Page 49 - Perished Nations

And The City which was

Turned Upside Down

The people of Lut rejected (his) warning. We sent against them
a violent Tornado with showers of stones, (which destroyed
them), except Lut's household: them We delivered by early
Dawn,- As a Grace from Us: thus do We reward those who
give thanks. And (Lut) did warn them of Our Punishment, but
they disputed about the Warning. (Surat al-Qamar: 33-36)

oth Lut (as) and Ibrahim (as) lived at the same time. Lut (as) was
sent as a messenger to one of Ibrahim's (as) neighbouring com-
B munities. These people, as the Qur’an tells us, practiced a perver-
sion unknown to the world up till then, namely sodomy. When Lut (as)
told them to give up this perversion and brought them Allah's warning,
they denied him, refused his prophethood, and carried on with their per-
version. In the end, these people were destroyed by a dreadful disaster.
The city where Lut (as) resided is referred to as Sodom in the Old
Testament. Being situated to the north of the Red Sea, this community is
understood to have been destroyed just as it is written in the Qur’an.
Archaeological studies reveal that the city is located in the area of the Dead
Sea which stretches along the Palestine-Jordan border.
Before examining the remains of this disaster, we shall examine why the
people of Lut (as) were punished in this fashion. The Qur’an tells how Lut
(as) warned his people and what they said in reply;
The people of Lut rejected the messengers. Behold, their brother Lut said
to them: "Will ye not fear (Allah)? I am to you a messenger worthy of all

Perished Nations
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