Islamic view of Lot

Lut or Lot (circa 1900 BC? ^[1]), (Arabic: لوط‎) is a prophet mentioned in the Qur'an. He also appears in the Bible, but the Biblical stories of Lot are not entirely accepted within Islam.

According to Islamic tradition, Lut lived in Ur and was a nephew of Ibrahim (Abraham). He migrated with Abraham to Canaan in Palestine. He was commissioned as a prophet to the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.^[2]

His story is used as a reference by Muslims to demonstrate Islam's strong disapproval of homosexuality. Muslim scholars also cite the story of Lut to show that anal sex is forbidden. He was commanded by God to go to the land of Sodom and Gomorrah to preach to his people on monotheism and to stop them from their lustful and violent acts. According to both the Qur'an and the Bible, Lut's messages were ignored by the inhabitants. Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed and his wife also was left behind to be destroyed.

Contents 1 The Story of Prophet Lut 1.1 Angels appear to Prophet Ibrahim 1.2 The People of Sodom and Gomorrah 1.3 Angels then appear to Lut 1.4 Prophet Lut advised to leave the place 1.5 Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah 2 Differences in stories of the Qur'an and the Bible 3 References 4 External links

[edit] The Story of Prophet Lut

[edit] Angels appear to Prophet Ibrahim

According to the supreme Islamic religious text, the Qur'an, Lut was a Prophet of Islam, and a nephew of Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham in the Hebrew tradition). A group of Angels visited Ibrahim as guests^[3] and gave him glad tidings of a son "endowed with wisdom",^[4][5] they told him that they had been sent by Allah to the "guilty people"^[6] of Lot^[7] to destroy them^[8][9] with "a shower of stones of clay (brimstone)"^[10] and deliver Lot and those who believed in him except his wife saying "she is of those who lag behind".^[11][12] The Qur'an also draws upon Lut's wife as an "example for the Unbelievers" as she was married to a righteous man but cheated him by not believing in his words and was thus condemned to hellfire.^[13]

[edit] The People of Sodom and Gomorrah

The people of Sodom and Gomorrah, the twin cities which Lut was sent to with Allah's message, transgressed consciously against the bounds of God. However the names of Sodom and Gomorrah are not explicitly mentioned in the Qur'an. Their avarice led to inhospitality and robbery, which in turn led to the humiliation of strangers by mistreatment and rape. It was their abominable sin of homosexuality which was seen as symptomatic of their attitudes,^[14][15] and upon Lut's exhorting them to abandon their transgression against Allah, they ridiculed him^[16], threatening with dire consequences;^[15][17][18] Lut only prayed to Allah to be saved from doing as they did.^[19] With reference to this event an Arabic expression for homosexuals is derived from the name for the people of Lot or Lut (in Arabic); i.e., Luti.

[edit] Angels then appear to Lut

Then three Angels in the disguise of handsome young boys came to Lut, who became distressed knowing the character of the people, and feeling himself powerless to protect the visitors; he said: "This is a distressful day."^[20] When the people - overjoyed at the news of new young boys in the village - came to snatch them away from Lut^[21], he tried to convince them to refrain from practising their lusts on the visitors, and offered his own daughters in marriage to them in return for the boys' free release^[22][23], but they were unrelenting and replied "we have no need of your daughters: indeed you know quite well what we want!"^[24] The Qur'an remarks "... they moved blindly in the frenzy of approaching death".^[25]

[edit] Prophet Lut advised to leave the place

Lut was powerless to protect the boys, but they revealed to him that they were indeed angels sent by Allah to punish the people for their transgressions. They advised Lut to leave the place during the night and not look back, informing him that his wife would be left behind on account of her sinful nature^[26] and that they "...were about to bring down upon the folk of this township a fury from the sky because they are evil-doers". Keeping his faith in Allah, Lut left his home and the cities during the night with his family and others who believed in him^[27], and only his wife stayed behind.^[28]

[edit] Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah

When morning came^[29][30], Allah 'turned the cities upside down, and rained down on them brimstones hard as baked clay, spread, layer on layer'^[31][32][33] putting an end to the lives of the people and describing it as "So taste ye My Wrath and My Warning!" in the Qur'an.^[34] The Qur'an refers to the sites of Sodom and Gomorrah as 'signs for those who understand by example', those who 'care to understand' and those who 'fear a grievous penalty or a painful doom'.^[35][36][37] The Qur'an also uses the story as an example stating "And most surely you pass by them (the cities) by the day, and at night; do you not then understand?"^[38]

[edit] Differences in stories of the Qur'an and the Bible

One major difference between the story of Lut in the Qur'an and the story of Lot in the Bible is that the Biblical version has Lot's wife leave the city with her husband, yet turns back in curiosity and is turned into a pillar of salt; while in the Qu'ran, Lut's wife stays behind in the city and is destroyed. The Hebrew text also includes the subsequent story of Lot being induced to incestuous relations with his own daughters. The Qur'an says that Lut is a prophet, and holds that all Prophets were examples of moral and spiritual rectitude. Though it is not altogether clear in the Bible story that Lot consented to his action, in Islam these stories of incest are thus considered to be false.

The Tomb of Lot is located in the Palestinian town of Bani Na'im near Hebron, in the West Bank.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Lut
• The Story of Lut

v • d • e Prophets in the Qur'an آدم إدريس نوح هود صالح إبراهيم لوط إسماعيل‎, Adam Adam Idris Enoch Nuh Noah Hud N/A Saleh N/A Ibrahim Abraham Lut Lot Ismail Ishmael إسحاق يعقوب يوسف أيوب شُعيب موسى هارون ذو الكفل داود Is'haq Isaac Yaqub Jacob Yusuf Joseph Ayyub Job Shoaib Jethro Musa Moses Harun Aaron Dhul-Kifl N/A Daud David سليمان إلياس إليسع يونس زكريا عيسى يحيى مُحمد Sulaiman Solomon Ilyas Elijah Al-Yasa Elisha Yunus Jonah Zakaria Zechariah Isa Jesus Yahya John Muhammad in Islam Muhammad Note: Muslims believe that there were many prophets sent by God to mankind. The Islamic prophets above are only the ones mentioned by name in the Qur'an.