What Crime Did the Wife of Lut Commit, and Why Did She Deserve the Punishment?
ما الجريمة التي ارتكبتها امرأة لوط واستحقت عليها 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، وأهلكها الله تعالى مع باقي القوم الكافرين. كانت تدل الرجال على ضيوف زوجها، ودلتهم عليهم حين جاء الملائكة للوط عليه السلام. كفرها بالله العظيم: ضَرَبَ اللَّهُ مَثَلًا لِّلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا امْرَأَتَ نُوحٍ وَامْرَأَتَ لُوطٍ ۖ (سورة التحريم: 10). كانت تدل القوم على أصحاب لوط من الملائكة الذين أتوا القرية. كانت عقوبتها أنها هلكت مع الهالكين. أما لوط وأهله فقد نجاهم الله من العذاب. فَأَنجَيْنَاهُ وَأَهْلَهُ إِلَّا امْرَأَتَهُ كَانَتْ مِنَ الْغَابِرِينَ ﴿٨٣﴾ (سورة الأعراف: 83). 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). إِلَّا امْرَأَتَهُ قَدَّرْنَا ۙ إِنَّهَا لَمِنَ الْغَابِرِينَ ﴿٦٠﴾ (سورة الحجر: 60). (صُحّح هنا عن النص المنشور سابقا الذي أورد لفظ الآية 57 من سورة النمل تحت عزو سورة الحجر.) 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 ينجها
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.
تقرن سورة التحريم 66:10 امرأة لوط مباشرة بامرأة نوح بوصفهما المثال الذي اختاره القرآن نفسه على أن الروابط الأسرية بنبي لا تحمل نجاة تلقائية. فقد عاشت كلتا المرأتين في بيت نبي، وشهدتا رسالته مباشرة، وأُهلكتا مع ذلك، تحذير يعرضه القرآن مبدأ عاما لا تفصيلا خاصا بإحدى القصتين وحدها.
2. A Betrayal Committed in Secret | خيانة ارتُكبت 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.
لم تكن جريمتها المحددة مجرد كفر خاص بل تواطؤا فاعلا: بحسب روايات التفسير، إشارتها إلى أهل البلدة كلما كان لزوجها ضيوف، عاملة فعليا ضد البيت الذي تنتمي إليه نفسه. ويميز هذا التفصيل حالتها عن مجرد نقص سلبي في الإيمان، فقد عرّضت لوط وضيوفه للخطر بفعل نشط من داخل بيته نفسه.
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.
تسجل سورة هود تعليمات الملائكة لأسرة لوط بالرحيل ليلا وعدم الالتفات تحديدا، مع تخصيص زوجته بالذكر بوصفها من سيصيبها ما أصاب الباقين. ويرى بعض المفسرين، خلافا للجمهور القائلين ببقائها في بيتها، التفاتها بوصفه فعلها الأخير يعكس دورها طوال القصة، فخلافا لبقية الأسرة التي نجت بالطاعة، بقيت هي متخلفة روحيا حتى في لحظة 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.