What Were the Cities of Sodom and Gomorrah Known For?
بماذا عرف قوم لوط (مدن سدوم وعمورة)؟
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، وهي التي سماها القرآن الفاحشة. 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). 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). قَالَ هَـٰؤُلَاءِ بَنَاتِي إِن كُنتُمْ فَاعِلِينَ ﴿٧١﴾ لَعَمْرُكَ إِنَّهُمْ لَفِي سَكْرَتِهِمْ يَعْمَهُونَ ﴿٧٢﴾ (سورة الحجر: 71-72). 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.) 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). من خلال الآية، من أول من شاع فيهم الشذوذ؟ ومن الأمم التي سبقت قوم لوط في هذا الفعل؟ أول ناس مارسوا الشذوذ وعمل الفاحشة هم قوم لوط عليه السلام، وهو عمل منكر. لم يسبق قوم لوط إلى عمل الفاحشة أحد من المخلوقات. وَلُوطًا إِذْ قَالَ لِقَوْمِهِ إِنَّكُمْ لَتَأْتُونَ الْفَاحِشَةَ مَا سَبَقَكُم بِهَا مِنْ أَحَدٍ مِّنَ الْعَالَمِينَ (سورة العنكبوت: 28).
1. A Sin Repeated Across Several Surahs | فاحشة تكررت في سور متعددة
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.
لا يذكر القرآن هذه الفاحشة مرة عابرة واحدة؛ بل يروي تحذير لوط لقومه في سورة الأعراف، وسورة هود، وسورة الحجر، وسورة النمل، وسورة العنكبوت، وغيرها من السور التي نزلت في أوقات مختلفة. ويُبقي هذا التكرار درس مصير هذه الأمة حاضرا عبر القرآن بدلا من ذكره في موضع واحد.
2. “No One Before You in All the Worlds” | لم يسبقكم به أحد من العالمين
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.”
تستخدم سورة الأعراف وسورة العنكبوت كلتاهما عبارة “ما سبقكم بها من أحد من العالمين”، وهو إخبار محدد بالأسبقية، لا مجرد إدانة أخلاقية. 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 | موقف نبي محرج بصفته مضيفا
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.
تصف سورة هود ضيق لوط المرتبط تحديدا باستضافة ضيوف لم يستطع حمايتهم من مطالب قومه. وتُظهر مناشدته، “لا تُخزوني في ضيفي”، رجلا محاصرا بين واجبه كمضيف واستحالة إقناع قوم فقدوا كل ضبط للنفس.
4. Mockery in Place of Reflection | السخرية بدلا من 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?
تسجل سورة العنكبوت أن ردهم على تحذير لوط لم يكن إنكارا أو دفاعا بل مطالبة بأن يُنزل عذاب الله، وهو دليل على قوم تجاوزوا الخطأ العادي إلى التحدي العلني (العنكبوت: 29). أما ما آل إليه ذلك المطلب، وكيف وصل العذاب الذي طلبوه ساخرين فعليا، فمذكور في مقال كيف أهلك الله قوم لوط؟
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.