Surah Al-Qamar, Verse 39

Tafsir of 54:39

The Story of the People of the Prophet Lut Allah the Exalted states that the people of Lut defied and denied their Messenger and committed sodomy, the awful immoral sin that no people in the history of mankind had committed before. This is why Allah destroyed them with a type of torment that He never inflicted upon any nation before them. Allah the Exalted commanded Jibril, peace be upon him, to raise their cities to the sky and then turn them upside down over them, followed by stones made of marked Sijjil. So He said here: إِنَّآ أَرْسَلْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ حَصِباً إِلاَّ آلَ لُوطٍ نَّجَّيْنَهُم بِسَحَرٍ (Verily, We sent against them Hasib (a violent storm of stones) except the family of Lut, them We saved in the last hour of the night.) They left the city in the last part of the night and were saved from the torment that struck their people, none of whom believed in Lut. And even Lut's wife suffered the same end as her people. Allah's Prophet Lut left Sodom with his daughters in safety, unharmed. Allah said, كَذَلِكَ نَجْزِى مَن شَكَرَوَلَقَدْ أَنذَرَهُمْ بَطْشَتَنَا (Thus do We reward him who gives thanks.…

Source: Ibn Kathir (Abridged)