What Crime Did the Wife of Lut Commit, and Why Did She Deserve the Punishment?
ما جريمة امرأة لوط عليه السلام، ولماذا استحقت العقوبة؟
She was a disbeliever, and Allah Almighty punished her along with the disbelievers. She used to guide men to her husband’s male guests, and she guided the men to her husband’s house when the angels came to visit him. Her disbelief in Allah: “Allah sets forth an example for the disbelievers: the wife of Noah and the wife of Lot” (Surah At-Tahrim 66:10). She used to guide the people to Lut’s guests and the angels who had come to town when they visited Lut. Her punishment was that she was doomed with the rest of the disbelievers. Whereas Allah Almighty saved Lut and his family from destruction. “So We saved him and his family except his wife, who was one of the doomed” (Surah Al-A’raf 7:83). “The angels said, ‘O Lot! We are the messengers of your Lord. They will never reach you. So travel with your family in the dark of night, and do not let any of you look back, except your wife. She will certainly suffer the fate of the others. Their appointed time is the morning. Is the morning not near?'” (Surah Hud 11:81). “Except his wife. We have determined that she will be one of the doomed” (Surah Al-Hijr 15:60). “And when Our messenger-angels came to Lot, he was distressed and worried by their arrival. They reassured him, ‘Do not fear, nor grieve. We will surely deliver you and your family, except your wife, who is one of the doomed'” (Surah Al-Ankabut 29:33).
كانت كافرة، فأهلكها الله تعالى مع باقي القوم الكافرين. وكانت تدلّ الرجال على ضيوف زوجها، ودلّتهم عليهم حين جاء الملائكة لوطا عليه السلام. وفي كفرها بالله العظيم قال الله تعالى: ضَرَبَ اللَّهُ مَثَلًا لِّلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا امْرَأَتَ نُوحٍ وَامْرَأَتَ لُوطٍ ۖ (سورة التحريم: 10). وكانت تدلّ القوم على أصحاب لوط من الملائكة الذين أتوا القرية، وكانت عقوبتها أنها هلكت مع الهالكين، أما لوط وأهله فقد نجّاهم الله من العذاب، قال الله تعالى: فَأَنجَيْنَاهُ وَأَهْلَهُ إِلَّا امْرَأَتَهُ كَانَتْ مِنَ الْغَابِرِينَ ﴿٨٣﴾ (سورة الأعراف: 83)، وقال تعالى: قَالُوا يَا لُوطُ إِنَّا رُسُلُ رَبِّكَ لَن يَصِلُوا إِلَيْكَ فَأَسْرِ بِأَهْلِكَ بِقِطْعٍ مِّنَ اللَّيْلِ وَلَا يَلْتَفِتْ مِنكُمْ أَحَدٌ إِلَّا امْرَأَتَكَ إِنَّهُ مُصِيبُهَا مَا أَصَابَهُمْ إِنَّ مَوْعِدَهُمُ الصُّبْحُ ۚ أَلَيْسَ الصُّبْحُ بِقَرِيبٍ ﴿٨١﴾ (سورة هود: 81)، وقال تعالى: إِلَّا امْرَأَتَهُ قَدَّرْنَا ۙ إِنَّهَا لَمِنَ الْغَابِرِينَ ﴿٦٠﴾ (سورة الحجر: 60). (ملاحظة: كان النص المنشور سابقًا قد أورد هنا لفظ الآية 57 من سورة النمل منسوبًا إلى سورة الحجر، فصُحّح.) وقال تعالى: وَلَمَّا أَن جَاءَتْ رُسُلُنَا لُوطًا سِيءَ بِهِمْ وَضَاقَ بِهِمْ ذَرْعًا وَقَالُوا لَا تَخَفْ وَلَا تَحْزَنْ ۖ إِنَّا مُنَجُّوكَ وَأَهْلَكَ إِلَّا امْرَأَتَكَ كَانَتْ مِنَ الْغَابِرِينَ ﴿٣٣﴾ (سورة العنكبوت: 33).
1. Marriage to a Prophet Did Not Save Her | الزواج من نبي لم يُنجها
Surah At-Tahrim 66:10 pairs Lut’s wife directly with the wife of Nuh (peace be upon him) as the Quran’s own chosen example that family ties to a Prophet carry no automatic salvation. Both women lived in a Prophet’s household, witnessed his mission firsthand, and were destroyed regardless, a warning the Quran presents as a general principle rather than a detail specific to either story alone.
قرن الله تعالى في سورة التحريم امرأة لوط بامرأة نوح: (ضَرَبَ اللَّهُ مَثَلًا لِّلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا امْرَأَتَ نُوحٍ وَامْرَأَتَ لُوطٍ) (التحريم 66: 10)، فجعلهما مثلًا على أن القرابة من نبي لا تُنجي صاحبها بذاتها. فقد عاشت المرأتان في بيت نبي، وشهدتا رسالته عن قرب، ثم أُهلكتا مع ذلك، وهذا تحذير يعرضه القرآن أصلًا عامًّا، لا تفصيلًا خاصًّا بإحدى القصتين.
2. A Betrayal Committed in Secret | خيانةٌ في الخفاء
Her specific crime was not merely private disbelief but active complicity: according to tafsir reports, signaling to the townspeople whenever her husband had guests, effectively working against the very household she belonged to. This detail distinguishes her case from a passive lack of faith; she actively endangered Lut and his guests from within his own home. Disbelief within a prophet’s household also appears in the account of Nuh’s wife, as explained in whether Nuh’s wife believed in her husband’s call.
ولم تكن جريمتها كفرًا تُسرّه فحسب، بل كانت معاونة فاعلة لقومها: فبحسب روايات التفسير كانت تدلّ أهل القرية على ضيوف زوجها كلما نزل به ضيف، فتكيد للبيت الذي تنتمي إليه. وبهذا تفترق حالها عن كفرٍ لا يتعدّى صاحبه، فقد عرّضت لوطًا عليه السلام وضيوفه للخطر من داخل بيته. وقد ظهر الكفر في بيت النبوة أيضًا في خبر امرأة نوح، كما بيّنا في جواب: هل آمنت امرأة نوح عليه السلام بدعوة زوجها؟
3. The Wife Excluded from Rescue | الزوجة المستثناة من النجاة
Surah Hud records the angels instructing Lut’s family to leave at night and specifically not to look back, with his wife singled out explicitly as the one who would be struck by what struck the rest. Some commentators, unlike the majority who say she stayed home, read her looking back as her final act mirroring her role throughout the story; unlike the rest of the household who escaped by obedience, she stayed behind in spirit even in the moment of rescue.
وأخبر الله تعالى في سورة هود أن الملائكة أمروا لوطًا أن يسري بأهله ليلًا، وألّا يلتفت منهم أحد، واستثنوا امرأته بعينها، وأخبروا أنه (مُصِيبُهَا مَا أَصَابَهُمْ) (هود 11: 81). ويرى بعض المفسرين، خلافًا للجمهور القائلين إنها بقيت في بيتها، أنها خرجت معهم ثم التفتت، فكان التفاتها آخر أفعالها وصورةً لموقفها في القصة كلها: فبينما نجا سائر أهله بالطاعة، تخلّفت هي بقلبها حتى عند النجاة.
Frequently Asked Questions | الأسئلة الشائعة
What crime did Lut’s wife commit?
She was a disbeliever who, according to tafsir reports, secretly signaled the townspeople whenever her husband had guests.
Was she saved along with the rest of Lut’s family?
No, the Quran states clearly across four surahs that she was left behind and destroyed with the rest of her people.
Which other Prophet’s wife is compared to her in the Quran?
Nuh’s wife, in Surah At-Tahrim 66:10, as an example that a Prophet’s household offers no automatic salvation.