Tafsir of Al-Hijr 15:59

(Except the family of Lot): Al-Zamakhshari said: It is possible that it is an exception from "a people" (in the previous verse), considering the attribute (of criminality). In this case, the exception is disconnected (munqati’), because they are not a criminal people. The possibility of dominance (taghlib)—with this consideration—to make the exception connected (muttasil) is not necessitated by the context; and even if it were conceded, it would not be harmful to what has been mentioned, because it is based on reality and does not negate the validity of connectivity under another estimation.

It is also possible that it is an exception from the hidden pronoun in (the word) "criminals" (mujarimin), making the exception connected, as the pronoun refers only to the people. Consequently, under the first view, the "family" is excluded from the ruling of "sending"—where "sending" refers to a specific sending for the purpose of destruction, not absolute dispatch—because the meaning necessitates this, and the words of the Almighty, "(We will surely save them all)," (verse 59), serve as the predicate of "except," based on what you have previously heard.

Regarding Al-Radi, he held that the disconnected exception is in the accusative case—according to Sibawayh—by the words preceding "except," just as the connected exception is in the accusative. Even if "except" (illa) carries the meaning of "but" (lakin), the later Basran grammarians—when they saw it meant "but"—said that it is "except" itself that governs the accusative, just as "but" governs nouns, and its predicate is usually elided, such as: "The people came to me except a donkey," meaning "but a donkey did not come." They stated that its predicate might sometimes be explicit, as in the words of the Almighty: "Except the people of Jonah; when they believed, We removed from them..." The Kufans held that "except" in such cases means "other than" (siwa), and the accusative after it in a disconnected state is like the accusative in a connected state.

The interpretation of the Basrans is more appropriate, because the disconnected exception must necessarily differ from what precedes it in negation and affirmation, as is the case with "but." With "other than," this is not required, as you might say: "You owe me two dinars other than such-and-such a dinar"—this applies when it functions as an adjective. Furthermore, the meaning of "but" is rectification (istidrak), which is intended to dispel the addressee's illusion that what follows it enters into the ruling of what precedes it, when it is in fact not included. This is the very meaning of the disconnected exception.

Some have claimed that there is obscurity in the Arabic language regarding the notion that the exception-making "except" acts as "but." One said: It is a predicate in meaning, but not a true predicate, as the grammarians have explicitly stated. From what we have quoted, the flaw in that is known. Yes, Al-Zamakhshari explicitly stated that the sentence, under the estimation of disconnection, proceeds in the manner of the predicate of "but," which is manifest in the fact that it is not a predicate in reality. He mentioned that he only said this because the predicate is elided—i.e., "but the family of Lot, We did not send (the punishment) to them"—and what is mentioned is its evidence due to their interdependence. Therefore, he did not designate it as the predicate itself, but as proceeding in its manner. There is negligence in this, as it is based on what was narrated from Sibawayh. Some claimed he said that because a sentence beginning with "Indeed" (inna) cannot be a predicate for "but," so let this be reviewed. It was also said: He stated that because what is mentioned is "except," not "but," and this (opinion) is as you see.

Under the estimation of connectivity, the family is excluded from the ruling of the one from whom the exception is made—which is criminality—and included in the ruling of the "sending," in the sense of absolute dispatch. Thus, the angels were sent to all of them to destroy the former and save the latter. The sentence "(Indeed, We will save them all)" is, in this case, a starting sentence (musta’nafa) for the sake of clarification, as if Abraham (peace be upon him) had said to them when they said: "(Indeed, We have been sent to a criminal people. Except the family of Lot)"—"What then is the state of the family of Lot?" And they replied: "(Indeed, We will save them all)" and so on.