Lut, known in English as Lot (peace be upon him), was a messenger Allah (﷾) sent to his people. He was the nephew of Ibrahim (Abraham), and he believed in Ibrahim's message. Then Allah (﷾) sent him to a people who had fallen into great wrongdoing, and they would not listen to him.
This guide follows what the Qur'an says, with one authentic saying of the Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ). It is the story as Islam tells it, told simply.
At a glance
- He was Ibrahim's nephew, a believer who left his homeland for Allah's (﷾) sake, and a messenger.
- He called his people away from a shameful deed no people before them had done.
- They would not listen, and threatened to drive him out of the city.
- Messengers from Allah (﷾) came to him as guests, and told him to leave by night with his family.
- His wife did not share his faith, and stayed behind.
- Allah (﷾) admitted him to His mercy among the righteous.
- His faith
He believes Ibrahim, and Allah (﷾) gives him judgment and knowledge. Qur’an 29:26Qur’an 21:74
- The warning
Allah (﷾) sends him to his people. He calls them to fear Allah (﷾) and to turn from a shameful deed. Qur’an 26:161–163Qur’an 27:54
- The refusal
They threaten to cast him out of the city. Qur’an 26:167Qur’an 27:56
- The guests
Allah's (﷾) messengers come to him as guests. He is grieved and feels powerless to protect them. Qur’an 11:77Qur’an 29:33
- The night
He is told to leave by night with his family, and not to look back. Qur’an 11:81Qur’an 15:65
- The morning
Allah's (﷾) decree comes. Lut and his family are delivered, except his wife, who stays behind. Qur’an 54:34Qur’an 15:73–74Qur’an 7:83
The Qur'an gives no dates for Lut's life, so these are the stages of his story.
A messenger to his people
Lut was Ibrahim's nephew, and he believed in him. He left his homeland with Ibrahim, and Allah (﷾) brought them both to a blessed land. Ibrahim's own story is told in his own guide. Qur’an 29:26Qur’an 21:71Ibrahim
Allah (﷾) gave Lut judgment and knowledge, and sent him to his people. The Qur'an calls him their brother: a man who lived among them, whom they knew. Qur’an 21:74Qur’an 26:161
His message was the one every messenger brought. He told them he was a messenger they could trust, and that he asked for nothing in return: Qur’an 26:162–164
I am to you a messenger worthy of all trust. So fear Allah and obey me. No reward do I ask of you for it: my reward is only from the lord of the Worlds.
His people had fallen into a shameful deed. Lut spoke to them plainly, as someone who wished them well: Qur’an 27:54
Do ye do what is shameful though ye see (its iniquity)?
Elsewhere the Qur'an calls it lewdness, something no people before them had done. It adds that they cut off the highway and practised wickedness in their councils. Lut called them a people who had gone beyond all bounds. Qur’an 7:80–81Qur’an 29:28–29
They would not listen. They mocked Lut and his followers for wanting to keep themselves clean and pure. They said that if he did not stop, he would be driven out of the city. Lut told them he detested what they did, and turned to Allah (﷾): Qur’an 27:56Qur’an 26:167–168
O my Lord! deliver me and my family from such things as they do!
The guests
Allah (﷾) sent angels as messengers. They went first to Ibrahim, with the good news of a son, as his guide tells. Then they told him why they had come: they were sent to a people deep in sin, and to save Lut and his followers. Ibrahim said, "But there is Lut there." They answered that they knew well who was there, and would certainly save him. Qur’an 11:69–70Qur’an 15:58–59Qur’an 29:31–32
Ibrahim, who was forbearing and compassionate, pleaded for the people. But he was told that his Lord's decree had gone forth, and could not be turned back. Qur’an 11:74–76
Then the messengers came to Lut. He was grieved on their account, and felt himself powerless to protect them: Qur’an 11:77Qur’an 29:33
This is a distressful day.
His people came rushing towards him. He begged them to fear Allah (﷾), and not to shame him before his guests: Qur’an 11:78Qur’an 15:68–69
Now fear Allah, and cover me not with shame about my guests! Is there not among you a single right-minded man?
Lut wished that he had the power to stop them, or some strong support to turn to. The Prophet (ﷺ) once spoke of this moment, asking Allah's (﷾) mercy for Lut, who had wished for a strong support. And Allah (﷾) did not leave His messenger alone: Qur’an 11:80Sahih al-Bukhari 3372
O Lut! We are Messengers from thy Lord! By no means shall they reach thee!
When the people tried to snatch his guests away, Allah (﷾) took away their sight. Qur’an 54:37
The night and the morning
The messengers told Lut to travel by night with his family, while part of the night remained. No one was to look back. But his wife, they said, would stay behind, and what happened to the people would happen to her. Qur’an 11:81Qur’an 15:65Qur’an 15:59–60
Morning was the time appointed. When Allah's (﷾) decree came, those people were destroyed by a shower of stones, and Lut and his family were delivered at early dawn. The Qur'an calls it a grace from Allah (﷾): Qur’an 11:82Qur’an 15:73–74Qur’an 54:34
As a Grace from Us: thus do We reward those who give thanks.
Allah (﷾) left a clear sign of it. The cities lay right on the high-road, for all who care to understand: Qur’an 15:76–77
And We have left thereof an evident Sign, for any people who (care to) understand.
Lut's wife
The Qur'an says plainly that Lut's wife was false to him. It sets her beside the wife of Nuh (Noah) as an example: both were married to righteous servants of Allah (﷾), and both failed: Qur’an 66:10Nuh
they were (respectively) under two of our righteous servants, but they were false to their (husbands), and they profited nothing before Allah on their account
Scholars explain that she betrayed him in faith, not in marriage: she did not share his belief, and she stayed behind with the people. Being married to a messenger could not save her. Each person answers for their own faith. Qur’an 7:83Qur’an 27:57Ibn Kathir, Tafsir al-Qur'an al-'Azim, on 66:10
Among the righteous
Allah (﷾) had given Lut judgment and knowledge, and saved him from the town. The Qur'an tells his reward: Qur’an 21:74
And We admitted him to Our Mercy: for he was one of the Righteous.
Allah (﷾) also names Lut among the prophets He favoured above the nations, with Isma'il (Ishmael), Elisha and Jonah. Qur’an 6:86Which prophets are named in the Qur'an?
How the Bible tells it differently
The Bible tells Lot's story in Genesis, chapters 11 to 19. The heart is the same. Lot was Abraham's nephew, two angels came to him in the city, and they led him out of it. Then burning sulphur and fire fell on the cities. But some details are different. Muslims believe that Allah (﷾) revealed the Torah to Musa, and the Injil to Isa: the Gospel Jesus himself preached in his lifetime. The Injil is not the New Testament. The four New Testament Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, were written by others, decades after Jesus was raised up. None of them names its author: the names were attached later. And the Torah we have today is not exactly as it was revealed. So where the Bible tells a story just as the Qur'an does, we believe it. Where it differs from the Qur'an or contradicts it, we do not. Where the Qur'an says nothing, we neither believe it nor deny it, as the Prophet (ﷺ) taught. Here are the main differences, with the verses. Genesis 19:1 (KJV)Genesis 19:24 (KJV)Qur’an 11:82Qur’an 5:48Qur’an 5:46Which of the four Gospels did Jesus preach from?Who wrote the Gospels?Sahih al-Bukhari 4485How should a Muslim read the Bible?
A messenger to his people. The Qur'an calls Lut a messenger sent to his people, who warned them and called them to Allah (﷾). Genesis never calls Lot a prophet. It never says that God (﷾) sent him to the city. It says he chose the plain and pitched his tent toward Sodom. It also tells of him pleading with the men of the city on the night of the visit. The New Testament calls him just and righteous. Genesis 13:11–12 (KJV)Genesis 19:7 (KJV)2 Peter 2:7–8 (KJV)Qur’an 26:162Qur’an 54:36
His wife. Genesis says that Lot's wife looked back from behind him, and became a pillar of salt. The Qur'an does not tell of a pillar of salt. It says she was among those who stayed behind and shared the people's end, and that she was false to her husband. Genesis 19:26 (KJV)Qur’an 11:81Qur’an 66:10
After the escape. Genesis tells of an episode in a cave after the escape, involving Lot and his daughters, which the Qur'an does not tell. The Qur'an says Allah (﷾) admitted Lut to His mercy as one of the righteous. This site looks at what Islam teaches about the prophets and sin. Genesis 19:30–36 (KJV)Qur’an 21:75Were the prophets sinless?
What we can learn
Lut's story is about standing for what is right when you are almost alone, and trusting Allah (﷾).
- Speak the truth with care. Lut told his people plainly what was wrong, and asked nothing for it. When they threatened him, he did not answer in kind. He prayed to be delivered.
- Allah (﷾) is the strongest support. Lut longed for a strong helper. Allah's (﷾) messengers told him that nothing would reach him.
- Your own faith is what counts. Lut's wife was married to a righteous servant of Allah (﷾), and it did not save her. Each person answers for their own faith and deeds.
- Allah (﷾) delivers those who trust Him. Lut and his family left by night, and were delivered at early dawn, as a grace from Allah (﷾).
Allah (﷾) left the story of Lut as a sign for those who care to understand. And the call Lut gave is the call of every messenger. Fear Allah (﷾), and turn to Him, for He is the Exalted in Might, Most Merciful. Qur’an 26:175