Lut

Prophet Lut, the nephew of Prophet Ibrahim, was sent to the twin cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. These cities were strategically located and prosperous, but they had become centers of unprecedented moral corruption. The people were notorious for highway robbery, greed, and a specific form of public indecency and sexual immorality that had never been seen before in human history.

Lut arrived as a stranger and tireless advocate for purity. He warned them: 'Indeed, you commit such immorality as no one has preceded you with from among the worlds.' He called them to justice and the worship of Allah, but the more he preached, the more the townspeople mocked him, threatening to expel him for 'keeping himself too pure.'

Lut's mission was made even more difficult by his own wife, who did not truly believe in his message. She secretly sympathized with the corrupt elite and would inform them of any strangers who visited Lut. When three angels (Jibril, Mika'il, and Israfil) visited Ibrahim with news of a son, they then proceeded to Sodom in the form of handsome young men to deliver the final decree.

Lut was deeply distressed when he saw the guests, fearing for their safety from the predatory mob of the city. As he feared, the townspeople soon surrounded his house, demanding that he hand over the guests. Lut offered everything he could to protect them, even suggesting they marry the women of the city in a lawful manner, but the mob was relentless. In that dark moment, the angels revealed their true nature and blinded the entire mob with a single flash of light.

The angels commanded Lut to gather his family and followers and leave the city during the night. They were warned sternly: 'Let none of you look back.' As they fled, the first rays of dawn touched the horizon, and the divine punishment began. A massive earthquake shook the foundations of the cities, and they were literally flipped upside down.

Stones of baked clay, marked for each individual, rained down from the sky, crushing any survivors. Lut's wife, who had looked back in sympathy for the corrupt city, was caught in the punishment and perished. The region of Sodom was turned into a barren, salt-filled wasteland (near the Dead Sea), serving as a permanent geographical reminder of the consequences of total social and moral collapse.