Surah Al-'Ankabut (The Spider): Verses 28–30

Verse 28

وَلُوطًا إِذْ قَالَ لِقَوْمِهِ أَتَأْتُونَ الْفَاحِشَةَ مَا سَبَقَكُم بِهَا مِنْ أَحَدٍ مِّنَ الْعَالَمِينَ (And [mention] Lot, when he said to his people, "Do you commit lewdness such as no one among the worlds has preceded you in doing?)

The grammatical analysis of wa-Lūṭan (And Lot) is as previously mentioned concerning the verse about Abraham: {وَإِبْرَاهِيمَ إِذْ قَالَ لِقَوْمِهِ} (And Abraham, when he said to his people) [Al-'Ankabut: 16]. Herein lie several issues:

Issue 1: Why did Lot only mention forbidding lewdness, while Abraham commanded Tawhid (monotheism)?

Abraham commanded his people: {اعْبُدُوا اللَّهَ} (Worship Allah). However, the text concerning Lot here states that he said to his people: {أَتَأْتُونَ الْفَاحِشَةَ} (Do you commit lewdness?). Since Lot was contemporary with Abraham, and every Messenger must command Tawhid, why is this aspect omitted for Lot?

Answer: Allah mentioned Lot here by focusing on what was specific to him. He restricted the narration to Lot's forbidding of lewdness. The command for Tawhid, although Lot certainly delivered it (as seen in Al-A'raf: 59: {اعْبُدُوا اللَّهَ مَا لَكُمْ مِنْ إِلَٰهٍ غَيْرُهُ}), was already established by Abraham and preceded him. It was as if this command was specialized to Abraham, and Lot conveyed it from Abraham.

Conversely, forbidding the actions of Lot's people was specific to Lot, as Abraham did not publicly oppose them or forbid them during his time. Thus, Allah mentioned each prophet concerning what distinguished him and what he pioneered over others.

Issue 2: Why is that act termed Fahisha (lewdness/outrageous immorality)?

Fahisha refers to an act whose ugliness is apparent. Lust (shahwa) and anger are qualities that possess inherent ugliness; Allah would not have created them in humans were it not for a greater benefit.

The benefit of sexual desire is the continuation of the species through procreation. This benefit is only achieved if the child survives the father. If the child dies before the father, the lineage would cease with the first generation.

Adultery (zina) satisfies lust but does not lead to the continuation of the species in the intended manner. Although adultery can result in a child, it does not guarantee the child's survival because when paternity is obscured (due to mixed semen), the father does not know his offspring and thus fails to nurture and support him, leading to the child's ruin. Consequently, the benefit of survival is lost.

Therefore, adultery is an ugly lust devoid of the benefit for which it was created, making its ugliness manifest—hence, it is Fahisha. If adultery is Fahisha even though it can lead to the existence of a child (albeit one whose survival is jeopardized), then sodomy (liwāṭa), which does not lead to the existence of a child at all, is even more deserving of being termed Fahisha.

Issue 3: The verse implies the obligation of a prescribed punishment (ḥadd) for sodomy.

This is because sodomy shares the characteristic of being Fahisha with adultery, as Allah states regarding adultery: {وَلَا تَقْرَبُوا الزِّنَا إِنَّهُ كَانَ فَاحِشَةً} (And do not approach unlawful sexual intercourse. Indeed, it is ever an immorality) [Al-Isra': 32]. Their shared designation as Fahisha necessitates a deterrent measure for both. Whatever deterrent is legislated for one should be legislated for the other. Although this is an analogy (qiyās), the common ground (jāmiʿ) is derived from the verse itself.

Another argument: Allah punished those who committed this act immediately by raining stones upon them. Therefore, the one who commits it must be punished immediately by the raining of stones, which is stoning (rajm).

His statement: {مَا سَبَقَكُم بِهَا مِنْ أَحَدٍ مِّنَ الْعَالَمِينَ} (no one among the worlds has preceded you in doing) has two interpretations:

1. The apparent meaning: No one before them committed this ugliness.
2. The intensive meaning: Perhaps one or a few individuals committed it rarely before, but the people of Lot exaggerated and intensified it. Thus, the statement means, "No one has surpassed you in this act," similar to saying, "So-and-so has surpassed misers in miserliness" if he exceeds them in that trait.

Then Allah states: {أَتَأْتُونَ الرِّجَالَ وَتَقْطَعُونَ السَّبِيلَ} (Do you approach men and sever the way?). This clarifies the previous point: You satisfy your lust with men while cutting off the natural way (with women) that encompasses the benefit of species continuation. This shows that the act is ugly, and its ugliness is not veiled by any benefit. This becomes like His statement: {أَتَأْتُونَ الرِّجَالَ شَهْوَةً مِّن دُونِ النِّسَاءِ} (Do you approach males for desire instead of females?). This means approaching women is a lust veiled by benefit; they fulfill your need without being an outrage. Yet, you abandon that and approach men with lust accompanied by outrage.

And His statement: {وَتَأْتُونَ فِي نَادِيكُمُ الْمُنكَرَ} (And commit in your gatherings that which is evil). This means the ugliness of your action was not enough; you added to it the ugliness of public display.

His statement: {فَمَا كَانَ جَوَابُ قَوْمِهِ} (So the response of his people was not but...). The interpretation here is similar to what was said regarding Abraham's story: {وَمَا كَانَ جَوَابُ قَوْمِهِ} (And the response of his people was not but...).

In this verse, there are further issues:

Issue 1: Comparing the response of Lot's people to Abraham's people.

Abraham's people said: {اقْتُلُوهُ أَوْ حَرِّقُوهُ} (Kill him or burn him) [Al-'Ankabut: 24]. Lot's people said: {ائْتِنَا بِعَذَابِ اللَّهِ} (Bring upon us the punishment of Allah). This seems contradictory, as Abraham was greater, and Lot was one of his own people.

Answer: Abraham was attacking their religion and insulting their gods by listing their deficiencies (e.g., "He does not hear, nor see, nor benefit"). Attacking the religion is a grave matter, so their recompense was killing or burning.

Lot, however, was only condemning their actions and attributing them to committing prohibitions. They did not claim that this act was a religious obligation. Therefore, their response was not as severe as that of Abraham's people. They essentially said, "You claim this is forbidden and that Allah punishes it. If you are truthful, bring the punishment upon us."

If it is asked: Allah states elsewhere: {فَمَا كَانَ جَوَابُ قَوْمِهِ إِلَّا أَن قَالُوا أَخْرِجُوا آلَ لُوطٍ مِّن قَرْيَتِكُمْ} (So the response of his people was not but that they said, "Expel the family of Lot from your city") [An-Naml: 56]. How can we reconcile this with the current verse where they said, "Bring the punishment upon us"?

Reconciliation: Lot persisted in admonishing them, repeatedly forbidding and warning them. First, they said, "Bring it upon us." Then, when he persisted and did not cease, they said, "Expel us." After Lot despaired of them, he sought help from Allah, reminding Him of what Allah dislikes: {فَقَالَ رَبِّ انصُرْنِي عَلَى الْقَوْمِ الْمُفْسِدِينَ} (He said, "My Lord, support me against the corrupting people"). Allah does not love the corrupters, so victory was granted.

Know that a Prophet only requested the destruction of his people when he knew that their non-existence was better than their existence. Noah said: {إِنَّكَ إِن تَذَرْهُمْ يُضِلُّوا عِبَادَكَ وَلَا يَلِدُوا إِلَّا فَاجِرًا كَفَّارًا} (If You leave them, they will mislead Your servants and will only produce licentious disbelievers) [Nuh: 27]. This means the benefit is either present in them now or will result from them later. Since there was no benefit in them—they misled others presently and would bequeath disbelief to their offspring—their non-existence became preferable, so he requested punishment. Similarly, Lot saw that they were corrupting in the present, and their offspring would not be righteous worshippers of Allah, thus nullifying the benefit both presently and in the future.

Verse 29

وَلَمَّا جَاءَتْ رُسُلُنَا إِبْرَاهِيمَ بِالْبُشْرَىٰ قَالُوا إِنَّا مُهْلِكُو أَهْلِ هَٰذِهِ الْقَرْيَةِ إِنَّ أَهْلَهَا كَانُوا ظَالِمِينَ (And when Our messengers came to Abraham with good tidings, they said, "Indeed, we will destroy the people of this town. Indeed, its people have been wrongdoers.")

قَالَ إِنَّ فِيهَا لُوطًا قَالُوا نَحْنُ أَعْلَمُ بِمَن فِيهَا لَنُنَجِّيَنَّهُ وَأَهْلَهُ إِلَّا امْرَأَتَهُ كَانَتْ مِنَ الْغَابِرِينَ (He said, "Indeed, Lot is in it." They said, "We are most knowing of who is therein. We will surely save him and his family, except his wife. She was of those who remained behind.")