153 – ʿAbd Allah narrated to us. He said: Saʿīd ibn Sulaymān related to me, from Sulaymān ibn al-Mughīrah, from Ḥumayd ibn Hilāl, who said: Jundub said: Hudhayfah said:

“When the messengers were dispatched to the people of Lot to destroy them, it was said to them, ‘Do not destroy the people of Lot until Lot himself bears witness against them three times.’ Their path took them past Abraham, so they came to him and gave him the glad tidings that they had been sent to convey. ‘When the fear had left Abraham and the good news had reached him, he began to argue with Us about the people of Lot’ (Hud 74).

His argument with them was that he ⦗104⦘ said, ‘If there are fifty—meaning fifty souls—among them, will You destroy them?’ They replied, ‘No.’ He said, ‘What about forty?’ They said, ‘No.’ He said, ‘Thirty?’ They said, ‘No,’ and he continued until he reached ten—or five; Sulaymān was uncertain.

The angels then came to Lot ﵇ while he was working in a field. He took them to be guests, and when evening fell he led them to his family and they stayed the night with him. He turned to them and said, ‘Do you not see what these people do?’ They asked, ‘What do they do?’ He said, ‘There is no one on earth more wicked than they.’

When he reached his house, the malicious old woman—his wife—went off to her people and said, ‘Tonight Lot is hosting some guests whose faces I have never seen more handsome, nor whose scent more pleasant.’ They came rushing toward him until they pushed against the door, almost overpowering him. Then an angel struck the door with his wing, shutting it before them, and locked it. They climbed onto the surrounding walls and he climbed up with them, addressing them: ‘These are my daughters; they are purer for you’ (Hud 78) until he reached the words: ‘or that I might seek refuge in some mighty stronghold’ (Hud 80).

⦗105⦘ They said, ‘Lot, we are messengers of your Lord; they will never reach you’ (Hud 81). Gabriel ﵇ added, ‘Indeed, they are messengers of Allah.’ That night there was not a single one of them who was not struck blind. They passed the worst of nights, blind, awaiting the punishment.

Lot set out with his family, and Gabriel asked leave for their destruction. Permission was granted, so he lifted up the land on which they stood, raising it until the inhabitants of the lowest heaven could hear the barking of their dogs. He then kindled a fire beneath it and hurled it down upon them. Lot’s wife heard the crash while she was with him; she turned around, and the punishment overtook her.”