Page 67 - The Courage of the Faithful
P. 67

Examples of Courage Among the Prophets and Sincere Believers

        away from the morality that is upright. Prophet Lut (as) noted that the
        most prominent characteristic which made his tribe diff e rent from oth-
        ers was that they had given themselves up to gross sexual perversion.
        Those who did not listen to Prophet Lut's (as) message when he in-
        vited these people to behave morally, decided that the way to be rid of
        him and his preaching was to expel him from the city. However, the

        perverted people were not aware of how close they were to immanent
        d a n g e r. Allah sent angels to Prophet Lut (as) to give him the good
        news that the tribe's end was at hand:
             And Lut, when he said to his people, "Do you commit an ob-
             scenity not  perpetrated  before you by  anyone  in  all the
             w o r l d s ?
             You come with lust to men instead of women. You are indeed

             a depraved people."
             The only answer of his people was to say, "Expel them from
             your  city!  They  are  people  who  keep  themselves  pure!"
             (Surat al-A‘raf, 80-82)
             They said, "Lut, we are messengers from your Lord. They
             will not be able to get at you. Set out with your family—ex -
             cept for your wife—in the middle of the night and none of
             you should look back. What strikes them will strike her as
             well. Their promised appointment is the morning. Is the

             morning not close at hand?" (Surah Hud, 81)
             As may be discerned from these verses, Prophet Lut (as) be-
        lieved in Allah, and warned the tribe, but in response, he was threat-
        ened with banishment. However, this in no way frightened him, for
        he knew that Allah's help was close at hand.
             The leaders of Prophet Shu‘ayb's (as) tribe were involved in all


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