Tafsir of Al-Hijr 15:57

If you ask: Is the Almighty’s saying, "Except for the family of Lot," a connected (muttasil) or disconnected (munqati') exception?

I say: It cannot be anything other than one of two things:

1. A disconnected exception: It is an exception from "the people" (al-qawm). Because the people are described as criminals, the two categories differ.
2. A connected exception: It is an exception from the pronoun in "criminals" (mujrimin). It is as if it were said: "We were sent to a people who have all committed crimes, except for the family of Lot alone," just as He said: "But We found there only one house of the Muslims" (al-Dhariyat: 36).

If you ask: Does the meaning differ based on the two types of exception?

I say: Yes. In the disconnected case, the family of Lot is excluded from the ruling of the "sending." This implies that the angels were sent specifically to the criminal people, and not to the family of Lot at all. The meaning of sending them to the criminal people is like sending a stone or an arrow toward a target—it carries the meaning of torment and destruction. It is as if it were said: "We destroyed a criminal people, but we saved the family of Lot."

In the connected case, they are included in the ruling of the "sending." This implies that the angels were sent to all of them—to destroy the former and save the latter. Thus, the "sending" does not exclusively mean destruction and torment as it did in the first view.

If you ask: To what does His saying, "Indeed, We will save them," relate in both views?

I say: If the exception is disconnected, it functions like the predicate of "but" (lakin) in relation to the family of Lot, for the meaning is: "But the family of Lot, we will save them." If it is connected, it is a new, independent statement, as if Abraham (peace be upon him) asked them, "What is the state of the family of Lot?" and they replied, "Indeed, we will save them."

If you ask: From what is His saying, "Except his wife," excepted? Is it an exception from an exception?

I say: It is excepted from the pronoun in "We will save them" (munju-hum). It is not an exception from an exception at all, because an exception from an exception only occurs when the ruling is unified—such as saying: "I divorced her three times, except for two, except for one," or "He owes me ten dirhams, except for three, except for one." In the verse, the two rulings differ: "Except for the family of Lot" relates to "We were sent" or "criminals," while "Except his wife" relates to "We will save them." How, then, could it be an exception from an exception?

If you ask: Why is it permissible to use the verb "to decree" (qaddarna) in His saying, "We have decreed that she is of those who remain behind," when "suspension" (ta'liq) is a characteristic of the verbs of the heart?

I say: Because the verb "to decree" contains the meaning of "knowledge." For this reason, scholars interpret God’s decreeing of the servants' deeds as His knowledge of them.

If you ask: Why did the angels attribute the act of decreeing—which belongs to God alone—to themselves, rather than saying "God has decreed"?

I say: Because of their proximity and special status with God, which no one else possesses. It is like the inner circle of a king saying, "We have arranged such-and-such and ordered such-and-such," while the one who truly arranges and orders is the king, not them. They do this to demonstrate their exclusivity and that they are not distinct from His will.