A Lesson from Lut alayhi salaam
Bismillah.
In many verses of the Qur’an, Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala calls it a “huda”, a guidance, for the believers. We may think this guidance refers to guidance in religion, but the Qur’an is a guidance for all aspects of our life…however it’s up to us to extract these lessons and implement them. A’ishah radi Allahu anha said the character of the Prophet sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam was the Qur’an. Many Muslims read the Qur’an with the intention of reward, yet we forget that the main purpose of the Qur’an is to guide us, to be our huda. From the richness of the Arabic language, we learn what huda really means. Huda or hidaayah has three meanings:
- To show one the path
- To help them ‘walk’ on that path
- To guide them until they reach their destination
Think about it: Allah ta’ala guides someone to Islam, then He guides the person to do righteous deeds and do tawbah for his sins, and lastly He guides them to Jannah. May Allah ta’ala guide us until we reach Jannah, Ameen.
So this guidance contains innumerable lessons for the believers, and one lesson I would like to share is a small one that may not be caught if a person does not reflect on the verse…
To make the amazing lesson from this verse deeper, let’s first look at the background behind the people being addressed…the people of Lut alayhi salaam.
Allah ta’ala swears by the life of the Prophet sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam and says about them:
لَعَمْرُكَ إِنَّهُمْ لَفِي سَكْرَتِهِمْ يَعْمَهُونَ
Verily, by your life, in their wild intoxication, they were wandering blindly! (15:72)
Allah ta’ala also says:
إِنَّهُمْ كَانُوا قَوْمَ سَوْءٍ فَاسِقِينَ
Indeed they were a people of evil, defiantly disobedient. (21:74)
The angels who were sent to destroy them said:
إِنَّا أُرْسِلْنَا إِلَىٰ قَوْمٍ مُجْرِمِينَ
Indeed we have been sent to a people of criminals. (15:58)
These people said about Lut alayhi salaam and his followers:
أَخْرِجُوا آلَ لُوطٍ مِنْ قَرْيَتِكُمْ ۖ إِنَّهُمْ أُنَاسٌ يَتَطَهَّرُونَ
Expel the family of Lut from your city, indeed they are people who keep themselves pure! (27:56)
….Now we have a clear description of who these people were.
His people said to him:
قَالُوا لَئِنْ لَمْ تَنْتَهِ يَا لُوطُ لَتَكُونَنَّ مِنَ الْمُخْرَجِينَ
They said, if you do not desist (from giving da’wah), O Lut, you will surely be of those evicted! (26:167)
Here is the lesson in the following ayah, the hidayah for us, the amazing response of Lut alayhi salaam, he said:
إِنِّي لِعَمَلِكُمْ مِنَ الْقَالِينَ
Indeed I am towards your deed, of those who detest (it). (26:168)
Do you see the lesson? Read the ayah again and ponder…
Remember the status of these people and their description in the Qur’an: disobedient, intoxicated criminals who were destroyed in the worst way by Allah azza wa jal, and Lut alayhi salaam says what…I destest your deeds. He doesn’t say, I detest you, or you disgust me–he doesn’t direct the detestation to them, but to the evil deeds they are committing. SubhanAllah, here we have a lesson in da’wah and akhlaaq. If Lut alayhi salaam is speaking in this manner to people whom Allah describes as an evil disobediant nation, then how are we supposed to speak to our parents, our fellow Muslims, our neighbors, our non Muslim peers, our communities? This was also how the Prophet sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam taught, he would correct a person indirectly and speak harshly of the action and not the doer of the action. How far we have diverted from this! In this one short ayah, one simple sentence, we learn a profound lesson. This is how the Qur’an is huda, and we must reflect and ponder on these verses–for the Qur’an was not sent as a story book, but to guide us out of darknesses and into the light of guidance. may Allah ta’ala make us among the companions of the Qur’an and those who follow its guidance, Ameen.
Mariam 3:36
August 25, 2008
Allahumma Ameen.
Jazaakum Allahu Khayran!
بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحِيمِ
From Suratul Kahf, ayah 54:
وَلَقَدْ صَرَّفْنَا فِي هَذَا الْقُرْآنِ لِلنَّاسِ مِن كُلِّ مَثَلٍ وَكَانَ الْإِنسَانُ أَكْثَرَ شَيْءٍ جَدَلاً
Muhsin Khan translation: And indeed We have put forth every kind of example in this Quran, for mankind. But, man is ever more quarrelsome than anything.
Sahih International translation: And We have certainly diversified in this Qur’an for the people from every [kind of] example; but man has ever been, most of anything, [prone to] dispute.
darthvaider
August 26, 2008
jazaki Allah khayr for the article, masha’Allah its an awesome lesson. May Allah help us get closer to His Book in Ramadan. Ameen.
strivin4jannah
September 1, 2008
jazakallah khair for presentin….masha Allah nice article
strivin4jannah
September 1, 2008
jazakallah khair for presentin….masha Allah nice article
nafsee
September 15, 2008
Very nice reminder, Masha’Allah. May Allah grant us ‘hidaayah’.