قَالُوا۟ لَقَدْ عَلِمْتَ مَا لَنَا فِى بَنَاتِكَ مِنْ حَقٍّ وَإِنَّكَ لَتَعْلَمُ مَا نُرِيدُ 79
Translations
They said, "You have already known that we have not concerning your daughters [i.e., women] any claim [i.e., desire], and indeed, you know what we want."
Transliteration
Qalu laqad 'alimta ma lana fi banатika min haqq wa innaka latа'lamu ma nurid
Tafsir (Explanation)
The people of Lot are responding to his proposal that they marry his daughters instead of pursuing unnatural acts with his male guests, saying: 'You certainly know that we have no right to your daughters, and you know well what we desire.' According to Ibn Kathir and Al-Tabari, this statement reveals their shameless acknowledgment of their evil intention—they are explicitly admitting they have no lawful claim to his daughters and are openly declaring their sinful desires. The ayah emphasizes how the people of Lot were defiantly open about their rejection of the Prophet's guidance and their persistence in moral depravity.
Revelation Context
This ayah is part of the historical narrative of Prophet Lot (Lut) and his people in Surah Hud, a Meccan surah. The context describes Lot's attempt to dissuade his people from committing fahishah (indecency/homosexual acts) by offering them his daughters in marriage as a lawful alternative. This narrative serves as a warning to the Meccan polytheists about the consequences of rejecting divine guidance, similar to previous nations that were destroyed for their disobedience.
Related Hadiths
While no specific hadith directly quotes this ayah, Surah Al-A'raf 7:80-81 contains a parallel account of the same incident. The thematic lesson relates to hadiths condemning major sins and the importance of following prophetic guidance, such as those found in Jami' at-Tirmidhi regarding the warnings against immoral behavior.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah teaches us that brazen defiance of divine guidance and open acknowledgment of sinful desires represent a dangerous spiritual condition—one where people have become so hardened that they no longer even pretend to hide their evil intentions. For believers today, it serves as a reminder to guard against allowing sinful desires to overcome our sense of shame and to seek refuge in following Allah's guidance before we reach such a state of moral corruption.