The Light of the Holy Qur'an Interpretation of Sura Hud
Section 7 : Ministry of Lot Commentary : Verse 69
The Angels sent by Allah first meet - Abraham Abraham's wife given the glad tidings of Isaac and - Jacob Abraham pleads for the people of Lot but asked to leave the people to have their own earning - The Angels appear to Lot - Lot admonishes his people who reject the warning and thus were destroyed.
(69) وَ لَقَدْ جاءَتْ رُسُلُنا إِبْراهيمَ بِالْبُشْرى قالُوا سَلاماً قالَ سَلامٌ فَما لَبِثَ أَنْ جاءَ بِعِجْلٍ حَنيذٍ
- " And certainly Our messengers(the angels)came to Abraham with glad tidings. They said 'Peace! ' He answered 'Peace! ' and he did not delay to bring a roasted calf. "
Commentary :
Now is time to focus on one of the highlights of the life of Abraham, the iconoclastic champion. Of course, only that part of his story, which deals with the story of the people of Lot and punishment of this unruly people is being discussed here. The Qur'an says that Allah's messengers(angels)came to Abraham, bearing good tidings, though they had come to deliver a message to Abraham(a.s.) before. The verse says:
" And certainly Our messengers(the angels)came to Abraham with glad tidings. ..."
There are two hypotheses incompatible with each other, as to what message those angels were carrying:
First; the message relates to tidings regarding the birth of Ismail and Isaac which were great good tidings for him.
Secondly, Abraham, who was tired of the unruliness and corruption of the people of Lot, became happy on hearing of the mission of the angels to destroy them.
When the messengers arrived they gave him the greetings of 'Peace' and he answered them likewise. Before long he had brought them a roasted calf. The verse says:
"... They said 'Peace! ' He answered 'Peace! ' and he did not delay to bring a roasted calf. "
The inference drawn from the sentence is that one of the rules of hosting a guest is that a meal should be prepared for him at the earliest possible time, after his arrival, for he can be both tired and hungry, especially when he is a traveler.
Commentary : Verse 70
(70) فَلَمَّا رَأى أَيْدِيَهُمْ لا تَصِلُ إِلَيْهِ نَكِرَهُمْ وَ أَوْجَسَ مِنْهُمْ خيفَةً قالُوا لا تَخَفْ إِنَّا أُرْسِلْنا إِلى قَوْمِ لُوطٍ
- " But when he saw their hands extended not towards it, he mistrusted them, and conceived a fear of them. They said: 'Fear not; we have been sent against the people of Lot'. "
Commentary :
Abraham's(a.s.) fear is different from the kind of fear and weakness found in ordinary men when facing problematic situations, for he was the archetypical iconoclast in history who was never afraid of anything. Nevertheless focusing one's attention on possible dangers and on being a possible target is another matter.
The verse says:
" But when he saw their hands extended not towards it, he mistrusted them, and conceived a fear of them. They said: 'Fear not; we have been sent against the people of Lot'. "
At any rate, since Lot(a.s.) and his tribe was one of the groups under Abraham's command, he had to be briefed before their annihilation.
Commentary : Verse 71
(71) وَ امْرَأَتُهُ قائِمَةٌ فَضَحِكَتْ فَبَشَّرْناها بِإِسْحاقَ وَ مِنْ وَراءِ إِسْحاقَ يَعْقُوبَ
- " And his wife was standing(by)and she laughed when We gave her the glad tidings(of the birth)of Isaac, and after Isaac, of Jacob. "
Commentary :
There are several possibilities mentioned as to the reasons for the standing by of Abraham's wife; when the verse says:
" And his wife was standing(by)and she laughed when We gave her the glad tidings(of the birth)of Isaac, and after Isaac, of Jacob. "
a- for worshipping
b- for serving the guests
c- for witnessing the comings and goings of individuals and the discussions.
Her laughter was either because she understood that their abstinence from eating was not a sign of danger for Abraham, or, as has been pointed out in some commentaries, Sarah, Abraham's wife, was an elderly woman who had long passed her child bearing days when she suddenly heard this unbelievable news. However, while in this mood, she realized that the Divine Will was that she would have a child.
However, each group of the Divine angels were commissioned to accomplish a particular affair. These group of angels followed two objectives. One of which was the extermination of the corrupt people of Lot, and the other was to give the good tidings of a child to be bestowed upon Abraham(a.s.) and Sarah.
(72) قالَتْ يا وَيْلَتى أَ أَلِدُ وَ أَنَا عَجُوزٌ وَ هذا بَعْلي شَيْخاً إِنَّ هذا لَشَيْءٌ عَجيبٌ
- " She said: 'Voe is me! Shall I bear a child when I am an old woman, and this my husband is an old man Verily this is a wonderful thing! '"
Commentary :
Sarah, who had given up hope of having children, with a tone of tremendous wonder, exclaimed implying that alas for her. Might she give birth to a child despite her old age and despite the fact that her husband too was old That was a truly amazing matter.
The verse itself says:
" She said: 'Voe is me! Shall I bear a child when I am an old woman, and this my husband is an old man Verily this is a wonderful thing! '"
That same Allah Who had made the fire cold for Abraham(a.s.) and had made him win over the idol- worshippers, is definitely able to make an infertile old woman fertile and an old man sire a child.
Commentary : Verse 73
(73) قالُوا أَ تَعْجَبينَ مِنْ أَمْرِ اللَّهِ رَحْمَتُ اللَّهِ وَ بَرَكاتُهُ عَلَيْكُمْ أَهْلَ الْبَيْتِ إِنَّهُ حَميدٌ مَجيدٌ
- " They said: "Do you wonder at Allah's decree The grace of Allah and His blessings on you, O people of the House! Verily He is Praise worthy, Glorious. "
Commentary :
One day, Amir- ul- Mu'mineen Ali(a.s.) gave greetings to a group of people which returned his greetings, saying: "Our greetings to you and may Allah's favor and blessings be with you, the Ahl- ul- Bayt, and may His forgiveness and His paradise also be upon you as well. " Ali(a.s.) said: "Do not add anything to what the angels said to Abraham(a.s.) , therefore, the phrase 'And may Allah's favour and blessings be with you' would suffice. " The verse says:
" They said: "Do you wonder at Allah's decree The grace of Allah and His blessings on you, O people of the House! Verily He is Praise worthy, Glorious. "
Question: Considering the fact that in the above verse, the angels addressed Abraham's wife using the phrase Ahl- ul- Bayt, and since, naturally, everyone's wife is considered as part of one's household, why is it then that in the verse of Tathir in the Sura Al Ah zab, No. 33, verse 33,(1) the wives of the Prophet Muhammad(p.b.u.h.) are not included in his household?
Answer: Regarding only the literal meaning of the word, it would be natural for the word Ahl- ul- Bayt to include reference (1) It says: "... Verily Allah only desires to keep away the uncleanness from you, O people of the House and to purify you a(thorough)purifying. "
to one's wife. However, we have firm grounds regarding the fact that someone can be excluded from this denotation even when normally they would be included in its purview, like in the verse saying: "Verily he is not of your household" where Noah's son is not counted as a member in Noah's household. Sometimes it also happens that there could be a reason to include someone who would normally not be considered as a member of the household, as has been said of Salman: "Salman belongs to our household(Ahl- ul- Bayt)"
There are numerous narrations concerning the verse of Tathir which say that the blessed Prophet(p.b.u.h.) had taken certain people under his cloak calling them his Ahl- ul- Bayt, while he did not allow his wife, the pious Umm- us- Salamah, to enter.
This Divine favor and blessings were not confined to that time and place. It has continued in this family, too. What Divine blessing can be superior to that bestowed upon the Prophet(p.b.u.h.) and the Immaculate Imams(a.s.) who have emerged from this household?
(1) Sura Hud No. 11, verse 46