ﱒ ﱓ ﱔ ﱕ ﱖ ﱗ ﱘ ﱙ ﱚ ﱛ ﱜ ﱝ ﱞ ﱟ ﱠ ﱡ ﱢ ﱣ
[Abraham] said, "Indeed, within it is Lot." They said, "We are more knowing of who is within it. We will surely save him and his family, except his wife. She is to be of those who remain behind."
Tafsir
Verse range: 29:32
(He said, "Indeed, within it is Lot.") It is said: It is possible that he (peace be upon him) knew what they were pointing to regarding the people of the town not touching him, but he wanted to explicitly state his condition so that his heart might be at ease, out of the perfection of his compassion for him. It is also said: He wanted to know whether he would remain in the town when they are destroyed, or whether he would leave it and then they would be destroyed. It is as if his saying "Indeed, within it is Lot"—rather than "Indeed, among them is Lot"—is an indication of this.
Some investigators understood that his saying, "Indeed, within it is Lot," is an objection raised against the messengers (peace be upon them), suggesting that in the town are those who have not committed injustice. This is based on the premise that the obvious meaning of attributing the "people" to the town is a generalization, taking "people" to mean everyone who dwells therein, even if they were not born there. Or, it is a counter-argument against the cause of destruction—which is injustice—by presenting an obstacle, which is that Lot is among them and he is not characterized by their traits.
The response of the messengers, narrated by the Almighty's saying, "They said, 'We are more knowing of who is within it; we will surely save him and his family,'" is an acknowledgement of what he (peace be upon him) said regarding Lot, coupled with a claim of superior knowledge of him in terms of his particular state, and that they were not heedless of him. It is an answer to him by specifying the "family" as those other than him, and "his family" as being in response to the objection, or as a clarification that the time of their destruction will be at a moment when Lot and his family are no longer among them, as a counter-argument. In this, there is an indication of the permissibility of delaying clarification after an address in some instances.
What is most probable is that by "the people of the town," they intended those who were raised in it, according to common usage; thus, Lot (peace be upon him) is not included among those "people." This is supported, to some extent, by the saying of his people, "Expel the family of Lot from your town." Abraham (peace be upon him) understood what they intended and knew that Lot was not among the destroyed; however, he feared that the destruction of his people might occur while he was still among them in the town, which would sadden and alarm him. Perhaps he (peace be upon him) concluded this because they did not mention expelling him from the town of the destroyed, despite their knowledge of his kinship with him and his extreme compassion for him. So he said, "Indeed, within it is Lot," by way of sorrow and lamentation, just as in the Almighty's saying, "I have delivered her, a female." His main intent was that he should not be there at the time of the destruction, so they informed him first of their superior knowledge of him, and second, they benefited him with what would please him and calm his heart, similar to the Almighty's saying, "And Allah is most knowing of what she delivered, and the male is not like the female."
They emphasized the promise of salvation, either to indicate their increased attention to his affair or because they treated Abraham (peace be upon him) as one who doubts his salvation due to what they witnessed from him regarding his (Lot's) rights. Salvation is to be understood as his extraction from among the people, his separation from them, and his protection from what would befall them, for in this sense, it is the most perfect realization. This aligns with what has been said regarding the Almighty's saying, "Except his wife; she was of the 'ghabirin'"—meaning, those remaining in the town. This is one of two interpretations. The second is what was narrated from Qatadah, interpreting "ghabirin" as those remaining in the punishment. Reflect upon this, for the speech of Allah the Almighty has many facets. The "family" here was interpreted as the followers of Lot (peace be upon him) who believed. The sentence "She was of the 'ghabirin'" is a new commencement, and the discussion on this has already passed, as has the discussion on the exception; therefore, refer back to it.
