| Hud: (74-75) Then, when the fear departed from him...

Know that this is the fifth story, which is the story of Lot, peace be upon him.

Know that الروع (al-rawʿ) means fear, which is what he felt when he sensed apprehension upon denying his guests. The meaning is: When the fear departed and joy arrived due to the good news of obtaining a son, he began to argue with Us concerning the people of Lot.

The response to "he argued" is that the verb أخذ (akhadha - he took/began) is omitted in the utterance, indicated by the context. Some say the implied structure is: "When the fear departed from Abraham, he began to argue with Us."

Know that His saying, { يجادلنا } (yujādilunā - he argues with Us), means he argues with Our messengers.

If it is asked: If this argument was with God Almighty, then it is impudence toward God, and impudence toward God is one of the greatest sins. Furthermore, the purpose of this argument was to remove that decree, which indicates that he was not content with God's decree, and thus he committed disbelief. If the argument was with the angels, it is also strange. The purpose of this argument was to make them cease the destruction of the people of Lot. If he believed that they were arguing based on their own initiative regarding this destruction, this is a bad assumption about them. If he believed they came by God's command, then this argument implies that he was asking them to disobey God's command, which is reprehensible.

The answer is twofold:

The First Way (The General Answer): God Almighty praised him immediately after this verse, saying: { Indeed, Abraham was forbearing, compassionate, and turning back [to God] } (Hud 11:75). If this argument were a sin, He would not have followed it with what indicates great praise.

The Second Way (The Detailed Answer): The intent of this argument was Abraham's striving to delay the punishment from them, establishing his case through various means:

The First Way: The angels said: { Indeed, we are to destroy the people of this town } (Hud 11:70). Abraham said: "What if there were fifty believing men in it? Would you destroy it?" They said, "No." He said, "Forty?" They said, "No." He said, "Thirty?" They said, "No." until it reached ten. They said, "No." He said, "What if there were one Muslim man in it? Would you destroy it?" They said, "No." At that point, he said, "Indeed, Lot is in it." God Almighty mentioned this in Surah Al-Ankabut, saying: { And when Our messengers came to Abraham with the good tidings, they said, "Indeed, we will destroy the people of that town. Indeed, its people have been wrongdoers." He said, "Indeed, Lot is in them." They said, "We know best who is therein. We will surely save him and his family, except his wife; she will be among those who remain behind." } (Al-Ankabut 29:31-32).

Then He said: { And when Our messengers came to Lot, he was grieved for them and felt distressed by them, and said, "This is a distressing day." } This clarifies that Abraham's argument was concerning the people of Lot because of Lot's position among them.

The Second Way: It is possible that he, peace be upon him, inclined toward God's mercy reaching them through delaying the punishment, hoping they might turn to faith and repent from sins. Perhaps these arguments occurred because Abraham was saying that the command of God arrived concerning the infliction of punishment, and an absolute command does not necessitate immediacy; rather, it allows for delay. So, wait for another period. The angels were saying that the absolute command accepts immediacy, and there were indications present that necessitated immediacy. Then each party began to establish their view with known arguments, leading to the argument for this reason. This view, in my opinion, is the most reliable.

The Third Way (In response): Perhaps Abraham, peace be upon him, inquired about the wording of that command, and that command was conditional upon a certain condition. They differed on whether that condition had been met among those people or not, and the argument arose because of that. In summary, we see scholars in our time arguing with one another when adhering to texts; this does not invalidate any of them. So it is here.

Then the Almighty said: { Indeed, Abraham was forbearing, compassionate, and turning back [to God] } (Hud 11:75). This is a great praise from God Almighty for Abraham.

As for الحليم (al-Ḥalīm - the forbearing one), he is one who does not hasten in recompensing others, but rather delays and pardons. One whose state is like this loves this manner in others. This serves as evidence that his argument was about a matter related to forbearance and delaying punishment.

Then what is connected to forbearance was added to that, which is His saying: { أواه منيب } (ʾawwāhun munīb - compassionate, and turning back). Because one who exercises forbearance toward others, he groans (يتأوه - yataʾawwah) when witnessing distress befalling others. When he saw the angels coming to destroy the people of Lot, his grief intensified because of that, and he began to groan over it. Therefore, God Almighty described him with this attribute. He also described him as منيب (munīb - turning back), because one who exhibits this great compassion for others turns back, repents, and returns to God to remove that punishment from them. Alternatively, it can be said: Whoever is not pleased with others falling into distress is even more deserving of not being pleased with himself falling into it. There is no way to safeguard oneself from falling into God's punishment except through repentance and turning back. Thus, it is necessary that one who is like this be one who turns back.

{ O Abraham, avert this. Indeed, the command of your Lord has come, and indeed, there will come to them a punishment that cannot be turned back. * And when Our messengers came to Lot, he was grieved for them and felt distressed by them, and said, "This is a distressing day." } (Hud 11:76-77)