Surah 29. Al-Ankabut

Thereupon [his brother's son] Lot came to believe in him and said: "Verily, I [too] shall forsake the domain of evil [and turn] to my Sustainer ²¹ for, verily, He alone is almighty, truly wise!"

  - Mohammad Asad

For an explanation of the concept of hijrah and of my above rendering of the term muhajir, see surah {2}, note [203], and surah {4}, note [124]. In the present instance this term is obviously used in both its physical and spiritual senses, analogous to the earlier allusion (in {19:48-49}) to Abraham's "withdrawal" (i'tizal) from his evil, native environment and to his physical migration to Harran (in northern Mesopotamia), and thence to Syria and Palestine. The story of Lot (Lut) is mentioned in the Qur'an several times, and particularly in {11:69-83}.

Witnessing this whole incident, Lut (Lot) affirmed his belief with Ibrahim. Finally Ibrahim said: "I will migrate towards my Rabb (go where my Rabb has bidden me). He is the Mighty, the Wise."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And Lot believed him, and said: Lo! I am a fugitive unto my Lord. Lo! He, only He, is the Mighty, the Wise.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And [as for Abraham,] We bestowed upon him Isaac and [Isaac's son] Jacob,²² and caused pro-phethood and revelation to continue among his offspring. And We vouchsafed him his reward in this world;²³ and, verily, in the life to come [too] he shall find himself among the righteous.

  - Mohammad Asad

I.e., in addition to Ishmael (Isma'il), who had been born some years earlier (cf. 21:72 ).

Among other things, by making him "a leader of men" ( 2:124 ).

We gave him Ishaq (Isaac - a son) and Ya'qoob (Jacob - a grandson), and placed the Prophethood and the Book in his progeny - thus We gave him his reward in this life, and in the hereafter he will surely be among the righteous.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And We bestowed on him Isaac and Jacob, and We established the Prophethood and the Scripture among his seed, and We gave him his reward in the world, and lo! in the Hereafter he verily is among the righteous.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

AND LOT, [too, was inspired by Us] when he said unto his people: "Verily, you commit abominations such as none in all the world has ever committed before you!

  - Mohammad Asad

When Lut (Lot) said to his people: "Surely you are committing such sexual misconduct as no one in the worlds has ever attempted before you.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And Lot! (Remember) when he said unto his folk: Lo! ye commit lewdness such as no creature did before you.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Must you indeed approach men [with lust], and thus cut across the way [of nature]?²⁴ - and must you commit these shameful deeds in your [open] assemblies?" But his people's only answer was, "Bring down upon us God's chastisement, if thou art a man of truth!"

  - Mohammad Asad

This particular interpretation of the phrase taqta'un as-sabil is advanced by Baghawi and (on the authority of Al-Hassan) by Zamakhshari; Razi adopts it exclusively and without reservation.

Do you lust after males, commit robbery on the highways and commit evil deeds even in your assemblies?" His people had no answer except to say: "Bring us the scourge of Allah if you are truthful."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

For come ye not in unto males, and cut ye not the road (for travellers), and commit ye not abomination in your meetings? But the answer of his folk was only that they said: Bring Allah's doom upon us if thou art a truth teller!

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

[And] he prayed: "O my Sustainer! Succour Thou me against these people who spread corruption!"

  - Mohammad Asad

Lut prayed: "O Rabb! Help me against this degenerate nation."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

He said: My Lord! Give me victory over folk who work corruption.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And so, when Our [heavenly] messengers came to Abraham with the glad tiding [of the birth of Isaac],²⁵ they [also] said, "Behold, we are about to destroy the people of that land, ²⁶ for its people are truly evildoers!"

  - Mohammad Asad

See 11:69 ff., as well as the first half of the corresponding note [99].

The term qaryah has here, as so often in classical Arabic, the connotation of "land", in this instance comprising the towns of Sodom and Gomorrah.

When Our Messengers (angels) came to Ibrahim (Abraham) with the good news (the birth of a son in his old age), they said: "We are to destroy the people of that township, for its people are indeed wrongdoers."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And when Our messengers brought Abraham the good news, they said: Lo! we are about to destroy the people of that township, for its people are wrongdoers.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

[And when Abraham] exclaimed, "But Lot lives there!"-they answered: "We know fully well who is there; most certainly we shall save him and his household - all but his wife: she will indeed be among those that stay behind."²⁷

  - Mohammad Asad

See note [66] on 7:83 and note [113] on 11:81 . In the present instance, as well as in the next verse, the past-tense auxiliary verb kanat is meant to stress the inevitability of the future event referred to; hence, "she will indeed be...", etc.

Ibrahim said: "But Lut is in there." The angels replied: "We know who is in there: we shall certainly save him and his family, except his wife, who will remain behind!"

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

He said: Lo! Lot is there. They said: We are best aware of who is there. We are to deliver him and his household, all save his wife, who is of those who stay behind.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And when Our messengers came unto Lot, he was sorely grieved on their account, seeing that it was beyond his power to shield them;²⁸ but they said: "Fear not, and grieve not! Behold, we shall save thee and thy household - all but thy wife: she will indeed be among those that stay behind.

  - Mohammad Asad

See note [107] on 11:77 .

And when Our Messengers (angels) came to Lut he became sad and anxious on their account, for he felt powerless to protect them. But they said "Do not fear nor grieve (we are the angels assigned for their torment): we shall save you and your family except your wife; she will be of those who will remain behind.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And when Our messengers came unto Lot, he was troubled upon their account, for he could not protect them; but they said: Fear not, nor grieve! Lo! we are to deliver thee and thy household, (all) save thy wife, who is of those who stay behind.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Verily, we shall bring down upon the people of this land a horror from heaven in requital of all their iniquitous doings!"

  - Mohammad Asad

We are going to bring down a scourge from heaven upon the people of this town on account of their transgression."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Lo! we are about to bring down upon folk of this township a fury from the sky because they are evil-livers.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And [so it happened; and] thereof, indeed, We have left a clear sign for people who use their reason.²⁹

  - Mohammad Asad

This is an allusion to the Dead Sea - known to this day as Bahr Lut ("The Sea of Lot") - which covers most of the region in which Sodom and Gomorrah were once situated. Its waters contain so high a percentage of sulphur and potash that no fish or plants can live in them.

Surely We have left a clear sign from it (the ruins of this town) for people who care to understand.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And verily of that We have left a clear sign for people who have sense.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

AND UNTO [the people of] Madyan [We sent] their brother Shu'ayb,³⁰ who thereupon said: "O my peo-ple! Worship God [alone], and look forward to the Last Day, and do not act wickedly on earth by spreading corruption!"

  - Mohammad Asad

See note [67] on 7:85 . The story of Shuayb and his people appears in greater detail in {11:84-95}.

To the people of Madyan We sent their brother Shu'aib, who said: "O my people! Worship Allah and look forward to the Last Day, and do not transgress in the land wickedly."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And unto Midian We sent Shueyb, their brother. He said O my people! Serve Allah, and look forward to the Last Day, and do not evil, making mischief, in the earth.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

But they gave him the lie. Thereupon an earthquake overtook them: and then they lay lifeless, in their very homes, on the ground.³¹

  - Mohammad Asad

See note [62] on 7:78 (a passage which relates to the tribe of Thamud), and note [73] on 7:91 .

But they denied him, so a severe earthquake seized them and by the morning they were lifeless bodies in their own homes.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

But they denied him, and the dreadful earthquake took them, and morning found them prostrate in their dwelling place.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

AND the tribes of Ad and Thamud.³² [too. did We destroy-] as should have become obvious to you from [whatever there remains of] their dwellings.³³ [They perished] because Satan had made their [sinful] doings seem goodly to them, and thus had barred them from the path [of God] despite their having been endowed with the ability to perceive the truth.³⁴

  - Mohammad Asad

See surah {7}, second half of note [48], and note [56].

As regards the tribe of 'Ad, the above seems to be an allusion to their one-time capital, the legendary "Iram the many-pillared" (mentioned in the Qur'an only once, namely, in 89:7 ). It has since been buried by the moving sand-dunes of Al-Ahqaf (a region between Uman and Hadramawt, within the great South-Arabian desert of Rub' al-Khali); it is said, however, that its traces are occasionally uncovered by strong winds. For an explanation of the reference to the dwellings of the Thamud, see note [59] on 7:74 .

Thus, the Qur'an implies that it is man's "ability to perceive the truth" (istibsar) that makes him morally responsible for his doings and, hence, for his failure to resist his own evil impulses - which is evidently the meaning of "Satan" in this context. See in this connection 14:22 and the corresponding notes [31] and [33].

Likewise We destroyed the people of 'Ad and the Thamud: you have seen the traces of their dwellings. Shaitan had made their foul deeds fair-seeming to them and diverted them from the Right Way, though they were intelligent people.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And (the tribes of) Aad and Thamud! (Their fate) is manifest unto you from their (ruined and deserted) dwellings. Satan made their deeds seem fair unto them and so debarred them from the Way, though they were keen observers.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And [thus, too, did We deal with] Qarun and Pharaoh, and Haman:³⁵ to them had come Moses with all evidence of the truth, but they behaved arrogantly on earth [and rejected him]; and withal, they could not escape [Us].

  - Mohammad Asad

As regards Qarun, see 28:76 ff. and, in particular, the corresponding note [84]; for Haman, note [6] on 28:6 . The common denominator between these two and Pharaoh is their false pride (takabbur) and arrogance (istikbar), which cause them to become "archetypes of evil" (cf. 28:41 and the corresponding note [40]). A similar attitude of mind is said to have been characteristic of the tribes of 'Ad and Thamud, mentioned in the preceding verse.

Musa (Moses) came to Qarun (Korah), Fir'on (Pharaoh) and Haman with clear signs but they remained arrogant in the land; yet they could not go ahead of Us.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And Korah, Pharaoh and Haman! Moses came unto them with clear proofs (of Allah's sovereignty), but they were boastful in the land. And they were not winners (in the race).

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

For, every one of them did We take to task for his sin: and so, upon some of them We let loose a deadly stormwind; and some of them were overtaken by a [sudden] blast;³⁶ and some of them We caused to be swallowed by the earth; and some of them We caused to drown. And it was not God who wronged them. but it was they who had wron,2ed themselves.

  - Mohammad Asad

Sc., "of God's punishment": cf. note [98] on 11:67 .

We seized all of them for their sinfulness: against some We sent a violent tornado full of stones, some were seized by a mighty blast, some were swallowed up by the earth, and yet some We drowned. It was not Allah Who was unjust to them, but they were unjust to their own souls.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

So We took each one in his sin; of them was he on whom We sent a hurricane, and of them was he who was overtaken by the (Awful) Cry, and of them was he whom We caused the earth to swallow, and of them was he whom We drowned. It was not for Allah to wrong them, but they wronged themselves.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall