وَلُوطًا إِذْ قَالَ لِقَوْمِهِۦٓ أَتَأْتُونَ ٱلْفَـٰحِشَةَ وَأَنتُمْ تُبْصِرُونَ 54
Translations
And [mention] Lot, when he said to his people, "Do you commit immorality while you are seeing?
Transliteration
Wa-Lootan idh qala liqawmihi ata'tuna al-fahishat wa-antum tubsirun
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah records Prophet Lut's (Lot's) stern rebuke to his people, calling them to account for committing the abominable sin of sodomy while being fully aware of its wickedness. The phrase 'wa-antum tubsirun' (while you see/are aware) emphasizes that they committed this sin with full consciousness and knowledge of its depravity, aggravating their transgression. Classical scholars like Ibn Kathir and Al-Qurtubi note that this rhetorical question serves as both a warning and an indictment, highlighting the people's deliberate choice of evil despite their rational capacity to recognize right from wrong.
Revelation Context
This ayah appears in Surah An-Naml, a Meccan chapter that recounts stories of various prophets and their peoples. The broader context presents Lut's mission to his people and their rejection of his call to monotheism and moral righteousness. This particular verse emphasizes the gravity of the sin and the people's culpability, serving as a historical lesson for the Meccan audience about the consequences of rejecting divine guidance.
Related Hadiths
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: 'The greatest sin after associating partners with Allah is to intentionally kill a soul, and the next is to bear false witness.' (Related to conscious transgression). Additionally, there are numerous hadiths warning against indecency and immorality, such as in Sunan Ibn Majah regarding the prohibition of immoral acts.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah teaches that knowledge and awareness of right and wrong increase human responsibility before Allah—committing sin while fully aware of its wrongness is a grave transgression. Modern readers should reflect on how awareness without action becomes complicity, and the importance of both knowing and actively choosing righteousness in their daily lives.
Related Ayahs
وَقُلِ ٱلْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ سَيُرِيكُمْ ءَايَـٰتِهِۦ فَتَعْرِفُونَهَا ۚ وَمَا رَبُّكَ بِغَـٰفِلٍ عَمَّا تَعْمَلُونَ
And say, "[All] praise is [due] to Allāh. He will show you His signs, and you will recognize them. And your Lord is not unaware of what you do."
قَالَ يَـٰقَوْمِ لِمَ تَسْتَعْجِلُونَ بِٱلسَّيِّئَةِ قَبْلَ ٱلْحَسَنَةِ ۖ لَوْلَا تَسْتَغْفِرُونَ ٱللَّهَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُرْحَمُونَ
He said, "O my people, why are you impatient for evil before [i.e., instead of] good? Why do you not seek forgiveness of Allāh that you may receive mercy?"
قَالُوا۟ نَحْنُ أُو۟لُوا۟ قُوَّةٍ وَأُو۟لُوا۟ بَأْسٍ شَدِيدٍ وَٱلْأَمْرُ إِلَيْكِ فَٱنظُرِى مَاذَا تَأْمُرِينَ
They said, "We are men of strength and of great military might, but the command is yours, so see what you will command."
وَجَحَدُوا۟ بِهَا وَٱسْتَيْقَنَتْهَآ أَنفُسُهُمْ ظُلْمًا وَعُلُوًّا ۚ فَٱنظُرْ كَيْفَ كَانَ عَـٰقِبَةُ ٱلْمُفْسِدِينَ
And they rejected them, while their [inner] selves were convinced thereof, out of injustice and haughtiness. So see how was the end of the corrupters.