Session 10: Salih and Lut.

Part 1 of 7. About this session.

The previous passage told of Nuh, and of Hud and the people of Ad. Now comes Salih, sent to the people of Thamud. His first words are the same call Nuh and Hud made: “O my people, worship Allah; you have no deity other than Him.” He shows them a sign, the she-camel of Allah, and asks them to leave her alone. He reminds them that Allah made them successors after Ad, the same words Hud used (ayah 69). They built palaces on the plains and carved homes out of the mountains.

The arrogant leaders ask the believers among the weak: “Do you [actually] know that Salih is sent from his Lord?” The believers answer that they believe in what he was sent with. Then the she-camel is killed, the earthquake seizes Thamud, and Salih turns away: “you do not like advisors.”

Lut’s story opens differently. There is no call. Lut names what his people do, men approaching men with desire instead of women, and calls them a transgressing people. Their only answer is to drive out Lut and those with him, because “they are men who keep themselves pure.” Allah saves Lut and his family, except his wife, and rains stones on the rest.

Two stories, one thread: in both, the people with power turn on the believers among them. The passage ends: “Then see how was the end of the criminals.”

Part 2 of 7. The passage, in Saheeh International.

Ayah 73.

And to the Thamud [We sent] their brother Salih. He said, "O my people, worship Allah; you have no deity other than Him. There has come to you clear evidence from your Lord. This is the she-camel of Allah [sent] to you as a sign. So leave her to eat within Allah's land and do not touch her with harm, lest there seize you a painful punishment.

Ayah 74.

And remember when He made you successors after the 'Aad and settled you in the land, [and] you take for yourselves palaces from its plains and carve from the mountains, homes. Then remember the favors of Allah and do not commit abuse on the earth, spreading corruption."

Ayah 75.

Said the eminent ones who were arrogant among his people to those who were oppressed - to those who believed among them, "Do you [actually] know that Salih is sent from his Lord?" They said, "Indeed we, in that with which he was sent, are believers."

Ayah 76.

Said those who were arrogant, "Indeed we, in that which you have believed, are disbelievers."

Ayah 77.

So they hamstrung the she-camel and were insolent toward the command of their Lord and said, "O Salih, bring us what you promise us, if you should be of the messengers."

Ayah 78.

So the earthquake seized them, and they became within their home [corpses] fallen prone.

Ayah 79.

And he turned away from them and said, "O my people, I had certainly conveyed to you the message of my Lord and advised you, but you do not like advisors."

Ayah 80.

And [We had sent] Lot when he said to his people, "Do you commit such immorality as no one has preceded you with from among the worlds?

Ayah 81.

Indeed, you approach men with desire, instead of women. Rather, you are a transgressing people."

Ayah 82.

But the answer of his people was only that they said, "Evict them from your city! Indeed, they are men who keep themselves pure."

Ayah 83.

So We saved him and his family, except for his wife; she was of those who remained [with the evildoers].

Ayah 84.

And We rained upon them a rain [of stones]. Then see how was the end of the criminals.

Part 3 of 7. The explanation, from the classical tafsir.

What the classical commentators say about these twelve ayat. Take this one if you want to go deeper.

Two stories in five units: Salih and the people of Thamud (ayat 73 to 79), then Lut and his people (ayat 80 to 84).

Reading guide: source summaries below are paraphrases, not direct quotations. Reflections and facilitator notes are editorial teaching suggestions. The Verses and audio page uses Saheeh International, whose bracketed words are the translators’ own; English quoted from tafsir editions follows those editions.

Ayah 73 — The call and the sign.

First, the ayah again, in Saheeh International.

Ayah 73: And to the Thamud [We sent] their brother Salih. He said, "O my people, worship Allah; you have no deity other than Him. There has come to you clear evidence from your Lord. This is the she-camel of Allah [sent] to you as a sign. So leave her to eat within Allah's land and do not touch her with harm, lest there seize you a painful punishment.

Allah sent Salih to his people, Thamud. His first words are the call Nuh and Hud made before him: worship Allah, you have no god other than Him. Then he shows them a sign, the she-camel of Allah, and asks them to leave her alone.

Source summary: Ibn Kathir says Thamud came after Ad and lived “between the area of the Hijaz (Western Arabia) and Ash-Sham (Greater Syria)”. On the call he says: “All Allah’s Messengers called to the worship of Allah alone without partners.” He compares Surah Al-Anbiya, ayah 25 and Surah An-Nahl, ayah 36.

Source summary: On “clear evidence”, Ibn Kathir says “a miracle has come to you from Allah testifying to the truth of what I came to you with”. Al-Jalalayn: a clear proof of Salih’s truthfulness.

Paraphrase from the Arabic: Al-Qurtubi says that calling her “the she-camel of Allah” joins a creature to its Creator, and that this carries honour and distinction. On “leave her to eat within Allah’s land” he says: her food and her care are not your burden. He also cites Surah Ash-Shu'ara, ayah 155: she has her turn to drink, and they have theirs.

Source summary: How did she come? The Qur’an calls her the she-camel of Allah and a sign, and does not say how she came. All four commentators report that she came out of a rock: al-Qurtubi says so in his own words, al-Jalalayn that they had asked Salih to bring her out of a rock they chose, al-Tabari in his explanation of the ayah, and Ibn Kathir as a story.

Reflection: The sign asked little of them: a share of the water, and their hands off her. That little was what they would not do.

Ayat 74 to 76 — Favours remembered, and the arrogant and the weak.

First, the ayat again, in Saheeh International.

Ayah 74: And remember when He made you successors after the 'Aad and settled you in the land, [and] you take for yourselves palaces from its plains and carve from the mountains, homes. Then remember the favors of Allah and do not commit abuse on the earth, spreading corruption."

Ayah 75: Said the eminent ones who were arrogant among his people to those who were oppressed - to those who believed among them, "Do you [actually] know that Salih is sent from his Lord?" They said, "Indeed we, in that with which he was sent, are believers."

Ayah 76: Said those who were arrogant, "Indeed we, in that which you have believed, are disbelievers."

Salih reminds them that Allah made them successors after Ad, and gave them the skill to build palaces on the plains and carve homes out of the mountains. Remember the favours of Allah, he says. Then the arrogant leaders question the believers among the weak, and the two sides answer.

Source summary: Al-Jalalayn pictures the two kinds of home: “castles in its plains in which you lodge during summer” and “hewing its mountains into houses in which you lodge during winter”.

Paraphrase from the Arabic: Al-Tabari reports from al-Suddi that they hollowed out houses in the mountains. Al-Qurtubi says they took their houses in the mountains because they lived so long: roofs and buildings wore out before their lives ended.

Paraphrase from the Arabic: On “remember the favors of Allah”, al-Qurtubi says this shows that favours are given to people who do not believe as well. On “do not commit abuse on the earth”, al-Tabari reports Qatadah: do not go about in the land spreading corruption.

Paraphrase from the Arabic: Who were “those who were oppressed”? Al-Tabari: the people of humble means among Salih’s followers, not the people of rank and power. The leaders, al-Jalalayn says, “disdained belief in him”.

Paraphrase from the Arabic: On ayah 76, al-Tabari gives the arrogant leaders’ meaning: what you affirm about Salih being a prophet, we deny; we neither affirm it nor accept it.

Optional source note — successors, and the believers’ answer.

Paraphrase from the Arabic: Al-Tabari explains the successors: you came after Ad in the land, once they had been destroyed. Al-Jalalayn’s English has “vicegerents”; his Arabic word is the one Saheeh International gives as “successors”.

Source summary: Al-Jalalayn’s English starts the believers’ answer with “Yes!”, a word he adds to show that they answer the question and then say more.

Paraphrase from the Arabic: Al-Qurtubi notes that “to those who believed among them” explains “to those who were oppressed”: the believers were among the ones held weak.

Reflection: Look at the two answers. The leaders asked, “Do you [actually] know that Salih is sent from his Lord?” The believers did not argue about Salih. They said they believe in what he was sent with. The arrogant replied, “in that which you have believed”, and would not say “sent”. This is our own reading of the two ayat, not one of the four commentators’.

Ayat 77 to 79 — The deed, the end, and Salih’s last word.

First, the ayat again, in Saheeh International.

Ayah 77: So they hamstrung the she-camel and were insolent toward the command of their Lord and said, "O Salih, bring us what you promise us, if you should be of the messengers."

Ayah 78: So the earthquake seized them, and they became within their home [corpses] fallen prone.

Ayah 79: And he turned away from them and said, "O my people, I had certainly conveyed to you the message of my Lord and advised you, but you do not like advisors."

They hamstrung the she-camel, defied their Lord’s command, and dared Salih to bring what he warned of. The earthquake seized them. Salih turned away and said: I conveyed my Lord’s message to you and advised you, but you do not like advisors.

Source summary: One man struck, and the people stood behind him. Al-Jalalayn says one man “hamstrung her by their command”. Ibn Kathir passes on a report from Qatadah, who said he was told it: the man chosen to kill her went to all of them, even the women and children, and found them agreed. From Surah Ash-Shams, ayah 14 and Surah Al-Isra, ayah 59 he concludes that “the entire tribe shared in agreeing to this crime”; the people he means are, in his own words, the disbelievers of Thamud. It is a report of agreement, not of silence.

Paraphrase from the Arabic: On “were insolent toward the command of their Lord”, al-Tabari reports Mujahid: they rose above the truth and went far in falsehood. “Bring us what you promise us” was, he says, hurrying the punishment on.

Paraphrase from the Arabic: Saheeh International has “the earthquake”. The commentators read the word, al-rajfah, three ways. Al-Qurtubi: a violent earthquake, and it is also said a violent cry. Al-Tabari: the cry that shook them to their death, as Mujahid and al-Suddi said; Surah Hud calls it “the shriek” (Surah Hud, ayah 67). Al-Jalalayn joins the two: “a violent earthquake and a cry from the heaven”, and Ibn Kathir does the same.

Paraphrase from the Arabic: When did Salih say ayah 79? The four differ. Ibn Kathir: after they died, as a rebuke while they hear it. He compares the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam speaking to the dead at Badr (Sahih al-Bukhari 1370). Al-Tabari: before the end, as Salih left their land. Al-Qurtubi: it could be either, but before is more likely, because “you do not like advisors” speaks of people still alive. Al-Jalalayn says only that he left them.

Paraphrase from the Arabic: On “you do not like advisors”, al-Tabari says: you do not love those who advise you for Allah’s sake and hold you back from your own desires.

Optional source note — two words: “hamstrung” and “fallen prone”.

Paraphrase from the Arabic: Al-Qurtubi explains aqaru: to cut a leg so the animal falls. Because the cut usually leads to the slaughter, the word came to be used for the killing itself.

Paraphrase from the Arabic: On jathimin, “fallen prone”, al-Tabari says the Arabs use the word for someone down on his knees, and that they did not move because no life was left in them. Al-Qurtubi: stuck to the ground on their knees and faces, the way a bird crouches.

Reflection: One hand did it, and the people who wanted it stood behind him. Salih’s last word is not about the camel. It is about advice they did not want.

Ayat 80 to 82 — What Lut named, and his people’s only answer.

First, the ayat again, in Saheeh International.

Ayah 80: And [We had sent] Lot when he said to his people, "Do you commit such immorality as no one has preceded you with from among the worlds?

Ayah 81: Indeed, you approach men with desire, instead of women. Rather, you are a transgressing people."

Ayah 82: But the answer of his people was only that they said, "Evict them from your city! Indeed, they are men who keep themselves pure."

Lut told his people that they did something no one in the worlds had done before them: men approached men with desire instead of women. He called them a transgressing people. Their only answer was to drive out Lut and those with him, because “they are men who keep themselves pure”.

Paraphrase from the Arabic: This story does not open like the one before it. Saheeh International supplies “We had sent” for the sense. Al-Tabari reads the ayah that way, and allows a second reading, “And mention Lot”, as al-Jalalayn has it; Ibn Kathir and al-Qurtubi give both. Either way the account moves straight into Lut’s question to his people.

Source summary: Ibn Kathir says Lut was the nephew of Ibrahim. “Lut had believed in Ibrahim and migrated with him to the Sham area”, and Allah sent him “to the people of Sadum (Sodom) and the surrounding villages”. Elsewhere the Qur’an calls Lut “their brother” (Surah Ash-Shu'ara, ayah 161), as this surah calls Salih Thamud’s; this ayah does not use the word.

Source summary: The four explain the “immorality” in the ayat’s own terms: men approaching men instead of women. Al-Jalalayn says no one before them had done it, “humans or jinn”. Ibn Kathir says they left the women Allah created for them, and “placed things in their improper places”.

Source summary: On “a transgressing people”, al-Jalalayn says: “transgressing the bounds going from what is lawful to what is unlawful”. Al-Tabari, in his Arabic: you do what Allah forbade you.

Source summary: Their answer in ayah 82 was meant as an insult. Qatadah, in Ibn Kathir: “They shamed them (Lut and the believers) with what is not a shame at all.” Al-Tabari and al-Qurtubi report the same from him. Al-Tabari explains “keep themselves pure”: they keep clear of what we do. Al-Suddi, in al-Tabari: they hold back.

Optional source note — a statement or a question.

Paraphrase from the Arabic: Ayah 81 opens with innakum, “Indeed, you”, a statement. Al-Qurtubi says this is how Nafi and Hafs read it, and Hafs is the reading of the Arabic on this site. Others read a-innakum, a question meant as a rebuke. Al-Jalalayn gives both.

Reflection: They had no answer to what Lut said, so they turned on the people who kept themselves clean.

Ayat 83 to 84 — The rescue, his wife, and the rain.

First, the ayat again, in Saheeh International.

Ayah 83: So We saved him and his family, except for his wife; she was of those who remained [with the evildoers].

Ayah 84: And We rained upon them a rain [of stones]. Then see how was the end of the criminals.

Allah saved Lut and his family, except his wife: she was of those who remained. Then He rained a rain of stones on the rest. “Then see how was the end of the criminals.”

Source summary: Ibn Kathir says Allah saved Lut and his family, “for only his household believed in him”, and compares Surah Adh-Dhariyat, ayat 35 to 36. His wife “did not believe, remaining on the religion of her people”, and told them who came to visit Lut.

Paraphrase from the Arabic: The commentators read al-ghabirin, “those who remained”, in four ways. Ibn Kathir: those who stayed behind, his preferred sense. Al-Jalalayn: those who remained in the punishment, and al-Qurtubi reports this from Ibn Abbas and Qatadah. Al-Tabari, in his own reading: those whose life had been long, who had grown old, and then perished with the rest. Al-Zajjaj, in al-Qurtubi: those absent from the rescue. Al-Qurtubi adds that the word can mean both to remain and to pass away.

Source summary: Ibn Kathir explains the rain by Surah Hud, ayat 82 to 83, stones of baked clay. Al-Jalalayn: “the stones of baked clay”.

Paraphrase from the Arabic: On “see how was the end”, Ibn Kathir: “See, O Muhammad, the end of those who dared to disobey Allah and reject His Messengers.” Al-Tabari says the same to the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam about those of his own people who denied him, and adds: if they do not repent.

Reflection: The story ends with a look outward. Al-Tabari leaves a door open: if they do not repent.

Part 4 of 7. Hadith connected to the passage.

Narrations that sit alongside this passage.

Reading guide: the English passages below are plain-language summaries of narrations reported from the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. They are not direct quotations or translations. The full source entry for each one, with its chain, is on Sunnah.com, linked from the Hadith page. Connections to the verses are editorial.

Core reading: Passing al-Hijr: do not enter unless weeping.

Summary: When the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam passed al-Hijr, the old dwellings of Thamud, he told his Companions not to enter the homes of people who had wronged themselves unless they entered weeping, so that what struck the people of Thamud would not strike the Companions too. Then he covered his head and rode quickly until he had crossed the valley.

Narrated by Ibn Umar.

Sahih al-Bukhari 4419, Book 64, Hadith 441, also Sahih al-Bukhari 3380 and 4702, and Sahih Muslim 2980a.

Connection to the verses, editorial reflection: Ibn Kathir and al-Tabari both bring this narration at ayah 73; Ibn Kathir says “The basis of this Hadith is mentioned in Two Sahihs”. Ayah 84 says, “Then see how was the end.” The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam did not treat the ruins as a sight to look around. He warned the Companions about entering them at all, then covered his head and hurried through the valley. The narration gives his instruction and what he did; whether he himself wept, it does not say.

Core reading: “May Allah have mercy on Lut”.

Summary: The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said: may Allah have mercy on Lut; he was indeed taking refuge with a strong support. The narration goes on to speak of Yusuf; the summary and the Arabic stop here.

Narrated by Abu Hurayrah.

Sahih al-Bukhari 3387, Book 60, Hadith 61, also Sahih al-Bukhari 3372 and 4694, and Sahih Muslim 151a.

Connection to the verses, editorial reflection: The words point to Surah Hud, where Lut says, “If only I had against you some power or could take refuge in a strong support” (Surah Hud, ayah 80). In his tafsir of that ayah, Ibn Kathir quotes this narration with the words “meaning Allah, the Mighty and Sublime”: the strong support Lut had was Allah. Sunnah.com’s English says Lut “wanted to have a powerful support”; the Arabic says he was taking refuge with one, and the summary follows the Arabic. In ayah 82 his people’s only answer was to drive him out. None of the four commentators brings this narration at ayat 80 to 84; the link is ours.

Optional reading: Water from the she-camel’s well.

Summary: When the Companions camped with the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam at al-Hijr, the land of Thamud, they drew water from its wells and made dough with it. He told them to pour the water away and feed the dough to the camels, and to take their water instead from the well the she-camel used to drink from.

Narrated by Abdullah ibn Umar.

Sahih al-Bukhari 3379, Book 60, Hadith 53, also Sahih Muslim 2981a.

Connection to the verses, editorial reflection: Ibn Kathir brings this narration at ayah 73, and al-Bukhari places it under a chapter named with ayah 73 itself. Of all the wells there, the one the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam chose was the she-camel’s.

Optional reading: “The most wretched of them”.

Summary: In a sermon, the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam spoke of the she-camel and the man who hamstrung her, and recited Surah Ash-Shams, ayah 12, “when the most wretched of them was sent forth”. He said the man who went for her was powerful and fierce, and protected by his clan, like Abu Zamah in his own day. The sermon goes on to other subjects; the summary and the Arabic stop here.

Narrated by Abdullah ibn Zamah.

Sahih al-Bukhari 4942, Book 65, Hadith 463, also Sahih al-Bukhari 3377 and Sahih Muslim 2855.

Connection to the verses, editorial reflection: Al-Qurtubi brings this narration at ayah 77, from Sahih Muslim, as the soundest account of who did it. One man struck, and he could, because his people stood behind him.

Optional reading: The people on the ship.

Summary: The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam gave an example of those who keep within Allah’s limits and those who break them. People drew lots for places on a ship, some on the upper deck and some below. Those below had to go up for water, and said: let us make a hole in our part of the ship, and not trouble the people above. If the people above let them do it, everyone on the ship would be lost. If they stopped them, all of them would be saved.

Narrated by al-Numan ibn Bashir.

Sahih al-Bukhari 2493, Book 47, Hadith 11, also Sahih al-Bukhari 2686.

Connection to the verses, editorial reflection: This is the Prophet’s sallallahu alayhi wa sallam example for his own community, not a comment on Thamud. We place it here because Ibn Kathir says the whole tribe shared in agreeing to what one man did at ayah 77. None of the four brings it at this ayah; the link is ours.

Part 5 of 7. Arabic words in the passage.

Five words: the favours Salih names, the people held weak, the shaking that ended Thamud, the purity Lut's people mocked, and those who remained. Indonesian has words from two of these roots: duafa and taharah.

Alaa, ayah 74.

Saheeh International: “the favors” — Then remember the favors of Allah.

Meaning in context: Favours: the good things Allah gives. Salih says the word right after naming what Thamud could do: build palaces on the plains and carve homes out of the mountains. Al-Qurtubi says this shows that favours are given to people who do not believe as well. You may know the word from Surah ar-Rahman, where it comes again and again: fa-bi-ayyi alai rabbikuma tukadhdhiban, “So which of the favors of your Lord would you deny?”

Root: hamza-l-w. Lane, on the singular: “A benefit, benefaction, favour, boon, or blessing”, and the plural is this word, ala.

For reflection: Which favour do you use every day without remembering who gave it?

In this surah: Twice, both in the same words, “remember the favors of Allah”: Hud says it to Ad at ayah 69, and Salih to Thamud here. That is our check of the two ayat.

Grammar: Noun — accusative masculine plural. The nineteenth word of ayah 74.

Elsewhere in the Qur'an: The root occurs 37 times, and this noun 34 times. Thirty-one of them are the refrain of Surah ar-Rahman:The other three are Hud at ayah 69, Salih here, and Surah An-Najm, ayah 55:

Surah Ar-Rahman, ayah 13 — “So which of the favors of your Lord would you deny?”

Surah An-Najm, ayah 55 — “Then which of the favors of your Lord do you doubt?”

From the tafsir: Al-Qurtubi on favours given to people who do not believe, and al-Jalalayn's summer and winter homes.

Studifu, ayah 75.

Saheeh International: “were oppressed” — to those who were oppressed - to those who believed among them.

Meaning in context: Not simply “the weak”, but people who were held weak: counted as weak by others, and treated that way. Al-Tabari says they were the people of humble means among Salih's followers, not the people of rank and power. The chiefs ask them, “Do you [actually] know that Salih is sent from his Lord?”, as if their belief could not count. In Indonesian, duafa, the poor and the weak, comes from this root.

Root: d-ayn-f, weakness. Lane: this form of the verb means “he found him to be so”, weak, or he “behaved proudly, haughtily, or insolently, towards him, in respect of worldly things, because of [his] poverty”.

For reflection: Whose voice in your family or community is easiest to overlook? What might they see that you do not?

In this surah: This verb comes three times: here, at ayah 137, and at ayah 150. At ayah 137 Allah gives the land to “the people who had been oppressed”.

Grammar: Verb, form X — 3rd person masculine plural passive perfect. The eighth word of ayah 75.

Elsewhere in the Qur'an: The root occurs 52 times, and this verb 8 times. At Surah Saba, ayah 31 the two groups meet again, on the Day of Judgement:In ayah 75 the chiefs are alladhina stakbaru, “who were arrogant”, from the root of session 02's word tatakabbara. The ayah puts the two words side by side: those who made themselves great, and those they held weak. That pairing is our reading.

Surah Saba, ayah 31 — “Those who were oppressed will say to those who were arrogant”, “If not for you, we would have been believers.”

From the tafsir: Al-Tabari on who the weak were, and the two answers in ayat 75 and 76.

Al-rajfatu, ayah 78.

Saheeh International: “the earthquake” — So the earthquake seized them.

Meaning in context: A violent shaking. Saheeh gives “the earthquake”, and the commentators read the word three ways: an earthquake, a terrible cry from the sky, or both together. Surah Hud tells the same end with another word, “the shriek” (Surah Hud, ayah 67). The tafsir page says whose reading is which.

Root: r-j-f, shaking. Lane gives “The earth quaked”. For this noun he has “a violent earthquake: and a vehement cry from heaven”, citing al-Jalalayn, and, from another authority, “in the Kur-an, any punishment that befalls a people”.

For reflection: What feels so solid in your life that you never think it could change?

In this surah: Three times: here, at ayah 91 for Shuayb's people, and at ayah 155, when “the earthquake seized” the seventy men Musa chose.

Grammar: Noun — nominative feminine. The second word of ayah 78.

Elsewhere in the Qur'an: The root occurs 8 times, and this noun 4 times: three in this surah and once at Surah Al-'Ankabut, ayah 37. At ayah 155 it does not end a people; Musa prays, and asks for forgiveness:

Ayah 155 — “And when the earthquake seized them”.

From the tafsir: The three readings of al-rajfah, and what the commentators say about ayah 79.

Yatatahharuna, ayah 82.

Saheeh International: “keep themselves pure” — Indeed, they are men who keep themselves pure.

Meaning in context: They keep themselves clean, and they work at it. Lut's people said it as an insult, as the reason to drive them out. Qatadah, in Ibn Kathir: “They shamed them (Lut and the believers) with what is not a shame at all.” Al-Tabari: they keep clear of what we do. In Indonesian, taharah, purity before prayer, and tahir, clean, come from this root.

Root: t-h-r. Lane: “clean, free from dirt or filth, or pure”, and purity “is of two kinds; [properly] corporeal and [tropically] spiritual”. On this ayah, and on Surah An-Naml, ayah 56, he notes: “the verb is used derisively”.

For reflection: Where do you keep yourself clean in a way nobody sees? What keeps you at it?

In this surah: Only here. Lut's people say it again in Surah an-Naml: “Indeed, they are people who keep themselves pure” (Surah An-Naml, ayah 56).

Grammar: Verb, form V — 3rd person masculine plural imperfect. The last word of ayah 82. Al-Suddi, in al-Tabari: they hold back.

Elsewhere in the Qur'an: The root occurs 31 times, and this form of the verb 5 times. At Surah At-Tawbah, ayah 108 it is praise:The same verb is an insult in ayah 82 and praise in Surah At-Tawbah, ayah 108. That contrast is our observation.

Surah At-Tawbah, ayah 108 — “Within it are men who love to purify themselves; and Allah loves those who purify themselves.”

From the tafsir: Qatadah on the insult, and al-Tabari and al-Suddi on what “keep themselves pure” means. Question 1 on the discussion page starts here.

Al-ghabirina, ayah 83.

Saheeh International: “those who remained” — she was of those who remained [with the evildoers].

Meaning in context: Those who stayed. The word says where Lut's wife ended up: not with the family that was saved. The commentators read it four ways: those who stayed behind, those who remained in the punishment, those who had grown old, and those absent from the rescue. The tafsir page names whose reading is which.

Root: gh-b-r. Lane: it “remained, lasted, or continued”, and also it “passed, passed away, or went away”, “and thus it has two contrary significations”: two opposite meanings. Al-Qurtubi says the same.

For reflection: What part of your faith do you carry yourself, and not only because of the people around you?

In this surah: Only here.

Grammar: Active participle — genitive masculine plural. The last word of ayah 83.

Elsewhere in the Qur'an: The root occurs 8 times, and this word 7 times (ayah 83, Surah Al-Hijr, ayah 60, Surah Ash-Shu'ara, ayah 171, Surah An-Naml, ayah 57, Surah Al-'Ankabut, ayah 32, Surah Al-'Ankabut, ayah 33, Surah As-Saffat, ayah 135). All seven are in Lut's story, about the one of his household who was left behind; at Surah Ash-Shu'ara, ayah 171 Saheeh has “an old woman”. That is our check of the seven ayat.

Surah An-Naml, ayah 57 — “We destined her to be of those who remained behind.”

From the tafsir: The four readings of al-ghabirin, each with its name.

More words to notice.

Naqatu llahi, ayah 73: “The she-camel of Allah.” Al-Qurtubi: joining her to Allah's name carries honour and distinction. The noun comes 7 times in the Qur'an, and every time it is this she-camel.

Wa-tanhituna, ayah 74: “And carve.” The verb comes 4 times: three times for Thamud's homes (ayah 74, Surah Al-Hijr, ayah 82, Surah Ash-Shu'ara, ayah 149), and once in Ibrahim's question, “Do you worship that which you [yourselves] carve” (Surah As-Saffat, ayah 95).

… wa-la tathaw … mufsidina, ayah 74: “Do not commit abuse on the earth, spreading corruption.” This verb comes 5 times in the Qur'an, each time in this same command.

Fa-aqaru, ayah 77: “So they hamstrung.” Al-Qurtubi: to cut a leg so the animal falls; then the word was used for the killing itself. The verb comes 5 times, and every time it is this deed.

Wa-ataw, ayah 77: “And were insolent.” Al-Tabari reports Mujahid: they rose above the truth. Surah Adh-Dhariyat, ayah 44 says it of Thamud too: “But they were insolent toward the command of their Lord”.

Jathimina, ayah 78: “Fallen prone.” Al-Qurtubi: stuck to the ground on their knees and faces, the way a bird crouches. Five times in the Qur'an, always the end of Thamud or of Madyan.

… ablaghtukum … wa-nasahtu, ayah 79: “I had certainly conveyed to you … and advised you.” Session 09's two verbs again: Nuh said them at ayah 62; Salih says them at the end. The ayah's last word, al-nasihin, “advisors”, is the word Iblis used of himself at ayah 21 (session 03).

Al-fahishata, ayah 80: “Immorality.” Session 04 met this word at ayah 28, and session 05 its plural at ayah 33. It comes 17 times in the Qur'an.

Musrifuna, ayah 81: “A transgressing people.” From the root of session 04's word wa-la tusrifu, do not go past the limit. Al-Jalalayn: “transgressing the bounds going from what is lawful to what is unlawful”.

Part 6 of 7. Questions for discussion, and personal reflection.

These are the questions the halaqa discusses. The first three are the core questions; the rest are optional. Pause after each one and think it through, or talk it over with someone.

Question 1, core, on ayah 82.

Lut's people had only one answer for him: “Evict them from your city! Indeed, they are men who keep themselves pure.” The word is yatatahharun. Qatadah, in Ibn Kathir: “They shamed them (Lut and the believers) with what is not a shame at all.” Think of someone who keeps away from what everyone around them is doing, at school, at work or among friends. Why are they so often mocked, and not simply left alone?

Question 2, core, on ayah 77.

“So they hamstrung the she-camel.” One man struck. Al-Jalalayn says he did it “by their command”, and Ibn Kathir passes on a report from Qatadah, who said he was told it: the man first went to everyone, even the women and children, and found them agreed. In a family, a group chat or a workplace, a wrong is done in front of you. What is the difference between approving it, feeling unable to respond, and choosing not to get involved? What could a wise response look like?

Question 3, core, on ayah 74.

Salih reminds Thamud what they could do: build palaces on the plains and carve homes out of the mountains. Then he says: “Then remember the favors of Allah”. The word is ala, and al-Qurtubi notes that these favours were given to people who did not believe. Think of a skill you are proud of, something you learned and worked hard for. What changes when you remember it as a favour you were given?

Question 4, optional, on ayah 75.

The chiefs put their question to the believers among the people they held weak, the studifu. Al-Tabari says these were people of humble means. In many places, the people who cook, clean and serve are the ones listened to least. Whose voice in your masjid, family or workplace is easiest to overlook, and what would it take to hear it?

Question 5, optional, on ayah 73.

Salih asks very little of his people: “So leave her to eat within Allah's land and do not touch her with harm”. Al-Qurtubi says her food and her care were not their burden. They only had to leave her alone, and they could not. Where in your week is leaving something alone harder than doing something?

Question 6, optional, on ayah 79.

Salih's last word to his people: “I had certainly conveyed to you the message of my Lord and advised you, but you do not like advisors.” Al-Tabari explains: you do not love those who advise you for Allah's sake and hold you back from your own desires. Think of advice you did not want at the time and later knew was right. What made it hard to hear?

Question 7, optional, on ayah 84.

The passage ends: “Then see how was the end of the criminals.” Al-Tabari reads it as said to the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam about those of his own people who denied him, and adds: if they do not repent. On the hadith page, the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam passes the dwellings of Thamud and tells his Companions to enter only weeping, then covers his head and hurries on. When we read about a people who were destroyed, what keeps it a lesson for us, and not only a story about others?

Tadabbur — personal reflection.

These are personal applications, written for this session. They are separate from the verse translation and from the tafsir.

Reflection 1. Ayah 74 lists what Thamud could build, then says: remember the favours of Allah. Read it slowly once, and name to yourself one thing you can do that you have never thanked Allah for.

Reflection 2. The believers in ayah 75 answered in one sentence: they believe in what Salih was sent with. Write your own sentence, as short as theirs.

Reflection 3. In ayah 82, keeping clean was the reason given to drive people out. The next time someone is teased for doing what is right, stand beside them.

Reflection 4. Finish this silently: One favour I have treated as only my own achievement is blank. One wrong I will not stay quiet about is blank.

Part 7 of 7. Lectures to watch later.

These are talks by other scholars, to watch later if you want to go further. The links are on the Watch page. The descriptions are editorial.

Omar Suleiman: Ramadan 360 Day 8: The Story of Salih w/ Sh Omar Suleiman.

Connection to the verses, editorial reflection: From the transcript, a long live class on the story of Salih. From 10 minutes 47 seconds he talks about the homes Thamud carved out of the mountains: a skill Allah gave them, which they came to take pride in. Then he reads Salih’s call as Surah Hud tells it (Surah Hud, ayah 61): Allah brought you out of the earth. “You would not be makers had you not been made.” This part is about four minutes; it reads no ayah of this passage.