(Tafseer As-Saawi, vol. 2, pp. 689; part 8, Surah AI-A’raJ; Ayah 80)
The towns of the city of Sodom were very populated and full of greenery. Various varieties of fruits, crops and nuts were produced there in a massive quantity. Due to the affluent and prosperous conditions of the city, people from far and wide used to come and stay there as guests. That’s why the people of the city were fed up of the people coming to them. They were finding no way to stop or get rid of these guests. In these conditions, one day the damned Satan appeared in the guise of an old man and said to them, ‘If you want to get rid of such guests, I can tell you a solution. Whenever a guest comes to your town, commit sodomy with him forcefully.’
Therefore, first of all, Satan himself entered the town as a guest in the guise of a handsome lad and made those people commit sodomy with him repeatedly. Thus they learnt this despicable act from Satan. These people gradually became so much addicted to this despicable act that they started to fulfil their sensual desires from men instead of women.
(Ruh-ul-Bayan vol. 3, pp. 197; part 8, Surah Al-A’raf, Ayah 84)
Therefore, Sayyiduna Loot delivered a didactic sermon to them, warning them to refrain from committing this despicable act, and said:
He said to his people, that, ‘Do you commit such shameful acts which no one in the world has ever committed before? You lusifully approach men; leaving women. Rather, you have transgressed the limits.’
[Kanz-ul-Iman (Translation of Quran)J (Part 8, Surah Al-A’raf, Ayah 80-81)
Listening to the sermon of Sayyiduna Loot , what his people said to him bluntly and shamelessly, see to it in the words of Holy Quran:
And his people had no answer except saying this; that, ‘Banish them (i.e. Loot and his people)from your town; these people aspire to be pure.’
[Kanz-ul-Iman (Translation of Quran)J (Part 8, Surah Al-A’raf, Ayah 82)
At last, when the transgression and sinfulness of the people of Loot exceeded all limits, the Divine torment struck them. Sayyiduna Jibra’eel descended from the Heavens with a few angels. These angels went to Sayyiduna Loot as guests. These angels were in guise of handsome and attractive boys. Observing the facial charms and physical beauty of the guests and considering the prevailing lustful conduct of his people, Sayyiduna Loot became worried.
After a short while, the evil doers besieged the home of Sayyiduna Loot and started to climb the wall with the evil intention of fornication. Sayyiduna Loot tried his best to prevent them from that evil and shameful act but those immodest people did not restrain from their evil intention. Sayyiduna Loot became very sad and grieved upon that embarrassing situation in front of his guests.
After witnessing this, Sayyiduna Jibra’eel said, ‘O Nabi of Allah, you don’t worry at all. We are the angels sent by Allah who have come with a torment for these evil transgressors. Therefore, leave this town and go far away before the ad vent of the morning along with the believers and your family members. And beware that no one should turn around and look towards this town; as the torment will also strike the viewers.
Therefore, Sayyiduna Loot departed from the town along with the believers and his family members. Then Sayyiduna Jibra’eel lifted up the five towns of that city by his wings towards the skies and after gaining some elevation inverted these towns. Consequently, these towns smashed into small debris on striking with the ground. Then a rain of stones struck them and stoning was so severe that all the people of Sayyiduna Loot died and their corpses also scattered around into pieces.
Whilst the city was in the process of inversion, one of the wives of Sayyiduna Loot whose name was Waa’ilah and who was in fact a hypocrite and had affection for the evil doers, turned around and looked at the scene and exclaimed with grief, ‘O my people’. After saying these words, she stood there. Then a stone of Divine torment also struck her and she also died. Allah has mentioned in the Holy Quran:
So We rescued him and his family, except his (disbelieving) wife,- she became of those who remained behind. And We showered upon them a rain (of stones),- therefore see what was the outcome of the criminals.
[Kanz-ul-Iman (Translation of Quran)J (Part 8, Surah Al-A’raf, Ayah 83-84)
The stones that were thrown over the people were the pieces of rocks and the name of every victim was inscribed over the stone by which he was killed. (Iafseer As-Saawi, vol. 2, pp. 691; part 8, Surah Al-A’raj Ayah 84)
Moral: We have come to know from this event that how heinous and severe sin sodomy is that due to this sin, the towns of the people of Loot were inverted and the sinners were killed by the torment of stones. Thus they were obliterated completely from the face of the earth.
It is narrated that once Sayyiduna Sulayman asked the accursed lblees, ‘Which sin is most disliked by Allah ?’ He replied, ‘The sin that Allah dislikes the most is the sin of man committing fornication with man (sodomy) and the woman fulfilling her sensual desires by woman.’ Moreover, it has also been narrated in one Hadees that a woman rubbing her private part against another woman’s private part is fornication for both of them, which is a major sin. (Ruh-ul-Bayan, vol. 3, pp. 198; part 8, Surah Al-A’raj Ayah 84)
