What Crimes Did the People of Lut Commit?
ما الجرائم التي ارتكبها قوم لوط عليه السلام؟
They used to engage in indecent activities publicly. They dedicated a place for that, and practiced immorality openly in their gatherings. They would look at each other’s private parts. They were cutting off the road for travelers, taking money and assaulting them. When their Prophet reminded them of Allah, they said, ironically and defiantly, “Bring forth to us Allah’s torment.” They threatened Lut with expulsion from the city. When Lut’s guests came into the city, they wanted to commit acts of indecency with them. “And the men of his people, who were used to shameful deeds, came to him rushing. He pleaded, ‘O my people! Here are my daughters for marriage, they are pure for you. So fear Allah, and do not humiliate me by disrespecting my guests. Is there not even a single right-minded man among you?’ They argued, ‘You certainly know that we have no need for your daughters. You already know what we desire!'” (Surah Hud 11:78-79). “And remember when Lot rebuked the men of his people: ‘You certainly commit a shameful deed that no man has ever done before you. Do you really lust after other men, abuse the travellers, and practice immorality openly in your gatherings?’ His people’s only response was to say mockingly, ‘Bring Allah’s punishment upon us, if what you say is true'” (Surah Al-Ankabut 29:28-29). “But his people’s only response was to say, ‘Expel them from your land! They are a people who wish to remain chaste!'” (Surah Al-A’raf 7:82).
ارتكاب الفاحشة أمام الناظرين: وأنتم تبصرون (ملاحظة: ورد في الجواب الأصلي بلفظ «تنظرون»، ولفظ الآية «تبصرون» (سورة النمل: 54)، فصُحّح.) وجعلوا لذلك مكانا: وتأتون في ناديكم المنكر، ينظر فيه بعضهم إلى عورة بعض. وكانوا يقطعون الطريق على المسافرين، يسلبون الأموال ويعتدون على الأعراض: وتقطعون السبيل. ولما ذكّرهم نبيهم بالله قالوا على وجه السخرية والتحدي: ائتنا بعذاب الله. وهددوا لوطا بالطرد من المدينة: لتكونن من المخرجين. ولما دخل أضياف لوط المدينة أرادوا فعل الفاحشة بهم، قال الله تعالى: قَالَ يَا قَوْمِ هَـٰؤُلَاءِ بَنَاتِي هُنَّ أَطْهَرُ لَكُمْ ۖ فَاتَّقُوا اللَّـهَ وَلَا تُخْزُونِ فِي ضَيْفِي ۖ أَلَيْسَ مِنكُمْ رَجُلٌ رَّشِيدٌ ﴿٧٨﴾ قَالُوا لَقَدْ عَلِمْتَ مَا لَنَا فِي بَنَاتِكَ مِنْ حَقٍّ وَإِنَّكَ لَتَعْلَمُ مَا نُرِيدُ ﴿٧٩﴾ (سورة هود: 78-79)، وقال تعالى: وَلُوطًا إِذْ قَالَ لِقَوْمِهِ إِنَّكُمْ لَتَأْتُونَ الْفَاحِشَةَ مَا سَبَقَكُم بِهَا مِنْ أَحَدٍ مِّنَ الْعَالَمِينَ ﴿٢٨﴾ أَئِنَّكُمْ لَتَأْتُونَ الرِّجَالَ وَتَقْطَعُونَ السَّبِيلَ وَتَأْتُونَ فِي نَادِيكُمُ الْمُنكَرَ ۖ فَمَا كَانَ جَوَابَ قَوْمِهِ إِلَّا أَن قَالُوا ائْتِنَا بِعَذَابِ اللَّـهِ إِن كُنتَ مِنَ الصَّادِقِينَ ﴿٢٩﴾ (سورة العنكبوت: 28-29)، وقال تعالى: وَمَا كَانَ جَوَابَ قَوْمِهِ إِلَّا أَن قَالُوا أَخْرِجُوهُم مِّن قَرْيَتِكُمْ ۖ إِنَّهُمْ أُنَاسٌ يَتَطَهَّرُونَ ﴿٨٢﴾ (سورة الأعراف: 82).
1. Crimes Beyond the Central Sin | جرائم وراء الفاحشة التي اشتهروا بها
The central sin covered in What Were the Cities of Sodom and Gomorrah Known For? was only one part of a wider pattern of criminality. Highway robbery, assaulting travelers, and public indecency all appear in the same verses, showing a society where multiple forms of wrongdoing had become normalized together rather than one isolated sin in an otherwise ordinary community.
وكانت الفاحشة التي اشتهروا بها، كما بيّنا في جواب: بمَ عُرفت سدوم وعمورة، قرى قوم لوط عليه السلام؟، جزءًا من نمط أوسع من الإجرام. فقطع الطريق، والاعتداء على المسافرين، والمجاهرة بالفاحشة، كلها مذكورة في الآيات نفسها (العنكبوت 29: 29)، فقد اجتمعت في هذا المجتمع ألوان من المنكر حتى صارت مألوفة، ولم يكن فساده ذنبًا واحدًا معزولًا في مجتمع سويّ فيما عداه.
2. Punishing Purity Rather Than Wrongdoing | معاقبةُ الطهر بدل الذنب
Surah Al-A’raf 7:82 records their reason for wanting to expel Lut and his followers: “they are people who keep themselves pure,” stated as a complaint, not a compliment. Scholars point to this as a striking inversion, a community that had come to view righteousness itself as the problem and its absence as normal.
وأخبر الله تعالى في سورة الأعراف بعلّتهم في إخراج لوط وأتباعه: (إِنَّهُمْ أُنَاسٌ يَتَطَهَّرُونَ) (الأعراف 7: 82)، قالوها شكوى لا ثناءً. ويرى العلماء في ذلك انقلابًا عجيبًا في الموازين: قومٌ صاروا يعدّون الصلاح نفسه هو العيب، وفقده هو الأصل.
3. Mockery as the Final Response to Warning | السخرية آخر جوابهم عن الإنذار
When reminded of Allah, their response was not silence or defensiveness but a demand to “bring forth Allah’s torment,” a direct challenge rather than an attempt at self-justification. This response, repeated nearly word for word in Surah Al-Ankabut, is treated by commentators as the point at which a warning stops being received as guidance and becomes something openly dared.
ولما ذُكّروا بالله لم يكن جوابهم سكوتًا ولا دفاعًا عن أنفسهم، بل استعجلوا العذاب، كما حكى الله تعالى عنهم في سورة العنكبوت: (ائْتِنَا بِعَذَابِ اللَّهِ) (العنكبوت 29: 29)، فكان تحدّيًا صريحًا، لا محاولةً لتسويغ فعلهم. ويرى المفسرون في هذا الجواب المرحلة التي لم يعودوا فيها يتلقّون الإنذار طلبًا للهداية، بل صاروا يطالبون بالعذاب جهارًا على سبيل التحدي.
4. Their Final Attempt to Assault the Guests | محاولتهم الأخيرة الاعتداء على الضيوف
Their attempt to assault Lut’s guests was the culmination of this pattern and prompted his plea that they not disgrace him concerning his guests. What happened to them immediately after this final act is covered in How Did Allah Destroy the People of Lut?
وكانت محاولتهم الاعتداء على ضيوف لوط عليه السلام ذروة هذا النمط، فناشدهم ألّا يخزوه في ضيفه (هود 11: 78). وأما ما حلّ بهم بعد هذا الفعل الأخير مباشرة فقد بيّناه في جواب: كيف أهلك الله قوم لوط عليه السلام؟
Frequently Asked Questions | الأسئلة الشائعة
What crimes did the people of Lut commit besides their central sin?
Highway robbery of travelers, public indecency, and mockery of their Prophet’s warnings.
How did they respond when Lut warned them?
By mockingly demanding that Allah’s punishment be brought upon them.
Why did they want to expel Lut and his followers?
Because they kept themselves pure, a trait his people treated as a complaint rather than a virtue.