• This narrative furnishes the strongest proof that the abomination of sodomy is among the most heinous of sins, that it brings down a severe punishment, and that whoever is tried with this vice—having already lost his religion—has had his sense of beauty and ugliness turned upside-down: he finds pleasing what is vile and recoils from what is wholesome. Such a state is an unmistakable sign of moral deviation.

• Both here and in the story of Abraham we learn the permissibility of indirect speech (taʿrīḍ).
– In Abraham’s story, Allah says: “He cast a glance at the stars and said, ‘I am sick’” (al-Saffat 88–89).
– In Lot’s story he said, “Here are my daughters; they are purer for you” (Hud 78).
Indirectness may occur in words or in actions: the speaker or actor intends to carry out some permissible matter(1) while leading the hearer or observer to imagine something else, in order to gain a benefit or ward off harm.

• Another lesson: a sign of a truly judicious man is that he is correct in both speech and deed. Such a man supports the oppressed, relieves those in distress, commands what is good, and forbids what is evil. This is genuine prudence; hence Lot said, “Is there not one right-minded man among you?” (Hud 78)—that is, someone who will enjoin what is right, forbid what is wrong, and restrain the people of wickedness and aggression.

• A further lesson is the encouragement to seek helpers in advancing good and repelling evil, even if the helper himself is from the ranks of the wicked, for Allah upholds the religion through a depraved man and through people who have no share with Him. Thus Lot said, “If only I had the strength to oppose you, or could seek refuge in some mighty support” (Hud 80), and most