بِاَہۡلِکَ

15:66.

7:84; 15:61; 29:34.

15:67.

Commentary:

When the strangers heard Lot pathetically say to his people that he would pray to God against them, they, who had till then kept the matter secret, revealed to him that God had already decreed their punishment and that it was that decree which they had come to communicate to him. They also announced to him that the threatened punishment would not affect his اھل (family or followers) who would be saved except his wife who was doomed.

The verse mentions the time of morning as the time of the coming punishment because the morning is generally the time of negligence and is thus best suited to remind wicked people of the real cause of Divine chastisement.

Commentary:

When Joseph saw that all his exhortations and admonitions to his master’s wife to desist from her evil course were of no avail, he thought he should no longer stay in the room, lest it might give rise to unfounded suspicions. So he hastened to leave her presence. Thereupon the woman, in order to prevent him from leaving the room, ran to the door to reach it before Joseph succeeded in getting out. There was thus a sort of race for the door. It was most probably at the door that the woman pulled Joseph’s shirt in order to pull him back and in so doing she tore his shirt at the back.

Here, again, the Bible differs from the Quran. The Bible says that when the woman caught hold of Joseph’s garment, he left it in her hand (Gen. 39:12). But as the Hebrews used to wear one garment only, which was generally long enough to cover the whole body, it is inconceivable that Joseph should have run away naked, leaving the only garment he was wearing in the woman’s hand. So the Quranic account that Joseph’s shirt was torn in the scuffle seems to be more reasonable.

11:82.

Commentary:

The pronoun ھم (their) in the expression ادبارھم (their rear) used in this verse shows that, according to the Quran, the party who left the city with Lot did not consist of his two daughters only, as stated in the Bible (Gen. 19), but of other believers as well, some of whom must have been males, as the plural masculine pronoun shows. This view is supported by another passage in the Bible (Gen. 18:32) which shows that Abraham was aware that there were some men in the town of Lot who had accepted his Message. Abraham was not, however, sure of their number.

The words لا یلتفت منکم احد (let none of you look back) do not here mean, as most commentators have taken them to mean literally "looking back." The expression has been used figuratively, meaning "giving thought to," or "feeling anxious for," those left behind. The above quoted words thus signify, "do not mind the disbelievers, and leave them to perish." As against this the Bible says that Lot’s wife looked back and was turned into a pillar of salt (Gen. 19:26). The Quranic version is certainly more natural, for it not only denies her looking back but declares that she was one of those who remained behind (29:34). The fact that the Bible, which was written much earlier than the Quran, should interweave it with such an incredible tale, which the Quran rejects, lends strong support to the latter’s claim to be the revealed Word of God.

The words, where you are commanded, confirms the interpretation given above, viz. that the messengers had come to tell Lot where he should go after leaving the condemned city. They had come to inform Lot of his destination in pursuance of a Divine command.

The messengers suggested to Lot that he should follow in their rear so that he might be the last in the party to leave the city. This was evidently intended as a precaution for the safety of all members of the party because since Lot was a Prophet for whom Divine protection was particularly intended the threatened punishment could not overtake the city until he was safely out of it.