Lot in Islam

Muslims maintain that Abraham's father was Aazar (Arabic: آزر‎, romanized: Āzar), which could be derived from the Syriac Athar,[7] who is known in the Hebrew Bible as Terah. Abraham had two children, Isaac and Ismael, who both later became prophets. Abraham's nephew is said to have been the messenger Lut (Lot), who was one of the other people who migrated with Abraham out of their community. Abraham himself is said to have been a descendant of Nuh through his son Shem.[8]

Lut is referenced a relatively large number of times in the Quran.[4] Many of these passages place the narrative of Lot in a line of successive prophets including Noah, Hud, Salih and Shuayb.[9] Islamic scholars have stated that these particular prophets represent the early cycle of prophecy as described in the Quran.[4] These narratives typically follow similar patterns: a prophet is sent to a community; the community pays no heed to his warnings instead threatens him with punishment; God asks the prophet to leave with his followers the community and its people are subsequently destroyed in a punishment.[10] Elsewhere in the Quran, Lot is mentioned alongside Ismael, Elisha and Jonah as men whom God favored above the nations.[11]

The Quran states that Lot was a nephew of Abraham who had been sent to the twin cities of Sodom and Gomorrah as a prophet after migrating to Canaan, but he was rejected by the cities' inhabitants. One day, a group of angels visited Abraham as guests[12] in order to inform him of the fact that his wife Sarah was pregnant with Isaac. While there, they also told him that they had been sent by God to the "guilty people"[13] of Lot[14] to destroy them[15] with "a shower of stones of clay".[16] Lot and those who believed in him, were to be spared, but his wife was to die in the destruction, with the angels stating that "she is of those who lag behind".[17][18] The Quran also draws upon Lot's wife as an "example for the unbelievers" as she was married to a righteous man but refused to believe in his message and was thus condemned to Hell.[4][19]

The people of the twin cities transgressed against the bounds of God. According to the Quran, their sins included inhospitality and robbery [20] they hated strangers and robbed travellers, apart from other mistreatments and rape. It was their sin of sexual misconduct as well which was seen as particularly egregious, with Lot strongly chiding them for approaching men with sexual desire instead of women.[21][22] Lot exhorted them to abandon their sinful ways, but they ridiculed him[20] and threatened to evict him from the cities.[23] by saying that this man wants to be 'Pure' . Lot prayed to God and begged to be saved from the consequences of their sinful acts.[4][24]

Then two angels, disguised as handsome males, came to Lot. He became distressed due to his powerlessness to protect the visitors from the people of the cities.[25] The cities' residents demanded that Lot surrender his guests to them.[26] He pointed to his daughters for his guests,[27] but unlike the Judeo-christian beliefs, Lut offered them for lawful marriage after conversion to Islamic monotheism, as pious and pure alternatives to their unlawful wishes, and perhaps a source of guidance,[28] but they were unrelenting and replied "we have no need of your daughters: indeed you know quite well what we want!"[29] The Quran remarks "they moved blindly intoxicated in the frenzy of approaching death".[4][30] The exegetes Ibn Kathir, Qurtubi and Tabari do not read 'daughters' to mean Lot's literal daughters. They argue that since a prophet is like a father to his nation, Lot was directing the evildoers to turn away from their sins and engage in healthy relationships with the daughters of the nation, i.e. women in general.[31]

The angels then revealed their true identities to Lot, and told him that they had been sent by God to "bring down upon the folk of this township a fury from the sky because they are evil-doers".[4] They advised Lot to leave the place during the night and not look back, informing him that his wife would be left behind on account of her sinful nature.[32] Keeping his faith in God, Lot left the cities during the night with his believing family members and others who believed in him. When morning came, God turned the cities upside down, and rained down on them stones hard as baked clay,[33] putting an end to the lives of the people of Sodom and Gomorrah.[4]

All major schools of Islamic jurisprudence state that male homosexual sex is a sin, based in part on the story of Lot.[34] Because the Quran states that Lot berated his people for sexually pursuing men, in addition to attempting to assault strangers, the incident is traditionally seen as demonstrating Islam's disapproval of both rape and homosexuality.[35] Lot's struggle with the people of the twin cities is seen as either concerning homosexuality in general or specifically homosexual anal penetration.[36] These interpretations have sometimes widened to condemn homosexuality beyond the physical act, including psychological and social dispositions.[34]

Many Muslims believe that Bani Na'im in Israel houses the tomb of Lot in the center of the town. The tomb is located within a rectangular mosque with an inner court and minaret. The lintel of the mosque's northern gate is built from stones dating to the Byzantine era when a church had possibly stood at the site. Bani Na'im's association with Lot predates Islam, as the works of the Catholic scholar Jerome[37] in the 4th century CE state that the tomb is located in a town named Capharbaricha, which is likely the former name of Bani Na'im.[38]

Tradition holds that the tomb of his daughters is located on a nearby hill.[39] To the southeast of Bani Na'im is a shrine dedicated to Lot, known as Maqam an-Nabi Yaqin ("Shrine of the Truthful Prophet"). Local legend claims Lot prayed at the site and that the imprints of his feet are still visible in a rock there.[40] Similar alleged footprints of prophets and other holy men are found at Islamic shrines throughout the Middle East.[41]

• Biblical narratives and the Quran
• Legends and the Quran
• Muhammad in Islam
• Stories of The Prophets

Books

• Noegel, Scott B.; Wheeler, Brannon M. (2010). "Lot". The A to Z of Prophets in Islam and Judaism. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Incorporated. pp. 118–126. ISBN 978-0810876033. Retrieved 26 June 2013.
• El-Rouayheb, Khaled (2005). "Sodomites". Before Homosexuality in the Arab-Islamic World, 1500-1800. University of Chicago Press.
• Kugle, Scott Shiraj al-Haqq (2010). Homosexuality in Islam: Critical Reflection on Gay. Lesbian. and Transgender Muslims. Oxford: Oneworld Publications. ISBN 978-1-85168-701-5.
• https://quranx.com/4.16?Context=3