فَلَمَّا جَآءَ أَمْرُنَا جَعَلْنَا عَـٰلِيَهَا سَافِلَهَا وَأَمْطَرْنَا عَلَيْهَا حِجَارَةً مِّن سِجِّيلٍ مَّنضُودٍ 82
Translations
So when Our command came, We made the highest part [of the city] its lowest and rained upon them stones of layered hard clay, [which were]
Transliteration
Falammā jāʾa amrunā jaʿalnā ʿāliyahā sāfilahā wa-amṭarnā ʿalayhā ḥijāratam min sijjīlin mandūd
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah describes the destruction of the people of Lot (Lut), where Allah inverted their cities—turning the upper parts downward—and rained upon them baked clay stones in succession. Classical scholars like Ibn Kathir and Al-Tabari explain that this was a severe punishment for their rejection of the message and their abominable deeds, demonstrating Allah's power to utterly destroy those who persist in disobedience and transgression.
Revelation Context
This ayah is part of the historical narrative in Surah Hud recounting the story of Prophet Lot and the destruction of his people. The context follows Lot's warning to his community to abandon their immoral practices, and the arrival of Allah's command brought about their complete annihilation—a lesson about the inevitable consequences of rejecting divine guidance.
Related Hadiths
The destruction of the people of Lot is referenced in various hadiths regarding the signs before the Day of Judgment and the gravity of sexual immorality. See Al-Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah regarding warnings about the practices of the people of Lot as precursors to divine punishment.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah teaches that persistent disobedience and rejection of divine guidance leads to inevitable and complete destruction, serving as a powerful reminder that Allah's patience with wrongdoers has limits and that moral boundaries established by religion must be respected. For modern believers, it emphasizes the importance of accepting prophetic warnings and maintaining ethical standards before consequences become irreversible.
Related Ayahs
وَلَئِن مَّسَّتْهُمْ نَفْحَةٌ مِّنْ عَذَابِ رَبِّكَ لَيَقُولُنَّ يَـٰوَيْلَنَآ إِنَّا كُنَّا ظَـٰلِمِينَ
And if [as much as] a whiff of the punishment of your Lord should touch them, they would surely say, "O woe to us! Indeed, we have been wrongdoers."
فَتِلْكَ بُيُوتُهُمْ خَاوِيَةًۢ بِمَا ظَلَمُوٓا۟ ۗ إِنَّ فِى ذَٰلِكَ لَـَٔايَةً لِّقَوْمٍ يَعْلَمُونَ
So those are their houses, desolate because of the wrong they had done. Indeed in that is a sign for people who know.
وَلَقَدْ أَتَوْا۟ عَلَى ٱلْقَرْيَةِ ٱلَّتِىٓ أُمْطِرَتْ مَطَرَ ٱلسَّوْءِ ۚ أَفَلَمْ يَكُونُوا۟ يَرَوْنَهَا ۚ بَلْ كَانُوا۟ لَا يَرْجُونَ نُشُورًا
And they have already come upon the town which was showered with a rain of evil [i.e., stones]. So have they not seen it? But they are not expecting resurrection.
إِنَّ فِى ذَٰلِكَ لَـَٔايَةً لِّمَنْ خَافَ عَذَابَ ٱلْـَٔاخِرَةِ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ يَوْمٌ مَّجْمُوعٌ لَّهُ ٱلنَّاسُ وَذَٰلِكَ يَوْمٌ مَّشْهُودٌ
Indeed in that is a sign for those who fear the punishment of the Hereafter. That is a Day for which the people will be collected, and that is a Day [which will be] witnessed.