The People of Lot

The people of Lot are the ones to whom God sent the prophet Lot. They were the first to commit an indecency no one had committed before them — approaching men instead of women — and rejected their prophet's call. When angels came as guests to Lot's home, the people demanded them; by morning their city was overturned and a rain of clay stones fell upon them. Only Lot and his believing family were saved, except his wife, who remained among the guilty.

God sent the prophet Lot to his people. He warned them: 'Do you commit such an outrage as no one in the world has ever done before you? You satisfy your desires with men instead of women' (7:80-81; 29:28). But the people rejected his call and threatened to expel him.

Angels then came, appearing as guests, to Lot's home. The people rushed over, demanding the visitors; Lot tried in vain to protect them.

The angels revealed their mission: 'Lot! We are envoys from your Lord… Leave the city at night with your family, and let no one look back. However, your wife will suffer the same fate' (11:81).

By morning, 'We overturned the city and rained down on its inhabitants stones of clay' (11:82-83; 54:34). Lot and his believing family were saved; his wife, remaining disbelieving among the guilty, perished with them.

The Quran speaks of 'the people of Lot' and their city without giving it a name: 'Sodom' and the location (near the Dead Sea) belong to tradition and biblical narrative, not an explicit Quranic text. We therefore do not present them as certain. The fate of Lot's wife — disbelieving, perishing with the people — is mentioned in 11:81 and 66:10.

The story of the people of Lot is, in the Quran, a warning against transgression erected into a norm and refusal of the divine reminder. It also teaches that blood ties do not save without faith: even a prophet's wife perished by remaining among the guilty, while God saves whoever believes.

Nous avons également envoyé Loth à son peuple, auquel il dit : « Vous livrez-vous à cet acte infâme que nul homme n'a commis avant vous ?

7:80

Vous osez assouvir vos désirs avec les hommes plutôt qu'avec les femmes. Vous êtes, en vérité, un peuple pervers ! »

7:81

Les anges dirent alors : « Loth ! Nous sommes envoyés par ton Seigneur. Ils ne pourront te nuire. Quitte la cité à la faveur de la nuit avec les tiens et que nul ne se retourne en chemin. Ton épouse, néanmoins, subira le même sort que ces individus dont le châtiment est fixé à l'aube. L'aube n'est-elle pas toute proche ? »

11:81

Lorsque notre arrêt fut prononcé, Nous avons renversé la cité et envoyé contre ses habitants une pluie de pierres d'argile, s'abattant sur eux en rafales.

11:82