Surah Al-Anbya 21:74

The Migration of Ibrahim to Ash-Sham (Greater Syria), accompanied by Lut

Allah tells us that He saved Ibrahim from the fire lit by his people, and brought him out from among them, migrating to the land of Ash-Sham, to the sacred regions thereof.

(And We bestowed upon him Ishaq, and Ya`qub Nafilatan.) `Ata' and Mujahid said, "Nafilatan means as a gift." Ibn `Abbas, Qatadah and Al-Hakam bin `Uyaynah said, "The gift of a son who has a son," meaning that Ya`qub was the son of Ishaq, as Allah says:

(But We gave her glad tidings of Ishaq, and after Ishaq, of Ya`qub) 11:71. `Abdur-Rahman bin Zayd bin Aslam said, "He asked for one son, and said,

("My Lord! Grant me from the righteous.") So Allah gave him Ishaq, and gave him Ya`qub in addition.

(Each one We made righteous. ) means, both of them were good and righteous people.

(And We made them leaders,) means, examples to be followed.

(guiding by Our command,) inviting to Him by His leave. Allah says:

(and We revealed to them the doing of good deeds, performing Salah, and the giving of Zakah,) Here the general is followed by the specific.

(and of Us (Alone) they were the worshippers.) means, they did what they enjoined others to do.

The Prophet Lut

Then Allah mentions Lut, whose full name was Lut bin Haran bin Azar. He believed in Ibrahim and followed him, and migrated with him, as Allah says:

(So Lut believed in him. He (Ibrahim) said: "I will emigrate for the sake of my Lord") 29:26. Allah gave him wisdom and knowledge; He sent Revelation to him, made him a Prophet and appointed him to Sadum (Sodom) and its vicinity, but they rejected him and resisted him, so Allah utterly destroyed them, as He tells us in several places in His Book. Allah says;

(and We saved him from the town who practised Al-Khaba'ith. Verily, they were a people given to evil, and were rebellious. And We admitted him to Our mercy; truly, he was of the righteous.)

Pada ayat ini Allah menerangkan tiga macam rahmat yang dikaruniakan kepada Nabi Lut:

Pertama, Nabi Lut telah dikaruniai-Nya hikmah dan kearifan memberi putusan atau hukuman, sehingga dengan itu ia dapat memberikan penyelesaian dan keputusan dengan baik dalam perkara-perkara yang terjadi di kalangan umatnya.

Kedua, Ia juga dikaruniai ilmu pengetahuan yang sangat berguna terutama ilmu agama, sehingga ia dapat mengetahui dan melaksanakan dengan baik kewajiban-kewajibannya terhadap Allah dan terhadap sesama makhluk. Kedua syarat ini sangat penting bagi orang-orang yang akan diutus Allah sebagai Nabi dan Rasul-Nya.

Ketiga, Ia telah diselamatkan Allah ketika negeri tempat tinggalnya, yaitu Sodom ditimpa azab Allah karena penduduknya banyak berbuat kejahatan dan kekejian secara terang-terangan. Perbuatan-perbuatan keji yang mereka kerjakan di antaranya melakukan hubungan kelamin antara sesama lelaki (homosex), mengganggu lalulintas perniagaan dengan merampok barang-barang perniagaan itu, mendurhakai Lut dan tidak mengindahkan ancaman Allah dan lain-lain. Maka kota Sodom itu dimusnahkan Allah. Nabi Lut beserta keluarganya diselamatkan Allah kecuali istrinya yang ikut mendurhakai Allah.

Pada akhir ayat ini Allah menjelaskan apa sebabnya kaum Lut sampai melakukan perbuatan jahat dan keji semacam itu, ialah karena mereka telah menjadi orang-orang jahat dan fasik, sudah tidak mengindahkan hukum-hukum Allah, dan suka melakukan hal-hal yang terlarang, sehingga mereka bergelimang dalam perbuatan-perbuatan dosa dan ucapan-ucapan yang tidak senonoh yang semuanya dilakukan mereka dengan terang-terangan, tanpa rasa malu.