Sura-7 [ Al Araf mecca 39]
The Quranic Text & Ali’s version:
إِنَّكُمْ
لَتَأْتُونَ
الرِّجَالَ
شَهْوَةً
مِّن
دُونِ
النِّسَاء...
7:81. "For ye practice your lusts on men in preference to women:
...بَلْ أَنتُمْ قَوْمٌ مُّسْرِفُونَ ﴿٨١﴾
ye are indeed a people transgressing beyond bounds."
وَمَا
كَانَ
جَوَابَ
قَوْمِهِ
إِلاَّ
أَن
قَالُواْ
أَخْرِجُوهُم
مِّن
قَرْيَتِكُمْ...
7:82. And his people gave no answer but this: they said,
"Drive them out of your city:
...إِنَّهُمْ أُنَاسٌ يَتَطَهَّرُونَ ﴿٨٢﴾
these are indeed men who want to be clean and pure!"
C1050. An instance of the withering sarcasm that hardened sinners use against the righteous. They wound with words, and follow up the insult with deeds of injustice, thinking that they would bring the righteous into disgrace. But Allah looks after His own, and in the end, the wicked themselves are overthrown when the cup of their iniquity is full.
فَأَنجَيْنَاهُ
وَأَهْلَهُ
إِلاَّ
امْرَأَتَهُ
كَانَتْ
مِنَ
الْغَابِرِينَ
﴿٨٣﴾
7:83. But We saved him and his family, except his wife:
she was of those who lagged behind.
C1051. In the biblical narrative she looks back, a physical act (see n. 1049): here she is a type of those who lag behind, i.e., whose mental and moral attitude, in spite of their association with the righteous, is to hark back to the glitter of wickedness and sin.
The righteous should have one sole objective, the Way of Allah. they should not took behind, nor yet to the right or the left.
وَأَمْطَرْنَا
عَلَيْهِم
مَّطَرًا...
7:84. And We rained down on them a shower (of brimstone):
C1052. The shower is expressly stated in 11:82 to have been of stones.
In 15:73-74, we are told that there was a terrible blast or noise (saihat) in addition to the shower of stones,
Taking these passages into consideration along with Gen. 19:24. (see n. 1049 above), I think it is legitimate to translate: "a shower of brimstone."
...فَانظُرْ كَيْفَ كَانَ عَاقِبَةُ الْمُجْرِمِينَ ﴿٨٤﴾
then see what was the end of those who indulged in sin and crime!
Other versions:
7: 80
Yusuf Ali We also (sent) Lut: he said to his people: "Do ye commit lewdness such as no people in creation (ever) committed before you?
Pickthall And Lo! (Remember) when he said unto his folk: Will ye commit abomination such as no creature ever did before you?
Transliteration Wa lu_tan iz qa_la liqaumihi ata'tu_nal fa_hisyata ma_ sabaqakum biha_ min ahadim minal 'a_lamin(a).
7: 81
Yusuf Ali "For ye practice your lusts on men in preference to women: ye are indeed a people transgressing beyond bounds."
Pickthall Lo! ye come with lust unto men instead of women. Nay, but ye, are wanton folk.
Transliteration Innakum lata'tu_nar rija_la syahwatam min du_nin nisa_'(i), bal antum qaumum musrifu_n(a).
[[ Asad’s note 63 – The story of Lot, Abraham’s nephew (Lut in Arabic)….]
7: 82
Yusuf Ali And his people gave no answer but this: they said "drive them out of your city: these are indeed men who want to be clean and pure!"
Pickthall And the answer of his people was only that they said (one to another): Turn them out of your township. They are folk, forsooth, who keep pure.
Transliteration Wa ma_ ka_na jawa_ba qaumihi illa_ an qa_lu_ akhriju_hum min qaryatikum, innahum una_suy yatatahharu_n(a).
7: 83
Yusuf Ali But We saved him and his family except his wife: she was of those who lagged behind.
Pickthall And We rescued him and his household, save his wife, who was of those who stayed behind.
Transliteration Fa anjaina_hu wa ahlahu_ illamra'atahu_ ka_nat minal ga_birin(a).
7: 84
Yusuf Ali And We rained down on them a shower (of brimstone): then see what was the end of those who indulged in sin and crime!
Pickthall And We rained a rain upon them. See now the nature of the consequence for evil doers!
Transliteration Wa amtarna_ 'alaihim matara_(n), fanzur kaifa ka_na 'a_qibatul mujrimin(a).
[[ Ali’s Notes - 1049 Lut is the Lot of the English Bible. His story is biblical, but freed from some shameful features which are a blot on the biblical narrative, (e.g., see Gen. xix. 30-36). He was a nephew of Abraham, and was sent as a Prophet and warner to the people of Sodom and Gomorrah, cities utterly destroyed for their unspeakable sins. They cannot be exactly located, but it may be supposed that they were somewhere in the plain cast of the Dead Sea. The story of their destruction is told in the 19th chapter of Genesis. Two angels in the shape of handsome young men came to Lot in the evening and became his guests by night. The inhabitants of Sodom in their lust for unnatural crime invaded Lot's house but were repulsed. In the morning, the angels warned Lot to escape with his family. "Then the Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven; and He overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground. But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt." (Gen. xix. 24-26). Note that Lot's people are the people to whom he is sent on a mission. He was not one of their own brethren, as was Salih or Shu'aib. But he looked upon his people as his brethren (I. 13), as a man of God always does. (7.80)
1050 An instance of the withering sarcasm that hardened sinners use against the righteous. They wound with words, and follow up the insult with deeds of injustice, thinking that they would bring the righteous into disgrace. But Allah looks after His own, and in the end, the wicked themselves are overthrown when the cup of their iniquity is full. (7.82)
1051 In the biblical narrative she looks back, a physical act (see n. 1049): here she is a type of those who lag behind, i.e, whose mental and moral attitude, in spite of their association with the righteous, is to hark back to the glitter of wickedness and sin. The righteous should have one sole objective, the Way of Allah. They should not took behind, nor yet to the right or the left. (7.83) ]]
Yuksel 011:079 Note that these are not people who are committing sin in their private lives; they are aggressive homosexuals who are proud of their behavior and show the audacity to harass men around them.
Sura -11 [Hud mecca 52]
The Quranic Text & Ali’s version:
فَلَمَّا
ذَهَبَ عَنْ
إِبْرَاهِيمَ
الرَّوْعُ
وَجَاءتْهُ
الْبُشْرَى
يُجَادِلُنَا
فِي قَوْمِ
لُوطٍ ﴿٧٤﴾
11:74. When fear had passed from (the mind of) Abraham and the glad tidings had reached him, he began to plead with Us for Lut's people.
C1571. Glad-tidings: not only that he was to have a son, but that he was to be a fountain-head of prophets.
So he now begins to plead at once for the sinful people to whom Lut was sent as a warner.
إِنَّ
إِبْرَاهِيمَ
لَحَلِيمٌ
أَوَّاهٌ
مُّنِيبٌ ﴿٧٥﴾
11:75. For Abraham was, without doubt, forbearing (of faults), compassionate, and given to look to Allah.
C1572. Like Al-Mustafa, Abraham had three qualities in a preeminent degree, which are here mentioned:
- he was long-suffering with other people's faults:
- his sympathies and compassion were very wide: and
- for every difficulty or trouble he turned to Allah and sought Him in prayer.
يَا إِبْرَاهِيمُ
أَعْرِضْ عَنْ
هَذَا إِنَّهُ
قَدْ جَاء أَمْرُ
رَبِّكَ...
11:76. Abraham! seek not this.
The decree of thy Lord hath gone forth:
...وَإِنَّهُمْ آتِيهِمْ عَذَابٌ غَيْرُ مَرْدُودٍ ﴿٧٦﴾
for them there cometh a Penalty that cannot be turned back!
C1573. This is a sort of prophetic apostrophe.
'O Abraham! All your warning. O Lut, will be unheeded! Alas! they are so deep in sin that nothing will reclaim them!'
This is illustrated in verse 79 below.
And now we proceed to Lut and how he was dealt with by the wicked.
وَلَمَّا جَاءتْ
رُسُلُنَا
لُوطًا سِيءَ
بِهِمْ وَضَاقَ
بِهِمْ ذَرْعًا...
11:77. When Our Messengers came to Lut, he was grieved on their account and felt himself powerless (to protect) them.
...وَقَالَ هَـذَا يَوْمٌ عَصِيبٌ ﴿٧٧﴾
He said: "This is a distressful day."
C1574. The story of Lut, as referred to in 7:80-84, laid emphasis on the rejection of Lut's mission by men who practised unnatural abominations. See n. 1049 to 7:80.
Here the emphasis is laid on Allah's dealings with men;
- in mercy for true spiritual service and in righteous wrath and punishment for those who defy the laws of nature established by Him;
- also on men's dealings with each other and the contrast between the righteous and the wicked who respect no laws human or divine.
وَجَاءهُ
قَوْمُهُ يُهْرَعُونَ
إِلَيْهِ...
11:78. And his people came rushing towards him,
...وَمِن قَبْلُ كَانُواْ يَعْمَلُونَ السَّيِّئَاتِ...
and they had been long in the habit of practicing abominations.
...قَالَ يَا قَوْمِ هَـؤُلاء بَنَاتِي هُنَّ أَطْهَرُ لَكُمْ...
He said:
"O my people! here are my daughters: they are purer for you (if ye marry)!
C1575. The Biblical narrative suggests that the daughters were married and their husbands were close by (Gen. 19:14) and that these same daughters afterwards committed incest with their father and had children by him (Gen. 19:31-33).
The holy Quran nowhere suggests such abominations. Some Commentators suggest that "my daughters" in the mouth of a venerable man like Lut, the father of his people, may mean any young girls of those Towns.
"My son" (waladi) is still a common mode of address in Arabic-speaking countries when an elderly man addresses a young man.
...فَاتَّقُواْ اللّهَ وَلاَ تُخْزُونِ فِي ضَيْفِي...
Now fear Allah, and cover me not with shame about my guests!
...أَلَيْسَ مِنكُمْ رَجُلٌ رَّشِيدٌ ﴿٧٨﴾
Is there not among you a single right-minded man?"
Asad’s Version:
11: 74 …..he began to plead with Us for Lot’s people [note 106]
Other versions:
Yusuf Ali When fear had passed from (the mind of) Abraham and the glad tidings had reached him he began to plead with Us for Lut's people.
Pickthall And when the awe departed from Abraham, and the glad news reached him, he pleaded with Us on behalf of the folk of Lot.
Yuksel So when the shock left Abraham, and the good news was delivered to him, he began to argue with Us for the people of Lot.
Transliteration Falamma_ zahaba 'an ibra_himar rau'u wa ja_'athul busyra_ yuja_diluna_ fi qaumi lu_t(in).
[[ Asad’s note 106 – According to all commentators, this means “he pleaded {lit., “argued”] with Our messengers”(who, as is evident from 29:31, had announced to him the impending doom of Sodom and Gomorrah), and not with God himself.]]
11: 75
Asad for, behold, Abraham was most clement, most tender-hearted, intent upon turning to God again and again.
Yusuf Ali For Abraham was without doubt forbearing (of faults) compassionate and given to look to Allah.
Pickthall Lo! Abraham was mild, imploring, penitent.
Yuksel Abraham was compassionate, kind.
Transliteration Inna ibra_hima lahalimun awwa_hum munib(un).
11: 76
Yusuf Ali O Abraham! seek not this. The decree of thy Lord hath gone forth: for them there cometh a Penalty that cannot be turned back!
Pickthall (It was said) O Abraham! Forsake this! Lo! thy Lord's commandment hath gone forth, and lo! there cometh unto them a doom which cannot be repelled.
Yuksel O Abraham, turn away from this. Your Lord's command has come, and a retribution that will not be turned back is coming for them.
Transliteration Ya_ ibra_himu a'rid 'an ha_za_, innahu_ qad ja_'a amru rabbik(a), wa innahum a_tihim 'aza_bun gairu mardu_d(in).
[[ Ali’s notes -
571 Glad-tidings: not only that he was to have a son, but that he was to be a fountain-head of prophets. So he now begins to plead at once for the sinful people to whom Lot was sent as a warner. (11.74)
1572 Like Al-Mustafa, Abraham had three qualities in a preeminent degree, which are here mentioned: (1) he was long-suffering with other people's faults: (2) his sympathies and compassion were very wide: and (3) for every difficulty or trouble he turned to Allah and sought Him in prayer. (11.75)
1573 This is a sort of prophetic apostrophe. 'O Abraham! All your warning. O Lut, will be unheeded! Alas! they are so deep in sin that nothing will reclaim them!' This is illustrated in verse 79 below. And now we proceed to Lut and how he was dealt with by the wicked. (11.76) ]]
11: 77
Asad And when Our messengers came unto Lot, he was sorely grieved on their account, seeing that it was beyond his power to shield them [note 107]; and he exclaimed: “This is a woeful day!”
Yusuf Ali When Our Messengers came to Lut he was grieved on their account and felt himself powerless (to protect) them. He said: "This is a distressful day."
Pickthall And when Our messengers came unto Lot, he was distressed and knew not how to protect them. He said: This is a distressful day.
Transliteration Wa lamma_ ja_'at rusuluna_ lu_tan si'a bihim wa da_qa bihim zar'aw wa qa_la ha_za_ yaumun 'asib(un).
[[ Asad’s note 107 - …………denoting here Lot’s utter inability to afford his guests protection from the people of Sodom, whose homosexuality propensities have ever since been commemorated in the term “sodomy”. Since Lot thought that the strangers were no more than handsome young men, he felt certain that they would be sexually assaulted by his sinful countrymen. ]]
11: 78
Asad And his people came running to him, impelled towards his house [by their desire]: [note 108] for they had ever been wont to commit [such] abominations. Said [Lot]: “O my people! [Take instead] these daughters of mine: they are purer for you [than men]! [note 109]. Be, then, conscious of God, and disgrace me not by [assaulting] my guests. Is there not among you even one right-minded man?
Yusuf Ali And his people came rushing towards him and they had been long in the habit of practicing abominations. He said: "O my people! here are my daughters: they are purer for you (if ye marry)! Now fear Allah and cover me not with shame about my guests! Is there not among you a single right-minded man?"
Pickthall And his people came unto him, running towards him and before then they used to commit abominations. He said: O my people! Here are my daughters! They are purer for you. Beware of Allah, and degrade me not in (the person of) my guests. Is there not among you any upright man?
Yuksel His people came rushing towards him, and were accustomed to committing sin. He said, "My people, these are my daughters, they are purer for you, so be aware of God and do not disgrace me regarding my guests. Is there no reasonable man among you?"
Transliteration Wa ja_'ahu_ qaumuhu_ yuhra'u_na ilaih(i), wa min qablu ka_nu_ ya'malu_ nas sayyi'a_t(i), qa_la ya_ qaumi ha_'ula_'i bana_ti hunna atharu lakum fa-ttaqulla_ha wa la_ tukhzu_ni fi daifi, alaisa minkum rajulur rasyid(un).
[[ Yuksel’s note - 011:079 Note that these are not people who are committing sin in their private lives; they are aggressive homosexuals who are proud of their behavior and show the audacity to harass men around them. ]]
[[ Asad’s note 108 – Lit., “towards him” – but since their desire was obviously dericted at Lot’s guests, and not at himself, my rendering would seem appropriate. …the verb “yuhra’un” does not merely mean “they came running” but, rather, “running as if driven, onward by some force” (Zamakhshari) – in this case, the force of their perverse desire.
Note 109 – Most of the commentators are of the opinion that the phrase “three daughters of mine” signifies here “the daughters of my community”………in their wider implication they point to the natural relationship between man and woman as contrasted with the perverse desires of the men of Sodom.]]
[[ Ali’s notes -
1574 The story of Lot, as referred to in vii. 80-84, laid emphasis on the rejection of Lot's mission by men who practised unnatural abominations. See n. 1049 to vii. 80. Here the emphasis is laid on Allah's dealings with men-in mercy for true spiritual service and in righteous wrath and punishment for those who defy the laws of nature established by Him;-also on men's dealings with each other and the contrast between the righteous and the wicked who respect no laws human or divine. (11.77)
1575 The Biblical narrative suggests that the daughters were married and their husbands were close by (Gen. xix. 14) and that these same daughters afterwards committed incest with their father and had children by him (Gen. xix. 31). The holy Qur-an nowhere suggests such abominations. Some Commentators suggest that "my daughters" in the mouth of a venerable man like Lut, the father of his people, may mean any young girls of those Towns. "My son" (waladi) is still a common mode of address in Arabic-speaking countries when an elderly man addresses a young man. (11.78) ]]