Surah Hud 11:74

The Dispute of Ibrahim over the People of Lut

Allah, the Exalted, informs of what happened after the fright of Ibrahim left him and he felt no more fear of the angels when they refused to eat. After this, they gave him the glad tidings of the birth of a son and the destruction of the people of Lut. When they told him of this, he spoke to them as Sa`id bin Jubayr narrated concerning this verse. Sa`id said: When Jibril and the other angels who were with him came to Ibrahim, they said,

(Verily, we are going to destroy the people of this town.) Ibrahim said to them, "Will you destroy a town that has three hundred believers in it" They said, "No." He then said, "Will you destroy a town that has two hundred believers in it" They said, "No." He said, "Will you destroy a town that has forty believers in it" They said, "No." He then said, "Thirty" They still replied, "No." This continued until he said, "Five" They said, "No." Then he said, "What do you think if there is one Muslim man in the town, would you destroy it" They said, "No." With this, 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.") Therefore, Ibrahim remained silent and his soul was at rest. Concerning Allah's statement,

(Verily, Ibrahim was, without doubt, forbearing, used to invoke Alllah with humility, and was repentant (to Allah).) 11:75 This is a commendation for Ibrahim because of these beautiful characteristics. Then Allah says,

(O Ibrahim! Forsake this. Indeed, the commandment of your Lord has gone forth.) This means the decree was settled concerning them and the Word was already given that they should be destroyed. The evil torment was coming to them, that cannot be averted from wicked people.

Setelah Nabi Ibrahim a.s. mengetahui bahwa yang datang kepadanya adalah malaikat utusan Allah, maka dia merasa lega dan hilanglah segala syakwasangka di dalam hatinya. Alangkah bahagianya keluarga Nabi Ibrahim a.s. di kala itu, tidak ada kegembiraan dan kebahagiaan yang melebihinya karena apa yang telah lama diingini dan diidam-idamkan, tiba-tiba dengan karunia dan rahmat Allah dia akan memperoleh seorang anak yang sekaligus telah diberi nama Ishak. Tetapi Nabi Ibrahim a.s. sebagai seorang penyantun dan pengasih dan penyayang terhadap umat manusia, di saat diliputi kegembiraan, ia tidak lupa bahkan ingat kembali akan ucapan para malaikat itu, bahwa mereka diutus Allah untuk membinasakan kaum Luth. Terlukislah di dalam ingatannya bagaimana buruknya nasib kaum Luth itu, dan bagaimana dahsyatnya malapetaka yang akan menimpa mereka. Rasa bahagia dan gembira dengan sekejap telah berganti dengan rasa cemas dan putus asa. Ia memberanikan dirinya untuk berdebat dengan para malaikat itu, dengan harapan rencana pembinasaan kaum Luth itu dapat dibatalkan. Hal itu tersebut dalam firman Allah:

Dan ketika utusan Kami (para malaikat) datang kepada Ibrahim dengan membawa kabar gembira, mereka mengatakan, "Sungguh, kami akan membinasakan penduduk kota (Sodom) ini karena penduduknya sungguh orang-orang zalim." (al-Ankabut/29: 31)