THE PROPHET LUT (peace be upon him)

The Advent of Prophet Lut:

The Prophet Lut (peace be upon him) was contemporary of Prophet Ibrahim (peace be upon him).  He was a nephew and follower of the Faith of his uncle.  He was the resident of Ur, an ancient town in Mesopotamia God conferred prophethood upon him.

He was commanded to leave his native land and go to Sodom and Gomorra to warn and reform the people who were indulged in grave sins such as homosexual intercourse and robbery.  The Holy Qur'an says:

"And Lut (remember) when he said to his folk: Will you commit abomination such as no creature ever did before.  Lo! you come with lust unto men instead of women.  Nay, but you are wanton folk." (7:80, 81)

In another Verse the Holy Qur'an throws a light on the character of those sinning people.  It says:

"What? Do you not come to males and commit robbery on the highways and do evil deeds in your meeting?" (29: 29)

The Prophet Lut Preaches and is Opposed:

The Prophet Lut (peace be upon him) was an alien to those people.  He began to preach the religion of God energetically.  He advised the people to guard themselves against the punishment from God.  He exhorted them to abandon sinful ways.  He told them that God had created woman for them to satisfy their lust.  They did not listen to the admonitions of their Prophet.  They ridiculed and threatened him of dire consequences.  They retorted that he would be expelled from that town in case he did not stop preaching and rebuking them.  The Holy Qur'an affirms:

"And the answer of his people was only that they said (to one another): Turn them out of your township.  They are folk who seek to keep pure." (7:82)

The same idea is expressed in the following Verses:

"They said: If you desist not, 0' Lut, you will soon be of the outcast.  He said: I am, in fact, of those who hate your conduct.  My Lord! save me and my household from what they do." (26: 167-169)

Gradually time passed by and the Prophet Lut (peace be upon him) did not achieve remarkable success on reforming those sinful persons.  They were shamelessly addicted to grave sins and his warnings simply exasperated them.

Angels Appear as Guests:

One day three angels in the disguise of handsome young boys came to Prophet Lut (peace be upon him) and they conveyed to him a special message from Almighty Allah.  The Prophet Lut (peace be upon him) and his followers were directed to leave the town because something very dreadful was going to happen.  When the people got wind of the visit of charming boys they tried to invade the house of Prophet Lut(peace be upon him) and demanded of him to deliver the guests to them.  The Prophet was much upset and he said:

"O' my people! Here are my daughters! They are purer for you! Beware of Allah and degrade me not in (the presence of) my guests.  Is there not among you any upright man ?" (11: 78)

They rejected this appeal of the Prophet and said:

"Well, you know that we have no right to your daughters and well, you know what we want." (11:79)

The Prophet was much disappointed and said:

"Would that I had strength to resist you or had some strong support." (11: 80)

The Angels Convey Message:

The Prophet Lut (peace be upon him) warned the people of the inevitable punishment in case they insisted on committing indecency.  They laughed and doubted his character.  When all efforts were ended in smoke, the angels who were in the form of human beings, said:

"O' Lut, Lo! We are messengers of thy Lord; they shall not reach thee.  So travel with thy people in a part of the night and not one of you turn round all save thy wife." (11:81)

The Prophet Lut is Delivered and his Nation Destroyed:

The Prophet Lut (peace be upon him) and his adherents left the city in the fagging part of the night and took shelter in a place of safety.  Soon after an uproar took place.  A sudden tremendous noise shock the earth.  It was a scary and dreadful earthquake.  The houses crumbled down and lofty buildings smashed to nothing but rubble.  The rocks that went up in the air hit those who tried to escape.  All arrogant sinners were completely destroyed.  The Prophet Lut (peace be upon him) and his followers were saved but his wife could not survive because she sympathised with the sinners.  The Holy Qur'an gives a brief description of this mishap in the following Verses:

"Then the (awful) cry overtook them at the sunrise: And We utterly confounded them, and We rained upon them stones of heated clay.  Lo! therein verily are portents for those who read the signs." (15:73-75)