Translated by Fatima Zabeth Beenesh from the Farsi book "Tarikh i-Anbiya az Adam ta Khatam" by Husain Imadzadeh
3422 years after Habuth (descent of Adam a.s from Heaven)
The story of Lut a.s(Lot) was mentioned in the following chapters of Quran
1- Surat Al-'An`a-m (The Cattle) - سورة الأنعام,2- Surat Al-'A`ra-f (The Heights) -سورة الأعراف,
3- Surat Hu-d (Hud) - سورة هود,4- Surat Al-H^ijr (The Rocky Tract) - سورة الحجر,
5- Surat Al-'Anbya-' (The Prophets) - سورة الأنبياء, 6-Surat Al-H^aj (The Pilgrimage) - سورة الحج,
7- Surat Ash-Shu`ara-' (The Poets) - سورة الشعراء,8-Surat An-Nah^l (The Bee) - سورة النحل,
9- Surat Al-`Ankabu-t (The Spider) - سورة العنكبوت,
10- Surat As,-S,a-ffa-t (Those who set the Ranks) - سورة الصافات,
11- Surat Al-Qamar (The Moon) - سورة القمر,12-Surat Qa-f (The Letter "Qaf") - سورة ق,
13- Surat S,a-d (The Letter "Saad") - سورة ص,14-Surat At-Tah^ri-m (The Prohibtiion) - (سورة التحريم%%%
The Holy Quran presented by the last prophet Hazrat Muhammad SAVA mentioned the Ugly practises, the details of the prophet Lut’s a.s people, the character of the wives of Nuh a.s and Lut a.s living with their pious and godly husband and the torment of God’s wrath for the idolaters.
Hazrat Lut a.s bin Haran bin Tarikh was of swarthy complexion with Black eyes, extremely powerful and well built. He lived for 80 years and his grave is in Syria. Sara wife of Hazrat Ibrahim a.s was his sister and he was born circumcised.
Some narrators stated that he was the maternal cousin of prophet Ibrahim a.s. and Lut a.s was migrated to Syria from Babul with prophet Ibrahim a.s. When Sara and Lut a.s were very young they brought faith on Ibrahim a.s. Later prophet Ibrahim a.s married his sister Sara.The living source of Lut a.s was cattle rearing. Finally he was settled in the Hebron in Shamat which is near Baitul Maqdas.
Al-'Ankabut [29:26]
فَآمَنَ لَهُ لُوطٌ وَقَالَ إِنِّي مُهَاجِرٌ إِلَى رَبِّي إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْعَزِيزُ الْحَكِيمُ
29:26 But Lut had faith in Him: He said: "I will leave home for the sake of my Lord: for He is Exalted in Might, and Wise."
In the story of prophet hazrat Ibrahim a.s it was mentioned that he send many pious and learned people to many places to invite the people towards the religion of truth. One among them was prophet Lut a.s who was sent to lead the people of Mutakifath in Syria which was consist of many towns. The largest among them was Sodom.
The people of Sodom got addicted to Pederasty. Their religion was idol worshipping. Hazrat Lut a.s was sent by Ibrahim a.s to a place in Jordan, a land with the abundant water which was like a garden. He lived near the Sea of Karamith in the city of Sodom.
Hazrat Lut a.s invited the people towards One God and monotheism and prevented them from the act of pederasty and idol worshipping. While he was with the people of Sodom he married a girl from that tribe and got some children with her.
For thirty years Lut a.s taught them the high morals and to worship One God but it was of no effect and their generation was reaching to an end because of their evil act of pederasty. The angles of God descended to the Lut a.s and brought the wrath of God for his people.
So much stones were pelted like rain upon them that all of their high rise buildings became upside down and demolished.
After the calamity he migrated with his family to the place of Ibrahim a.s and lived there till his last breath.
It is written in the history that the information of the calamity was first conveyed to Ibrahim Khalil a.s ‘The friend of God’.
Ibrahim a.s enquired Jibril a.s: If some pious people are happen to be present among them, will the people be inflicted by the calamity?
Jibril a.s replied: If by chance a single pious man ‘momin’ with high morals exists among them, surely the calamity will be ceased.
Ibrahim a.s pleaded for their forgiveness and he was addressed by God: Ibrahim stop your intercession for those people. I am their creator and I know better than you that to what extent they are shameless and adamant in their practises.
Jibril a.s reached the abode of Lut a.s and the prophet expressed:
وَقَالَ هَـذَا يَوْمٌ عَصِيبٌ
(11:77)
• 11:77 and he exclaimed: "This is a woeful day!" -
The angels came as guest to the house of Lut a.s he said to his wife: Bring whatever eatables you stored and serve the guests so that I can pardon your bad deeds.
The wife of Lut a.s named Walifa or Wahila or Waliha was among those ill character people. Whenever the guest were arriving in her house, if it was the day time she used to climb the stairs and create the smokes on the roof of the house and when it was the night hours she used to ignite the fire on the roof top to inform the people that the guest had arrived in the house of Lut a.s and inviting the people to tease them.
When the angels of torment arrived she went atop the roof and by creating the fire informed neighbourhood that the guests arrived and they gathered around the house.
وَجَاءهُ قَوْمُهُ يُهْرَعُونَ إِلَيْهِ وَمِن قَبْلُ كَانُواْ يَعْمَلُونَ السَّيِّئَاتِ قَالَ يَا قَوْمِ هَـؤُلاء بَنَاتِي هُنَّ أَطْهَرُ لَكُمْ فَاتَّقُواْ اللّهَ
وَلاَ تُخْزُونِ فِي ضَيْفِي أَلَيْسَ مِنكُمْ رَجُلٌ رَّشِيدٌ (11:78)
• 11:78 And his people came running to him, impelled towards his house [by their desire]: for they had ever been wont to commit [such], abominations. Said [Lot]: "O my people! [Take instead] these daughters of mine: they are purer for you [than men]! Be, then, conscious of God, and disgrace me not by [assaulting] my guests. Is there not among you even one right-minded man?" -
The people said: Do not we told that you are not allowed to bring any body in your house as a guest?
And they wanted to create the nuisance for the guests and began to tease them.
Lut a.s requested his people: Fear God and do not degrade me before my guests. Is there anybody among you who is respectable and peace loving?
Hud (The Prophet Hud)
قَالُواْ لَقَدْ عَلِمْتَ مَا لَنَا فِي بَنَاتِكَ مِنْ حَقٍّ وَإِنَّكَ لَتَعْلَمُ مَا نُرِيدُ
(11:79)
• 11:79 They answered: "Thou hast always known that we have no use whatever for thy daughters; and, verily, well dost thou know what we want!" -
Lut a.s stated with much anger: I am not strong enough to wage a war with you all.
Two of the angels, Jibril a.s and an angel said: There calamity is too near now. We will take you out of these people.
Lut a.s replied: They had surrounded the house.
The angels said: We will erect a poll of powerful light before you while you come out of the house with your family and the people will not be able to see you before the strong light of the pole.
Meantime some miscreants among the people had broken the door and entered the house and went forward to molest the guests.
Jibril a.s hit them with his big feather they turned blind and the angels announced the mishap is close by.
Lut a.s asked: When the mishap will occur?
The angel of God replied: At the dawn of the day when the sky is dark. You leave this place with your wife and family. Your wife belongs to that same character of her tribe.
There was a wise and learned man among them who was informed about the incident, he expressed to the people: Do not allow the prophet Lut a.s to leave our city, as long as he is among you the torment of God will not inflict you and as soon as the prophet Lut a.s vacate this place, the agony and suffering will be going to commence for the tribe.
قَالُواْ يَا لُوطُ إِنَّا رُسُلُ رَبِّكَ لَن يَصِلُواْ إِلَيْكَ فَأَسْرِ بِأَهْلِكَ بِقِطْعٍ مِّنَ اللَّيْلِ وَلاَ يَلْتَفِتْ مِنكُمْ أَحَدٌ إِلاَّ امْرَأَتَكَ إِنَّهُ
مُصِيبُهَا مَا أَصَابَهُمْ إِنَّ مَوْعِدَهُمُ الصُّبْحُ أَلَيْسَ الصُّبْحُ بِقَرِيبٍ (11:81)
• 11:81 [Whereupon the angels] said: "O Lot! Behold, we are messengers from thy Sustainer! Never shall [thy enemies] attain to thee! Depart, then, with thy household while it is yet night, and let none of you look back,[and take with thee all thy family] with the exception of thy wife: for, behold, that which is to befall these [people of Sodom] shall befall her [as well]. Verily, their appointed time is the morning [and] is not the morning nigh?" -
More and more people gathered there, Jibril a.s moved a highly powerful pole of light before them. Lut a.s and his family went out of their house before the eyes of the people. Jibril a.s said: Be careful never turn around and look back.
Meantime the wife turned back to see the Sodom and her tribe. A stone hit her; then and there she fell down and died. Till the morning so much stones were pelted from the sky that Sodom and all the towns around were got upside down. The gigantic stones were rising from the ground, high up and up and then hitting back on the ground. The entire domestic animals and the people were groaning and wailing as if the door of hell was opened wide and finally all of them killed and vanished.
Hazrat Ali ibn Abi Talib said: The tribe of Lut a.s left six habits among the people in the world.
1-Constructing arches in the building.
2- Darting the pebbles with the fingers towards the people to tease them.
3- They created the art and skill of archery
4- The habit of biting the chewing gum.
5- Leaving on the floor, the changed dirty dresses.
6- To leave open the collar bands and exposing the bare chest.
From the information of the history it is gathered that the people of Sodom were among the most obscene, wild and the unmannerly people of the world. They were dirty, without ablutions, characterless, abusive, miserly, fond of immodest funs, lacking shame and decency, rude and mostly engaged in robbery and banditry.
In the whole city of Sodom it was only a single house of a pious man that too was belonged to Lut a.s. And they forced him to leave that place and the calamity of Almighty engulfed them.
As mentioned by Hazrat Imam Baqir a.s: In the beginning they were the best people, the devil deceived them and they followed the immoral practises. As the result of the torment of Almighty God they were disgraced in the world and the hereafter.
Hazrat Lut a.s was buried in the village Kafr Barik three miles from the mosque of Khalil. In that village there are 60 graves of prophets and 20 among them were (مرسل) those who were sent on a mission.
As much as the cultures progressed, the people searched to a great measure in the life of the people of past, to find out apparently the facts of life.