Scattering Winds (Al-Dhariyat)
Verses 31-37 GROUP_1395 51.31-37
31
قَالَ فَمَا خَطْبُكُمْ أَيُّهَا الْمُرْسَلُونَ
Abraham asked, ‘What is your errand, O messengers?’
32
قَالُوا إِنَّا أُرْسِلْنَا إِلَى قَوْمٍ مُّجْرِمِينَ
They replied, ‘We have been sent to a sinful people,
33
لِنُرْسِلَ عَلَيْهِمْ حِجَارَةً مِّن طِينٍ
so that we may bring down upon them a shower of stones of clay,
34
مُسَوَّمَةً عِندَ رَبِّكَ لِلْمُسْرِفِينَ
which are marked by your Lord for the punishment of those guilty of excesses.’
35
فَأَخْرَجْنَا مَن كَانَ فِيهَا مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ
We saved all the faithful in the town.
36
فَمَا وَجَدْنَا فِيهَا غَيْرَ بَيْتٍ مِّنَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ
We found in it only one household of true believers—
37
وَتَرَكْنَا فِيهَا آيَةً لِّلَّذِينَ يَخَافُونَ الْعَذَابَ الْأَلِيمَ
and We left therein a sign for those who fear a painful punishment.
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Commentary
(a) At that time Abraham was in Palestine. Nearby, around the Dead Sea there were the townships of Sodom and Gomorrah in which the contemporaries of Lot were settled. In spite of Lot’s preaching for a long time, they were not ready to give up a life vitiated by forgetfulness of God. So, at God’s behest, Lot and his companions departed. Then, the aforesaid angels destroyed the entire community by an earthquake, stormy winds and showers of pebbles. The community of Lot was destroyed two thousand years ago, but their devastated habitat (south of the Dead Sea) exists even today to teach a lesson to those who have the inclination to learn from events.