What Were the Cities of Sodom and Gomorrah Known For?
بمَ عُرفت سدوم وعمورة، قرى قوم لوط عليه السلام؟
The people of Lut were known for men coming to men instead of women, which is what the Quran called the shameful deed. “And ˹remember˺ when Lot scolded ˹the men of˺ his people, ˹saying,˺ ‘Do you commit a shameful deed that no man has ever done before? You lust after men instead of women! You are certainly transgressors'” (Surah Al-A’raf 7:80-81). “When Our messenger-angels came to Lot, he was distressed and worried by their arrival. He said, ‘This is a terrible day.’ 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 11:77-79). “He said, ‘O my people! Here are my daughters so marry them if you wish to do so.’ By your life, they certainly wandered blindly, intoxicated by lust” (Surah Al-Hijr 15:71-72). “And remember Lot, when he rebuked the men of his people, ‘Do you commit that shameful deed while you can see one another? Do you really lust after men instead of women? In fact, you are only a people acting ignorantly'” (Surah An-Naml 27:54-55). “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). From these verses, who were the first people to practice homosexuality? Which people preceded the people of Lut in committing such conduct? The first people to practice homosexuality and this immorality were the people of Lut, and it is an unacceptable deed. No one had practiced this immoral conduct before them. “And remember when Lot rebuked the men of his people: ‘You certainly commit a shameful deed that no man has ever done before you'” (Surah Al-Ankabut 29:28).
عُرف قوم لوط بإتيان الرجال للرجال دون النساء، وهو الذي سمّاه القرآن الفاحشة، قال الله تعالى: وَلُوطًا إِذْ قَالَ لِقَوْمِهِ أَتَأْتُونَ الْفَاحِشَةَ مَا سَبَقَكُم بِهَا مِنْ أَحَدٍ مِّنَ الْعَالَمِينَ ﴿٨٠﴾ إِنَّكُمْ لَتَأْتُونَ الرِّجَالَ شَهْوَةً مِّن دُونِ النِّسَاءِ ۚ بَلْ أَنتُمْ قَوْمٌ مُّسْرِفُونَ ﴿٨١﴾ (سورة الأعراف: 80-81)، وقال تعالى: وَلَمَّا جَاءَتْ رُسُلُنَا لُوطًا سِيءَ بِهِمْ وَضَاقَ بِهِمْ ذَرْعًا وَقَالَ هَـٰذَا يَوْمٌ عَصِيبٌ ﴿٧٧﴾ وَجَاءَهُ قَوْمُهُ يُهْرَعُونَ إِلَيْهِ وَمِن قَبْلُ كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ السَّيِّئَاتِ ۚ 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: 77-79)، وقال تعالى: قَالَ هَـٰؤُلَاءِ بَنَاتِي إِن كُنتُمْ فَاعِلِينَ ﴿٧١﴾ لَعَمْرُكَ إِنَّهُمْ لَفِي سَكْرَتِهِمْ يَعْمَهُونَ ﴿٧٢﴾ (سورة الحجر: 71-72)، وقال تعالى: وَلُوطًا إِذْ قَالَ لِقَوْمِهِ أَتَأْتُونَ الْفَاحِشَةَ وَأَنتُمْ تُبْصِرُونَ ﴿٥٤﴾ أَئِنَّكُمْ لَتَأْتُونَ الرِّجَالَ شَهْوَةً مِّن دُونِ النِّسَاءِ ۚ بَلْ أَنتُمْ قَوْمٌ تَجْهَلُونَ ﴿٥٥﴾ (سورة النمل: 54-55). (ملاحظة: كانت الإحالة في الجواب الأصلي إلى الآية 54 وحدها، والمقتبس الآيتان 54 و55، فصُحّحت.) 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). ومن خلال الآية: مَن أول من شاع فيهم الشذوذ؟ وأيّ الأمم سبقت قوم لوط إلى هذا الفعل؟ إن أول من مارس الشذوذ وعمل الفاحشة هم قوم لوط عليه السلام، وهو عمل مُنكَر، ولم يسبق قوم لوط إلى عمل الفاحشة أحد من المخلوقات، قال الله تعالى: وَلُوطًا إِذْ قَالَ لِقَوْمِهِ إِنَّكُمْ لَتَأْتُونَ الْفَاحِشَةَ مَا سَبَقَكُم بِهَا مِنْ أَحَدٍ مِّنَ الْعَالَمِينَ (سورة العنكبوت: 28).
1. A Sin Repeated Across Several Surahs | فاحشةٌ تكرر ذكرها في سور عديدة
The Quran does not mention this sin once in passing; it recounts Lut’s warning to his people in Al-A’raf, Hud, Al-Hijr, An-Naml, and Al-Ankabut, among several surahs revealed at different times. This repetition keeps the lesson of this nation’s fate before the reader across the Quran rather than in a single passage.
لم يقتصر القرآن على ذكر هذه الفاحشة مرة واحدة عابرة، بل قصّ تحذير لوط عليه السلام قومه في سور الأعراف وهود والحجر والنمل والعنكبوت، وغيرها من السور التي نزلت في أوقات مختلفة. وبهذا التكرار يبقى درس مصير هذه الأمة حاضرًا أمام القارئ في مواضع من القرآن، لا في موضع واحد.
2. “No One Before You in All the Worlds” | أمةٌ لم يسبقها أحد إلى فاحشتها
Surah Al-A’raf and Surah Al-Ankabut both use the phrase “no one has done this before you among all the worlds,” a specific statement about precedence, not simply a moral condemnation. Ibn Kathir cites ‘Amr ibn Dinar: “No male mounted a male until the people of Lut.”
وفي سورتي الأعراف والعنكبوت جاءت عبارة: (مَا سَبَقَكُم بِهَا مِنْ أَحَدٍ مِّنَ الْعَالَمِينَ) (الأعراف 7: 80) و(العنكبوت 29: 28)، وهي إخبار محدد بأنهم أول من فعلها، لا ذمًّا أخلاقيًّا فحسب. ونقل ابن كثير عن عمرو بن دينار قوله: ما نزا ذكر على ذكر حتى كان قوم لوط.
3. A Prophet’s Painful Position as Host | حرجُ نبيٍّ مع ضيوفه
Surah Hud describes Lut’s distress specifically tied to hosting guests he could not protect from his own people’s demands. His plea, “do not humiliate me by disrespecting my guests,” shows a man caught between his duty as host and the impossibility of reasoning with a people who had lost all restraint.
ووصف الله تعالى في سورة هود ضيق لوط عليه السلام بضيوفه الذين لم يقدر على حمايتهم من قومه (هود 11: 77). وتُظهر مناشدته لهم: (وَلَا تُخْزُونِ فِي ضَيْفِي) (هود 11: 78) رجلًا وقع بين واجبه في إكرام ضيفه، واستحالة إقناع قوم فقدوا كل وازع.
4. Mockery in Place of Reflection | السخرية مكان التفكر
Surah Al-Ankabut records their response to Lut’s warning was not denial or defense but a demand that Allah’s punishment be brought, a sign of a people who had moved past ordinary wrongdoing into open defiance (29:29). What became of that demand, and how the punishment they mockingly requested actually arrived, is covered in How Did Allah Destroy the People of Lut?
وأخبر الله تعالى في سورة العنكبوت أن جوابهم عن تحذير لوط لم يكن إنكارًا ولا دفاعًا عن فعلهم، بل استعجالًا لعذاب الله (العنكبوت 29: 29)، وهذا شأن قوم تجاوزوا المعصية المعتادة إلى المجاهرة بالتحدي. وأما ما آل إليه طلبهم هذا، وكيف نزل بهم العذاب الذي طلبوه ساخرين، فقد بيّناه في جواب: كيف أهلك الله قوم لوط عليه السلام؟
Frequently Asked Questions | الأسئلة الشائعة
What were the people of Lut known for?
A shameful sexual sin the Quran describes as never having been practiced by any nation before them.
In how many surahs does the Quran mention this?
Several, including Al-A’raf, Hud, Al-Hijr, Ash-Shu’ara, An-Naml, Al-Ankabut, and Al-Qamar.
How did Lut’s people respond to his warnings?
With mockery, demanding that Allah’s punishment be brought upon them if Lut was telling the truth.