Al-Hijr: (67 - 77) And the people of the city came...

Know that what is meant by "the people of the city" (أهل المدينة) are the people of Lot. There is no explicit proof in the verse that they came to a specific location, although the story implies they came to Lot's house.

It is said that because the angels were exceedingly beautiful, news of them spread until it reached the people of Lot. Another view is that Lot's wife informed them. In any case, the people said: "Three young men have arrived at Lot, the likes of whom we have never seen, neither in fairness of face nor handsomeness of form." So they went to Lot's house demanding them from him.

The expression of joy (الاستبشار) means showing happiness. When they approached Lot's guests, Lot said two things to them:

The First Statement: He said: "Behold, these are my guests, so do not shame me" (إن هؤلآء ضيفى فلا تفضحون). The word فضحه (to shame/expose) means to reveal something about a person that brings disgrace upon them. The meaning is that a guest must be honored, and if you intend evil towards them, that is an insult to me. He then emphasized this by saying: "And fear Allah and do not disgrace me" (واتقوا الله ولا تخزون). They replied to him by saying: "Did we not forbid you concerning all people?" (أو لم * ننهك عن العالمين). The meaning is: Have we not forbidden you from speaking to us about anyone whom we intend to approach with lewdness?

The Second Statement: Among what Lot said was: "Here are my daughters, if you are going to do [this]" (هاؤلآء بناتى إن كنتم فاعلين). It is said that "my daughters" refers to his literal daughters. Another view is that it refers to the women of his people, because the Messenger of the nation is like a father to them, similar to the verse: "The Prophet is more worthy of the believers than themselves, and his wives are their mothers" (Al-Ahzab: 6). In the recitation of Ubayy, it is "and he is a father to them" (وهو أب لهم). The discussion regarding these matters has already been covered exhaustively in Surah Hud.

As for His saying: "By your life, surely they are wandering blindly in their confusion" (لعمرك إنهم لفى سكرتهم يعمهون), there are several issues concerning it:

'Umr (العمر) and 'Umr (العمر) are the same. A man is called 'Umr (عمرا) in hopeful anticipation that he will live long. Hence the saying of Ibn Ahmar:

Youth has departed, and life has worn out.

A man's life (عمر الرجل) is experienced as عمراً (with a dammah) or عمراً (with a fathah). When they swear by it, they say لعمرك or لعمرك (with a fathah on the 'ayn, not otherwise). Al-Zajjaj said: This is because the fathah is lighter for them, and they frequently swear by لعمري and لعمرك, so they adhered to the lighter form.

There are two opinions regarding this verse:

1. The Angels' Speech: The intended meaning is that the angels said to Lot (peace be upon him): "By your life, surely they are wandering blindly in their confusion" (لعمرك إنهم لفى سكرتهم يعمهون), meaning they are wandering in their misguidance (غوايتهم يعمهون), i.e., they are bewildered. How then can they accept your words or pay attention to your advice?
2. Allah's Oath: The address is to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), and it is Allah who swore by his life. Allah has not sworn by the life of anyone else, which indicates that he is the most honored of creation in the sight of Allah Almighty. Grammarians state that لعمرك is in the nominative case (بالابتداء) because the predicate (الخبر) is omitted. The meaning is: "By your life is my oath," and the predicate is omitted because there is evidence for it in the context. In oaths, the verb is often omitted, like in بالله لأفعلن (By Allah, I will certainly do it), meaning "I swear by Allah," and the verb is omitted because the listener knows you are swearing.

Then Allah Almighty said: "So the blast overtook them at sunrise" (فأخذتهم الصيحة مشرقين). That is, the blast of Gabriel (peace be upon him). Scholars of meaning say there is no indication in the verse that the blast was specifically Gabriel's. If this were established by strong evidence, it would be accepted; otherwise, the verse only indicates that a great, destructive blast came upon them.

The phrase مشرقين (at sunrise): It is said شرق الشارق يشرق شروقاً for anything that rises from the East. Hence the saying: ما ذر شارق (no riser has appeared), meaning a riser has emerged. So, مشرقين means entering the time of rising (الشروق), which is the emergence of the sun.

Know that the verse indicates that Allah punished them with three types of torment:

1. The terrifying, dreadful blast (الصيحة الهائلة المنكرة).
2. He turned their high places into their low places (جعل عاليها سافلها).
3. He rained down upon them stones of baked clay (أمطر عليهم حجارة من سجيل). All these conditions have been explained in Surah Hud.

Then Allah said: "Indeed, in that are signs for those who observe" (إن فى ذلك لآيات للمتوسمين). It is said: توسمت في فلان خيراً (I perceived good in so-and-so), meaning I saw a mark of it in him and discerned it. The statements of the exegetes differ regarding the meaning of المتوسمين:

• Some say: Those who discern (المتفرسين).
• Some say: Those who look (الناظرين).
• Some say: Those who reflect (المتفكرين).
• Some say: Those who take heed (المعتبرين).
• Some say: Those who see clearly (المتبصرين).

Al-Zajjaj said: The linguistic reality of المتوسمين is those who are meticulous in their looking until they recognize the mark, description, and sign of a thing. The observer (المتوسم) is one who looks at the indicative mark. You say: توسمت في فلان كذا (I perceived such-and-such in so-and-so), meaning I recognized the mark of that thing and discerned it in him.

Then He said: "And indeed, they were on a clear, established road" (وإنها لبسبيل مقيم). The pronoun in وإنها refers back to the city of Lot's people, which was previously mentioned in "And the people of the city came" (وجآء أهل المدينة). And لبسبيل مقيم means that these towns and the traces of Allah's subjugation and wrath that appeared in them are an established, fixed road (سبيل مقيم) that has not faded nor been hidden. Those who pass by from Hijaz to Sham witness them.

Then He said: "Indeed, in that is a sign for the believers" (إن فى ذلك لآية للمؤمنين). This means that whoever believes in Allah and testifies to the Prophets and Messengers knows that this happened precisely because Allah Almighty took vengeance for His prophets against those ignorant people. As for those who do not believe in Allah, they attribute it to the accidents of the world and its occurrences, or to the conjunctions of the stars and astronomical alignments. And Allah knows best.

(Note: The translation here transitions to the next verses, 78-79, which are referenced by the structure of the source text, though the provided excerpt ends abruptly after verse 77.)