أَئِنَّكُمْ لَتَأْتُونَ ٱلرِّجَالَ وَتَقْطَعُونَ ٱلسَّبِيلَ وَتَأْتُونَ فِى نَادِيكُمُ ٱلْمُنكَرَ ۖ فَمَا كَانَ جَوَابَ قَوْمِهِۦٓ إِلَّآ أَن قَالُوا۟ ٱئْتِنَا بِعَذَابِ ٱللَّهِ إِن كُنتَ مِنَ ٱلصَّـٰدِقِينَ 29
Translations
Indeed, you approach men and obstruct the road and commit in your meetings [every] evil." And the answer of his people was not but that they said, "Bring us the punishment of Allāh, if you should be of the truthful."
Transliteration
A-innakum lata'toon ar-rijaal wa taqa'ta'oon as-sabeel wa ta'toon fee nadikum al-munkar, fama kana jawab qawmihi illa an qaloo i'tina bi'adhab Allah in kunta min as-sadiqeen
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah records the response of the people of Lot when he warned them against their immoral practices—approaching men sexually, highway robbery, and committing indecency in their assemblies. Rather than heeding his message, they mockingly demanded that he bring Allah's punishment upon them if he was truthful, a arrogant rejection characteristic of those who deny divine truth. Classical scholars like Ibn Kathir note this ayah demonstrates how those engaged in sin often respond to prophetic warning with ridicule and defiance rather than repentance.
Revelation Context
This ayah is part of the narrative of Prophet Lot (Lut) within Surah Al-'Ankabut, which focuses on testing and trials faced by believers and prophets. The surah contextualizes Lot's people among various nations that rejected their prophets, illustrating the recurring pattern of divine rejection across history. The specific sins mentioned—sexual immorality (liwat), highway robbery, and public obscenity—characterized the people of Sodom and were reasons for their destruction.
Related Hadiths
The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: 'The most severely punished people on the Day of Judgment are those who engaged in sodomy' (Sunan Ibn Majah). Additionally, the hadith in Sahih Bukhari recounts how Prophet Lot warned his people against their transgressions, paralleling this ayah's narrative of prophetic admonition being rejected.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah teaches that persistent sin and arrogant rejection of divine guidance invite punishment, and warns against both immoral behavior and the hardening of the heart that prevents people from accepting truth when it is presented to them. It reminds believers that mockery of religion or those calling to Allah is itself a grave offense that distances one from divine mercy.
Related Ayahs
وَلَئِن سَأَلْتَهُم مَّن نَّزَّلَ مِنَ ٱلسَّمَآءِ مَآءً فَأَحْيَا بِهِ ٱلْأَرْضَ مِنۢ بَعْدِ مَوْتِهَا لَيَقُولُنَّ ٱللَّهُ ۚ قُلِ ٱلْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ ۚ بَلْ أَكْثَرُهُمْ لَا يَعْقِلُونَ
And if you asked them, "Who sends down rain from the sky and gives life thereby to the earth after its lifelessness?" they would surely say, "Allāh." Say, "Praise to Allāh"; but most of them do not reason.
وَقَالَ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ لِلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ ٱتَّبِعُوا۟ سَبِيلَنَا وَلْنَحْمِلْ خَطَـٰيَـٰكُمْ وَمَا هُم بِحَـٰمِلِينَ مِنْ خَطَـٰيَـٰهُم مِّن شَىْءٍ ۖ إِنَّهُمْ لَكَـٰذِبُونَ
And those who disbelieve say to those who believe, "Follow our way, and we will carry your sins." But they will not carry anything of their sins. Indeed, they are liars.
وَقَالَ إِنَّمَا ٱتَّخَذْتُم مِّن دُونِ ٱللَّهِ أَوْثَـٰنًا مَّوَدَّةَ بَيْنِكُمْ فِى ٱلْحَيَوٰةِ ٱلدُّنْيَا ۖ ثُمَّ يَوْمَ ٱلْقِيَـٰمَةِ يَكْفُرُ بَعْضُكُم بِبَعْضٍ وَيَلْعَنُ بَعْضُكُم بَعْضًا وَمَأْوَىٰكُمُ ٱلنَّارُ وَمَا لَكُم مِّن نَّـٰصِرِينَ
And [Abraham] said, "You have only taken, other than Allāh, idols as [a bond of] affection among you in worldly life. Then on the Day of Resurrection you will deny one another and curse one another, and your refuge will be the Fire, and you will not have any helpers."
وَمَا هَـٰذِهِ ٱلْحَيَوٰةُ ٱلدُّنْيَآ إِلَّا لَهْوٌ وَلَعِبٌ ۚ وَإِنَّ ٱلدَّارَ ٱلْـَٔاخِرَةَ لَهِىَ ٱلْحَيَوَانُ ۚ لَوْ كَانُوا۟ يَعْلَمُونَ
And this worldly life is not but diversion and amusement. And indeed, the home of the Hereafter - that is the [eternal] life, if only they knew.