His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "He said, 'What is your business, O messengers?'" "They said, 'Indeed, we have been sent to a people of criminals.'" "Except for the family of Lot; indeed, we will surely save them all." "Except his wife; We have decreed that she will be of those who remain behind." "So when the family of Lot came, the messengers said, 'Indeed, you are a people unknown.'" "They said, 'Rather, we have come to you with that of which they were disputing.'" "And we have come to you with the truth, and indeed, we are truthful.'" "So escape with your family during a portion of the night and follow behind them, and let not any of you turn back, and go where you are commanded.'"

The speaker here is Ibrahim (peace be upon him), and his saying: 'What is your business?' is a question that contains some harshness, as one might say to someone whose condition they deny: 'What has befallen you? What is your affliction?' And you only intend to inquire about his condition, because 'the business' is a term that is used for serious matters. Furthermore, Ibrahim's saying: 'O messengers,' and their having also given him glad tidings indicates that he had recognized that they were angels when he said: 'What is your business?' It is possible that his saying: 'What is your business?' implies that he referred the business to them in terms of their being the bearers of it to the punished people. That is: What is this business that you carry? And to which nation?

And 'the criminal people' refers to the people of the city of Sodom, to whom Lut (peace be upon him) was sent. And a criminal is one who commits crimes and perpetrates prohibitions. The root of 'to commit a crime' is akin to 'to earn.' From it is the saying of the poet: 'The crime of a rising one in the head of a high peak,' meaning: the earning of punishment in a high place. However, the term is specifically used in its common understanding for evil; one who earns reward is not called a criminal.

And their saying: 'Except for the family' is an interrupted exception. And 'the family' refers to the people whose affairs are connected to the one it is added to, as Sibawayh said. This is a clear indication that the term 'family' is not the same as 'people' as Al-Nahhas said. It is permissible, based on this, to add 'family' to the pronoun. As for 'Ahl,' it is a diminutive of 'people,' and they avoided using a diminutive form for 'family,' thus they rejected 'Awail.' And the majority of the seven reciters read: 'We will surely save them,' while Hamzah and Al-Kisai read it with the lightening of the letter. The pronoun in 'We will surely save them' is in the position of genitive due to the addition, and the noon was omitted for the sake of punishment. This is the opinion of the majority of grammarians. Al-Akhfash said: The pronoun is in the position of accusative, and the noon was omitted because this pronoun must be connected.

Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: There is a consideration in this.

And His saying, exalted and majestic is He: 'Except his wife' is an exception after an exception, and they are both interrupted according to what some grammarians have narrated, because they did not consider his disbelieving wife to be from his family.

Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

And in this there is a consideration, because it is before the exception included in the term which is "the family", and it is not like that with "the family" with the criminals. So the first exception appears to be disconnected, and the second is connected. The exception after the exception returns the second exception in the ruling of the first matter. Some people have likened this to your saying: "I have one hundred dirhams except ten dirhams except two dirhams," so the two dirhams return in the ruling of the ninety dirhams. Al-Mubarrid said: This example is not good, because it is from the creation of speech and its return. It has a way to convey the meaning more beautifully than this circling, which is to say: "I have one hundred except eight." And the example for the verse should be your saying: "I struck the Banu Tamim except the Banu Darim except a حاجبًا," because "حاجبًا" is from the Banu Darim. So when the first exception includes within it what the ruling does not apply to, and necessity includes it in its wording, and we cannot express it without that which the ruling does not apply to, I was compelled to a second exception.

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: And Al-Mubarrid's inclination in this is noble. And all of them read except Asim in the narration of Abu Bakr: "We have decreed" with the emphasis on the dal in all of the Qur'an, and Asim read it lightly and emphasized it in the narration of Hafs. And the lightening can mean the emphasis, as Al-Hudhali Abu Dhueib said:

And a she-camel of 'Anas I have decreed for her leg ∗∗∗ ∗∗∗ She fell as the wind follows the lock.

He means: I have decreed my strike for her leg, and like the saying of the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, in seeking guidance: "And decree for me good wherever it may be," and it can also mean: make easy and grant success, and from it is the saying of the poet:

In Qandahar, and who can have his death decreed ∗∗∗ ∗∗∗ In Qandahar, news is translated without him.

And the alif in "Indeed it" was broken because of the lam in His saying, exalted is He: "Indeed, it is of the remaining ones." And "the remaining" means the enduring in time and otherwise. And a group said - among them Al-Nahhas - that it is from the opposites, it is said in the past and in the remaining. And as for in this verse, it is for the remaining, meaning: from the remaining ones in punishment.

And His saying, exalted is He: "So when the family of Lut came, the messengers..." The verses. The saying and the mention of the story regarding Lut has preceded, and the image of the meeting of the messengers with him. And it is said that the messengers were three: Jibril, Mikail, and Israfil, and it is said that they were twelve. And His saying: "Unknown" means you are not recognized in this region. And in this wording there is a warning, and it is from the type of his condemnation of his people, and his running to not bring these people into that city for fear that the evil of their actions and their seeking of immorality may become apparent. So the messengers said to Lut: Rather, we have come to you with what Allah has promised you of punishing them for their disbelief and their sins, which is what they were doubting and not confirming.

And a group read: "So travel" with the alif connected, and a group with it cut off. It is said: Sari and Asri meaning if he traveled at night. Al-Nabigha said:

So he combined between the two languages, and the Yemeni read: "So travel with your family." This command regarding the night journey is from Allah, the Exalted, meaning: it is said to you. And "the part": is a portion of the night. A group read: "with parts" with the opening of the letter 'ta', as reported by Mundhir ibn Sa'id.

And His saying: ﴿And follow their backs﴾ means: be behind them and in their tracks so that no one remains from them and do not look back. And "wherever" in its well-known meaning is an adverb of place. A group said: Lut was commanded to travel to Zughār, and it was said: to a place of safety unknown to us. Another group said: "wherever" could also be an adverb of time. Abu Ali recited a verse of Tarafa:

A young man has a mind by which he lives ∗∗∗ ∗∗∗ wherever his foot guides him.

As if he said: the duration of his walking and moving. And this verse is from where he was commanded to travel with a part of the night, then it was said to him: "wherever you are commanded." And we do not find in the verse a command for him except in His saying: ﴿with a part of the night﴾ it is possible that "wherever" is an adverb of time. And "let him not look back" is taken from looking back with the eye. Mujahid said: the meaning is that no one should look behind him. They were prohibited from looking back for fear of negligence and the attachment of the soul to those who were left behind. It was said: rather, so that their hearts do not break from witnessing what happened to the village in its raising and throwing down. And it was said: "let him not look back" means: to turn away, from your saying: "I turned the matter" if you turned it. And from it is their saying for the poem: a turning, because part of it is turned over on another.