LUT AS

Having revealed their true identities, the angels said “O Lut! We are messengers of your Lord, by no means they shall reach you.” (11:81) It is mentioned that Jibril AS came out to them, hit them on their faces with his wing, blinding them.

The Punishment

The angels then informed Lut AS about the impending punishment of the townspeople saying that “Morning is their time appointed (for their destruction), is not the morning almost nigh?” (11:81) Therefore, in the cover of the night, Lut AS fled the city with his family.

As the sun appeared in the horizon, the terrible punishment of Allah was unleashed. There was a thunderous cry and “When Our Command came to pass, We turned the habitation upside down, and rained upon them brimstone, hard as baked clay, layer on layer. Each one assigned from your Lord, and never far from the evildoers.” (11:82 -83) It is said that Jibril AS uprooted the cities from earth (seven in total, including the satellite towns), flipped them, together with their inhabitants, and flung them back upside down towards the earth. The hail of brimstones that ensued was deadly and precise, each with the name of the targeted person, and each meeting its mark. One can only imagine the mayhem and panic of the townspeople before their screams of terror were silenced forever.

It is not known whether the wife of Lut AS stayed behind with her people, or whether she followed Lut AS during his escape. However, when she heard the mighty blast and saw the city crashing down from the sky, she turned towards her people, demonstrating that her loyalties lay with them and not to Allah. One of the brimstones fell upon her, and she was smashed to pieces, meeting her horrific end with the rest of the non believers.

Allah has transformed that part of the region into a putrefied sea (which is agreed to be the Dead Sea between Jordan and Palestine), in which no life form can survive, and which bitter waters have no benefit to any living being. Neither can any life flourish at the surrounding shores. Allah had left it so as a sign and a warning against those who commit a similar act.

LESSONS LEARNT

The Prohibition Against Homosexuality

There are various categories of sins, ranging from minor to major, and then there is another category where the sin is so heavy that the wrongdoers are cursed by Allah. Once cursed, the persons fall outside the mercy of Allah, are blinded from receiving the message and their arrogance and sickness in their heart will prohibit them from seek guidance, repentance or even moving forward in their spiritual journey. The curse will cause them to be sealed by any guidance and repentance, being doomed to hell and and disgraced in Allah’s kingdom. Homosexuality is such an act. The throne of Allah shakes with wrath every time there is homosexual contact, whether it is a man touching a man or a woman touching a woman.

Allah has provided us with the proper and pure avenues of pleasure and physical companionship. In verse 21 of Surah Rum, Allah mentions that from one of His signs is that he creates pairs for us. In it, Allah tells us that He has created mates and spouses for us, in the natural order of things being those from the opposite gender, whose physical, emotional and psychological characteristics complement our own. Mankind is born with certain natural predispositions and emotions which are to be shared with spouses, including the feelings of closeness, companionship and tranquillity, and this is a sign for those who contemplate the wonders of Allah.

In today’s society the gender distinction has faded. Men behave like females, and women behave like males, whether in appearances, mentality or behaviour. When it comes to marriage, a woman struggles to find a male with the qualities of a man, and neither can the man easily find a female with the natural feminine qualities of a woman. Part of this is contributed by the free interaction between the genders – when the female is in constant company of men, their masculine attributes will erode her natural femininity, and similarly, when a man spends excessive time in the company of females, their feminine attributes will rub off on him.

Islam encourages us to marry at an early age, before certain habits start to form and before we start experimenting with prohibited or unnatural channels to release our sexual desires. The Prophet SAW used to say that if a man comes to marry your daughter, and you like his deen, manner and conduct, you must marry him to your daughter. Otherwise there will be a calamity in the whole ummah. Today we delay this occasion, shifting the deadline to when the degree is obtained and the career is established, or when sufficient fortune has been earned.

Further, it is forbidden for a man to imitate a woman and vice versa. Once, a man in red clothing approached the Prophet SAW, and was ignored. Similarly, a man who smelt strongly of a ladies’ perfume was turned away, both incidents evidencing that the Prophet SAW disliked it when a man assumed the characteristics of a woman. There is also authentic hadith which confirms that Allah curses the male imitating a female, and the female imitating a male. What if the Prophet SAW came today and saw the way we are dressing and behaving?

Homosexuality is also cultivated by the wrong environment, the lack of role models, and the lack of education on how we are to interact with each other. For example, even scholars are not allowed to sit alone with a young boy (whose facial hair has not started to grow), to protect against any corruption and temptation.

We should provide our children the right education, environment and companionship. The importance of the environment cannot be undermined. Lut AS was educated by Ibrahim AS at a time where there were just a handful of Muslims on the planet. We as human beings are contagious, and we imitate those we spend time with. It also works negatively – for example, when we start imitating Western trends, in dressing, speech and thinking, and most dangerously, adopting their ideologies, many of which are corrupted, such as the increasing tolerance and protection towards homosexuals and the granting of legal status to homosexual relationships.

We cannot guide whom we want

We had shown earlier how the wife of Nuh AS betrayed him and died as a non believer. Here we see the same fate befalling the wife of Lut AS. Her betrayal was through the disclosure of a family confidence when she revealed the presence of the guests to the townspeople. In so doing, she not only acted as a spy for them, but also breached one of the most sacred rules of marriage, which was to keep private the happenings within the household. It is imperative that, apart from a few permitted exceptions, the wife keeps silent of all the domestic activities, and it is forbidden for her to relay such details to others, even by way of casual conversation.

The betrayal of Lut’s AS wife also demonstrates that we do not have control over whom Allah wants to guide. Being pious does not guarantee the piety of our family and offspring. Our duty is to provide the right upbringing, based on correct values and halal income. However, guidance will come only from Allah, and He will guide whom He wants. Even Muhammad SAW, when he failed to persuade his beloved uncle Abu Talib to embrace Islam, was reminded by Allah that one does not guide whom he loves, but that Allah will guide whom He wants.

Our duty is to educate those under our responsibility, by setting the role model, showing the way and relying on Allah for the results. When we neglect our duties in life to command the good and prohibit the wrong, mischief spreads. Mankind will be far away from the Creator and guidance. Our environment and society will be corrupted by mischief, affecting our own immediate circle too, making living the straight path very difficult.

This is the punishment from Allah for our negligence. If the wrath of Allah descends, we will suffer the consequences too, for abandoning our duty to be the inviter of goodness. Today, we can see individuals or families try to live right path, running from country to country, society to society, looking for the right community or environment that is morally healthy for the family. It has become very difficult. Why? Again, because of our collective laxity of our duties to convey the message. We have become selfish, concerned about just our families and forgetting that we cannot divorce environment and society. Even if we try to develop the perfect family unit, once we step out of our household, our neighbours, the education system and the style of life will taint us, making living our lives as Allah wants for us extremely difficult. We can see live examples of this every day. We pay the price for our inattention by the opposition of others against us in this life, and our accountability to Allah on the Day of Judgment. The only way to be rescued is to lead a good life, and to be a part of conveying the message.

Cautious Tourism and Reminding Others

When we go to an area that Allah destroyed or cursed, we should be mindful not to take it as an amusement or a tourist attraction. When we visit such locations, we should contemplate the signs left by Allah, and fear that we could be next. We are supposed to remind ourselves of their fate and guard our own behaviour so that we are saved from suffering the same fate.

What if we ignore the sins, corruption, and people going astray around us? Not only will it affect us in our lives, it can also bring the anger and torture of Allah upon us, resulting in spiritual diseases and moral decay. Today, witnessing mischief and sins has become commonplace, which is the opposite of the personality of a Muslim. A Muslim should instead be angry for Allah and be upset about the mischief, and do everything possible in his capability to spread the message to help mankind towards the path of guidance.

The torture of Allah is not limited by geographical boundaries or politics, but is provoked by our actions. It can come at any moment, especially when people are playing – playing with their lives, being reckless of their spiritual well being and living without any respect or fear of Allah.

According to a hadith of Rasulullah SAW, Jibril AS was once commanded to destroy a village. Jibril AS enquired Allah about a worshipper within the village, who had been worshipping for close to 100 years without committing any sin. Allah instructed Jibril AS to start the torture and destruction with the pious man. Jibril AS was surprised and enquired why. Allah replied to Jibril AS, that the man used to observe the sins against Allah, without his face even turning red (meaning he did not even care). The understanding of this Hadith is that the man’s negligence of even feeling bad for his community’s actions made him deserve the torture of Allah, despite all his piety and worship.

Today, a lot of us call ourselves worshippers. We pray and fulfil the pillars of Islam, but we remain in our own shells, niether engaging nor even feeling or thinking about being a part of spreading goodness, preventing evil, caring for society or being a part of any action to be a cause of spreading the message and elevating the name of Allah. If this is how we continue to behave, we will not be saved. Instead, we will be the first to gain the fitnah, anger and torture of Allah. Today, the majority of Muslims are not only inattentive to their own Islam, but even the devout are passive about their duties: the honourable job and responsibility that Allah granted to us to be the carrier and the custodian of the message until the Day of Judgment. We either blame society and the sinners, or we disregard the wrongdoing, accompany the blatant sinners and even taking them as our friends. We do not even attempt to suppress their wrong, or lead them towards the mercy of Allah. At the minimum, we should get away and disassociate from them so that we are not a party to their actions.