they betrayed them. Their husbands could not avail them anything against Allah, and they both were told, “Enter the Fire along with those who enter!”
Closeness to a prophet saved neither wife; choices decided.