وَجَآءَهُۥ قَوْمُهُۥ يُهْرَعُونَ إِلَيْهِ وَمِن قَبْلُ كَانُوا۟ يَعْمَلُونَ ٱلسَّيِّـَٔاتِ قَالَ يَٰقَوْمِ هَٰٓؤُلَآءِ بَنَاتِى هُنَّ أَطْهَرُ لَكُمْ فَٱتَّقُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ وَلَا تُخْزُونِ فِى ضَيْفِىٓ أَلَيْسَ مِنكُمْ رَجُلٌ رَّشِيدٌ · قَالُوا۟ لَقَدْ عَلِمْتَ مَا لَنَا فِى بَنَاتِكَ مِنْ حَقٍّ وَإِنَّكَ لَتَعْلَمُ مَا نُرِيدُ · قَالَ لَوْ أَنَّ لِى بِكُمْ قُوَّةً أَوْ ءَاوِىٓ إِلَىٰ رُكْنٍ شَدِيدٍ
wa jāʾahū qawmuhū yuhraʿūna ilayhi wa min qablu kānū yaʿmalūna'l-sayyiʾāt, qāla yā qawmi hāʾulāʾi banātī hunna aṭharu lakum fa'ttaqū'llāha wa lā tukhzūni fī ḍayfī, a-laysa minkum rajulun rashīd · qālū laqad ʿalimta mā lanā fī banātika min ḥaqqin wa innaka la-taʿlamu mā nurīd · qāla law anna lī bikum quwwatan aw āwī ilā ruknin shadīd
"His people came rushing to him — and before this they had been doing evil deeds. He said: 'My people! Here are my daughters; they are purer for you. So be mindful of God and do not disgrace me before my guests. Is there not one right-minded man among you?' · They said: 'You know that we have no right to your daughters; and you know well what we want.' · He said: 'If only I had the strength to face you, or could take shelter with some strong support!'"
The root ه-ر-ع: to walk fast and unsteadily, to run as though dragged along. The word occurs in two places in the Qurʾān: here and al-Ṣāffāt 37/70 (fa-hum ʿalā āthārihim yuhraʿūn — treated in al-Ṣāffāt).
I record this as a grammatical observation: the pattern gives the impression that the movement is not of their own will — a being dragged. The lexicographers explain it as "as though someone were pushing them".
And the use in al-Ṣāffāt is in the same pattern, and there too a being dragged along in the footsteps of the forefathers was described. Two occurrences, the same passive pattern. This is an overlap that can be verified from the text.
I record this as an observation about the word order: the sentence takes the event out of being a single excess and records it as a settled condition. And the ground of the sentence of destruction is here: continuance.
I record it explicitly, per the method (Method): there is disagreement in the classical sources over this sentence, I give the disagreement in a table, and I issue no legal ruling.
| Reading | Who banātī are | What the offer is |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lot's own daughters | An offer of marriage — a call to the lawful way |
| 2 | The women of the people | A prophet stands in the position of father to his people; in saying "my daughters" he means the women of the people |
| 3 | Not an offer but a redirection | The sentence is not a bargain but a pointing to what is right |
One — the sentence itself sets up a comparison: hunna aṭharu lakum — "purer". An elative compares two things. The sentence, that is, is not a permission but a pointing of direction.
Two — the people's answer supports this reading: mā lanā fī banātika min ḥaqq — "we have no right to your daughters". The other side too, that is, understood the offer as a matter of right, and refused it.
Three — per the rule: no reports absent from the Qurʾān are entered into concerning the details of this scene, the description of the people's act, or the accounts about Lot's household.
Four — per the method (Method): no legal ruling is to be drawn from this verse. The verse transmits a moment of crisis; it does not lay down a rule.
The root خ-ز-ي: to be disgraced, to be brought low. The root occurred in the thirty-ninth verse (ʿadhābun yukhzīh).
The root ض-ي-ف — was worked out at al-Dhāriyāt 51/24, and I rely on that treatment: "A guest is not one who enters the house from outside but one who is added to it. The legal weight of the Arab custom of hospitality rests in this word: from the moment he arrives the guest is a part of the house and under the host's protection."
And Lot's sentence rests exactly on that law: fī ḍayfī — "in the matter of my guests". The one to be disgraced, that is, is not the guests but the host.
This is directly connected with the historical background and is an application of the custom recorded in al-Dhāriyāt.
The root ر-ش-د: to find the right way, to come to maturity. Rashīd — right-minded, able to see what is right.
| Verse | Expression | About whom |
|---|---|---|
| 78 | a-laysa minkum rajulun rashīd | Lot's people — a question |
| 87 | innaka la-anta'l-ḥalīmu'l-rashīd | Shuʿayb — spoken in mockery |
| 97 | wa mā amru Firʿawna bi-rashīd | Pharaoh — a verdict |
Three occurrences, three different offices: a question, a mockery, a verdict. This is a repetition that can be verified from the text.
I record this as my own reading, and its ground is the distribution of the three verses: the sūra uses the same word as a measure — and in none of the three occurrences is the word granted to the one addressed. With Lot the question goes unanswered, with Shuʿayb it is spoken in mockery, with Pharaoh it is plainly denied.
The root ر-ك-ن: the firmest corner of a thing, a point of support. Rukn — a corner, a pillar, a support.
The root occurred in al-Isrāʾ and al-Dhāriyāt — at al-Dhāriyāt 51/39 fa-tawallā bi-ruknihī is used of Pharaoh. The root will be worked out in detail at 11/113, because that is where the sūra really treats it.
What belongs here is this: the word occurs twice in the sūra, and the two occurrences are the reverse of one another.
| Verse | Expression | Who | What |
|---|---|---|---|
| 80 | aw āwī ilā ruknin shadīd | Lot | He looks for a support — and finds none |
| 113 | wa lā tarkanū ilā'lladhīna ẓalamū | The one addressed | Leaning is forbidden |
The same root, in two different directions. This is an overlap that can be verified from the text, and it will be treated separately at 11/113.
And note the mood of the sentence: law — a wish that has not come about. Lot, that is, has neither strength nor support in hand.
I record this as an observation: the verse shows a prophet entirely helpless, and does not conceal it. And in the next verse the support comes from outside: innā rusulu rabbik.