وَقَوْمُ إِبْرَٰهِيمَ وَقَوْمُ لُوطٍ 43
Translations
And the people of Abraham and the people of Lot.
Transliteration
Wa qawmu Ibrahima wa qawmu Lut
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah refers to the peoples of Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham) and Prophet Lut (Lot) who rejected their messengers and were punished by Allah. According to classical scholars like Ibn Kathir and Al-Tabari, this ayah is part of a broader discussion in Surah Al-Hajj about those who were given clear signs yet chose disbelief, serving as a warning to those who similarly reject guidance. The mention of both communities emphasizes the consistency of Allah's pattern of justice—those who reject messengers face severe consequences regardless of their lineage or status.
Revelation Context
This ayah appears in the context of Surah Al-Hajj (a Medinan surah) which discusses the obligation of Hajj and the rejection of Allah's messages throughout history. The ayah is part of a sequence (22:40-44) recounting various nations that rejected their prophets and faced divine punishment, serving to reassure the early Muslim community of Allah's justice and warning the disbelievers among Quraysh.
Related Hadiths
The incident of Lut's people is extensively mentioned in Hadith literature regarding the greatest sin. Narrated by Ibn Abbas in various hadith collections that the Prophet (ﷺ) warned severely against the actions of the people of Lut. Additionally, authentic hadiths in Sunan Ibn Majah and Sunan At-Tirmidhi discuss the punishment that befell these communities.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah teaches that no nation, regardless of its prominence or the status of its people, is exempt from Allah's justice when they reject His messengers and guidance. For believers today, it reinforces the importance of accepting divine guidance and serves as a sobering reminder that historical prosperity cannot protect one from the consequences of disbelief and moral corruption.
Related Ayahs
ٱلَّذِينَ أُخْرِجُوا۟ مِن دِيَـٰرِهِم بِغَيْرِ حَقٍّ إِلَّآ أَن يَقُولُوا۟ رَبُّنَا ٱللَّهُ ۗ وَلَوْلَا دَفْعُ ٱللَّهِ ٱلنَّاسَ بَعْضَهُم بِبَعْضٍ لَّهُدِّمَتْ صَوَٰمِعُ وَبِيَعٌ وَصَلَوَٰتٌ وَمَسَـٰجِدُ يُذْكَرُ فِيهَا ٱسْمُ ٱللَّهِ كَثِيرًا ۗ وَلَيَنصُرَنَّ ٱللَّهُ مَن يَنصُرُهُۥٓ ۗ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَقَوِىٌّ عَزِيزٌ
[They are] those who have been evicted from their homes without right - only because they say, "Our Lord is Allāh." And were it not that Allāh checks the people, some by means of others, there would have been demolished monasteries, churches, synagogues, and mosques in which the name of Allāh is much mentioned [i.e., praised]. And Allāh will surely support those who support Him [i.e., His cause]. Indeed, Allāh is Powerful and Exalted in Might.
وَإِن جَـٰدَلُوكَ فَقُلِ ٱللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ
And if they dispute with you, then say, "Allāh is most knowing of what you do.
وَمِنَ ٱلنَّاسِ مَن يَعْبُدُ ٱللَّهَ عَلَىٰ حَرْفٍ ۖ فَإِنْ أَصَابَهُۥ خَيْرٌ ٱطْمَأَنَّ بِهِۦ ۖ وَإِنْ أَصَابَتْهُ فِتْنَةٌ ٱنقَلَبَ عَلَىٰ وَجْهِهِۦ خَسِرَ ٱلدُّنْيَا وَٱلْـَٔاخِرَةَ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ هُوَ ٱلْخُسْرَانُ ٱلْمُبِينُ
And of the people is he who worships Allāh on an edge. If he is touched by good, he is reassured by it; but if he is struck by trial, he turns on his face [to unbelief]. He has lost [this] world and the Hereafter. That is what is the manifest loss.
لِّيَجْعَلَ مَا يُلْقِى ٱلشَّيْطَـٰنُ فِتْنَةً لِّلَّذِينَ فِى قُلُوبِهِم مَّرَضٌ وَٱلْقَاسِيَةِ قُلُوبُهُمْ ۗ وَإِنَّ ٱلظَّـٰلِمِينَ لَفِى شِقَاقٍۭ بَعِيدٍ
[That is] so He may make what Satan throws in [i.e., asserts] a trial for those within whose hearts is disease and those hard of heart. And indeed, the wrongdoers are in extreme dissension.