The divine Sunnahs that were applied to the people of Lot P;2
Selections from the Book ‘’Lot (peace be upon him) and his Mission in Confronting Corruption and Sexual Deviance’’ …
Written by Dr. Ali Muhammad al-Sallabi...
Episode (29)
- The Sunnah of Replacement:
Allah Almighty said: {And if you turn away [i.e., refuse], He will replace you with another people; then they will not be the likes of you.} [Muhammad: 38].
It is the Sunnah (way) of Allah in human societies that whenever He destroys a people, He establishes after them another people who will inhabit the earth. This process of the passing away of one community and the rise of another is not random or coincidental; rather, it is Allah's established Sunnah among nations and states. It allows for the renewal of human societies, the circulation of civilized life among people, and the continuation of the world based on sound beliefs and solid foundations conducive to survival.
Just as civilizations have ways of rise and fall, they also have ways of renewal, emergence, and replacement. The Holy Quran has mentioned the concept of civilizational replacement, as happened to the people of Lot where causes of destruction accumulated among them. It was the Sunnah of Allah to eliminate them and replace them with another people.
- The Sunnah of destruction:
Verily, Allah, glorified and exalted be He, has decreed to establish accountability and recompense on the Day of Judgment. However, His Sunnah in this world has been to distinguish between the people of truth and the people of falsehood for a sublime divine wisdom. This is manifested by the destruction of the unjust and the salvation of the believers in the ongoing struggle between the messengers (peace be upon them) and their enemies. In this struggle, the cycle continues according to the decree of Allah upon the people of wickedness. Some of them were drowned by the flood, others were struck by barren winds, some were silenced by a shriek, and some were seized by an earthquake, leaving them prostrate in their homes. Others had stones of hard clay rained upon them by your Lord, destined for the criminals, and He made the highest part of the town its lowest, as occurred with the people of Lot.
The destruction that befell those oppressors is only a disgrace for them in this world, a victory for the believers, and a lesson for the nations to come after them, so they may heed the fates of those who have passed. They should steer clear of the paths of Satan that led to the destruction of the generations who opposed Allah and His Messenger. Verily, Allah's Sunnah in the destruction of the oppressors continues, as clearly stated by Allah Almighty in His Book for reflection and admonition, as it occurred with the people of Lot.
- The Sunnah of loss:
The Sunnah of loss was realized in the people of Lot (peace be upon him). Allah Almighty said: {To Him belong the keys of the heavens and the earth. And they who disbelieve in the verses of Allah - it is those who are the losers.} [Az-Zumar: 63]. It is Allah's decree that the disbelievers will not succeed, that they are indeed losers, and this decree is irrevocable. Just as success is for the believers, a part of the grand design. The decree of loss has indeed passed upon the people of Lot.
- Ali Muhammad al-Sallabi, Lot (peace be upon him) and his Mission in Confronting Corruption and Sexual Deviance, pp. 335-336.
- In the shadows of the Qur’an, 4/2483.
- Sunnahs of the Qur’an regarding the rise and fall of civilizations, Muhammad Heshour, p. 73.
For further information and review of the sources for the article, see:
The Book of ‘’Lot (peace be upon him) and his Mission in Confronting Corruption and Sexual Deviance’’ on the official website of Sheikh Dr. Ali Muhammad al-Sallabi:
