Tafsir of Hud 11:81

Surah Hud (11:81)

Translation and Exegesis (Based on Mafatih al-Ghayb)

The preceding verse, where Lot (peace be upon him) said:

{If only I had strength against you or could take refuge in a strong support} (Hud: 80)

indicates that he was in extreme distress and sorrow due to the imminent threat posed by those wicked people regarding the dishonor of his guests.

When the Angels saw his condition, they gave him several glad tidings:

1. They were messengers of God.
2. The disbelievers would not achieve what they intended.
3. God would destroy the people.
4. God would save him and his household from that punishment.
5. His support is strong, and his Helper is God Almighty.

Upon receiving these assurances, it is narrated that Gabriel (peace be upon him) told him: "Your people will not reach you." He then instructed Lot to open the door. When the people entered, Gabriel struck their faces with his wing, blinding them, so they could no longer find the way to their homes. This is confirmed by the verse:

{And We had certainly demanded his guests from him, but We blotted out their eyes} (Al-Qamar: 37).

The meaning of {لن يصلوا إليك} (They will not reach you) is that they will not harm him or cause him distress, as God will intervene between them and their goal.

Then God said: {فَأَسْرِ بِأَهْلِكَ} (So set forth with your household).

There is a difference in recitation regarding {فَأَسْرِ}:

• Nafi' and Ibn Kathir recited it connected (Asri).
• The rest recited it with a severed alif (Asir).

Both forms are linguistically valid. It is said: saraytu bil-layl (I traveled by night) and asraytu (I caused someone to travel by night). Hassan recited poetry supporting both forms.

• Evidence for the connected form (Asri): God’s saying: {Exalted is He who took His Servant by night} (Al-Isra: 1).
• Evidence for the severed form (Asir): God’s saying: {By the night when it departs} (Al-Fajr: 4).

As-Sari means traveling by night. Sarā yasrī means to travel by night, and asrā bi-fulān means to make someone travel by night.

The command implies leaving during a part of the night (a portion, like a piece/section), meaning: "Go out by night so that you may precede the arrival of the punishment, whose appointed time is the morning."

Regarding the timing:

• Nafi' ibn al-Azraq asked Ibn Abbas (may God be pleased with them both) about the phrase {بقطع من الليل} (a portion of the night), and he replied: "It is the last part of the night, the pre-dawn hour (Sahar)."
• Qatadah said: "After a segment of the night."
• Others said: "It is the middle of the night, as it is divided into two halves at that time."

Then God said: {وَلَا يَلْتَفِتْ مِنْكُمْ أَحَدٌ} (And let none of you look back).

This is a prohibition against looking behind oneself. The apparent meaning is that they had possessions, goods, and friends in the town, and the Angels commanded them to leave these things behind and not turn back to them at all.

This command also implies cutting off the heart's attachment to those things. It can also mean turning away or diverting, as in the verse: {They said, "Have you come to us to turn us away [from the ways of our fathers]?"} (Yunus: 78). Under this interpretation, the command {وَلَا يَلْتَفِتْ مِنْكُمْ أَحَدٌ} means a prohibition against lagging behind or hesitating.

Then God said: {إِلَّا امْرَأَتَكَ} (except for your wife).

There is a difference in recitation here as well:

• Ibn Kathir and Abu 'Amr recited it in the nominative case (Imra'atuka - except your wife).
• The rest recited it in the accusative case (Imra'ataka).

Al-Wahidi stated that those who use the accusative case (the preferred reading, according to him) treat her as an exception from the household in the command: So set forth with your household, except for your wife. The evidence supporting this reading is found in the recitation of Abdullah [Ibn Mas'ud], who omitted the phrase {وَلَا يَلْتَفِتْ مِنْكُمْ أَحَدٌ} from that position.

For those who use the nominative case (Imra'atuka), the implied structure is: {وَلَا يَلْتَفِتْ مِنْكُمْ أَحَدٌ إِلَّا امْرَأَتَكَ} (And let none of you look back, except your wife).

Addressing a potential objection: If the nominative reading is used, it implies that she was commanded to look back, because if someone says, "No one should stand except Zayd," it is a command for Zayd to stand.

Abu Bakr al-Anbari's response: The meaning of {إِلَّا} (except) here is a disjunctive exception (استثناء منقطع), meaning: "No one among you should look back, but your wife will look back, and she will suffer what afflicts them." If the exception is disjunctive, her looking back is an act of disobedience. This is supported by what Qatadah narrated: she was with Lot when he left the town. When she heard the sound of the punishment, she looked back and cried out, "Woe to my people!" Then a stone struck her and destroyed her.

Comparing the Readings: The nominative reading (raising Imra'atuka) is considered stronger because the accusative reading prevents her from leaving with the household altogether, implying she was to be left behind as one destined for destruction. However, the accusative reading (lowering Imra'ataka) is stronger from another perspective because it maintains a connected exception (استثناء متصل).

God then clarified what happened, stating that they said: {إِنَّهُ مُصِيبُهَا مَا أَصَابَهُمْ} (Indeed, what strikes them will strike her). Meaning, the punishment that afflicted the others would afflict her.

Then they said: {إِنَّ مَوْعِدَهُمُ الصُّبْحُ} (Indeed, their appointment is the morning).

It is narrated that when they told Lot, {إِنَّ مَوْعِدَهُمُ الصُّبْحُ}, Lot requested, "I want something sooner than that, perhaps this very hour!" They replied: {أَلَيْسَ الصُّبْحُ بِقَرِيبٍ} (Is not the morning near?). The commentators explain that when Lot (peace be upon him) heard this, he set out with his household during the night.

{فَلَمَّا جَاءَ أَمْرُنَا جَعَلْنَا عَالِيَهَا سَافِلَهَا وَأَمْطَرْنَا عَلَيْهَا حِجَارَةً مِّن سِجِّيلٍ مَّنضُودٍ * مَّسُوَّمَةً عِندَ رَبِّكَ وَمَا هِيَ مِنَ الظَّالِمِينَ بِبَعِيدٍ}