Surah Al-'Ankabut 29:34

The Angels went to Ibrahim and then to Lut, may peace be upon them both

When Lut, peace be upon him, asked Allah to help him against them, Allah sent angels to help him. They first came to Ibrahim in the form of guests, so he offered them hospitality in the appropriate manner. When he saw that they had no interest in the food, he felt some mistrust of them and was fearful of them. They started to calm him down and gave him the news of a righteous son born by his wife Sarah, who was present, and she was astonished by this, as we have already explained in our Tafsir of Surat Hud and Surat Al-Hijr. When they brought this news to Ibrahim and told him that they were sent to destroy the people of Lut, he began to speak up for them, hoping to win more time for them so that they might be guided by Allah. When they said, "We have come to destroy the people of this township,"

((Ibrahim) said: "But there is Lut in it." They said: "We know better who is there. We will verily, save him and his family except his wife, she will be of those who remain behind.") meaning, one of those who will be destroyed, because she used to support them in their disbelief and wrongdoing. Then the angels left him and visited Lut in the form of handsome young men. When he saw them like that,

(he was grieved because of them, and felt straitened on their account.) means, he was worried since if he had them as guests then he was afraid for them and what his people might do to them, but if he did not host them, he was still afraid of what might happen to them. At that point he did not know who they were.

(They said: "Have no fear, and do not grieve! Truly, we shall save you and your family except your wife: she will be of those who remain behind. Verily, we are about to bring down on the people of this town a great torment from the sky, because they have been rebellious.") Jibril, peace be upon him, uprooted their town from the depths of the earth, lifted it up to the sky, then threw it upside down upon them. Allah rained upon them:

(stones of Sijjil, in a well-arranged manner one after another. Marked from your Lord; and they are not ever far from the evil doers.) 11:82-83 Allah turned the place where they had lived into a putrid, stinking lake, which will remain as a lesson to mankind until the Day of Resurrection, and they will be among those who are most severely punished on the Day of Resurrection. Allah says:

(And indeed We have left thereof an evident Ayah) i. e., a clear sign, n

(for a folk who understand.) This is like the Ayah,

(Verily, you pass by them in the morning And at night; will you not then reflect) (37:137-138)

Ketika malaikat datang menemui Lut dan menyampaikan maksud kedatangannya, Lut menjadi panik dan sesak napas. Sebab, ia khawatir orang-orang Sodom itu akan mengganggunya kelak bila mengetahui ada tamu yang mulia itu. Oleh karena itu, kedatangan malaikat itu sengaja dirahasiakannya. Lut tidak sanggup menolak kedatangan mereka. Setelah melihat ketakutan dan kecemasan Lut atas kedatangan kaumnya, para malaikat itu menenteramkannya dengan berkata, "Hai Lut hendaklah engkau tenang, jangan gusar. Engkau tak usah khawatir akan keselamatan kami dan apa yang dilakukan oleh kaummu terhadap kami. Sebab perbuatan jahat mereka telah sampai ke puncaknya dan nasihat sudah cukup banyak engkau sampaikan kepada mereka."

Untuk menenteramkan perasaan Lut, malaikat itu berkata pula, "Kami akan menyelamatkan engkau dari siksaan yang akan diturunkan kepada kaummu dalam waktu dekat ini, demikian pula para pengikutmu yang beriman dan setia. Tak dapat tidak, pastilah mereka itu akan mengalami siksaan berat. Dan istrimu termasuk golongan orang-orang yang akan dihukum".

Istri Lut mengetahui ada tamu lelaki menginap di rumahnya, maka dengan serta-merta ia memberitahukan hal itu kepada rekan-rekannya. Oleh karena itu, tersiarlah berita dengan cepat bahwa di rumah Lut ada tamu tak dikenal. Dengan segera timbullah niat jahat dalam hati mereka untuk mengganggu tamu itu. Mereka lalu berunding dan bermufakat untuk membuat suatu rencana supaya bisa melaksanakan niat tersebut. Dengan demikian, menjadi jelas bahwa istri Lut termasuk orang yang berserikat dalam rencana busuk itu.

Keterangan malaikat di atas menenangkan perasaan Lut dari ketakutan. Kepada beliau diingatkan lagi, "Kami para malaikat pasti akan mendatangkan siksaan kepada mereka dengan tangan kami sendiri, akibat kefasikan yang sudah berurat berakar dalam diri mereka."

Pendapat yang masyhur menyebutkan, mula-mula terjadi guncangan keras, dan tanah tempat kediaman manusia yang durhaka itu menjadi jungkir balik. Setelah diserang hujan batu dan gempa bumi yang dahsyat, negeri itu menjadi hancur berantakan dan rata dengan bumi. Akhirnya negeri Sodom, bekas kediaman umat Nabi Lut, menjadi lautan mati (al-Bahrul Mayit).