His saying, exalted and glorified is He: "And We decreed to him that the end of these people is cut off by morning." "And the people of the city came rejoicing." "He said, 'Indeed, these are my guests, so do not disgrace me.'" "And fear Allah and do not disgrace me." "They said, 'Did we not forbid you from protecting anyone?'" "He said, 'These are my daughters, if you are to act.'" "By your life, indeed, they were in their intoxication, wandering blindly." "So the cry seized them at dawn." "And We made its highest part its lowest, and We rained upon them stones of baked clay." "Indeed, in that are signs for those who observe." "And indeed, it is on a road still maintained." "Indeed, in that is a sign for the believers."

The meaning: And We decreed that matter, meaning: We enforced it and made it certain. Then He included in the speech "to him" from where that was revealed to him, and Allah informed him of it. So He brought this meaning briefly and omitted what the apparent indicates. And "that" is in the accusative case. Al-Akhfash said: It is a substitute for "that." Al-Firā' said: The estimation is: "that the end of" so he omitted the preposition, and the first is more correct.

And "the end" refers to that which comes last among the people, meaning: in their rear. If that is cut off and it is reached, then the punishment has come from their first to their last. And these words indicate complete extermination and total destruction. It is said: "May Allah cut off his end," and "he exterminated his root," and "he silenced his voice" meaning the same. And "by morning" means: when they became morning and entered into the morning.

And His saying, exalted and glorified is He: "And the people of the city came rejoicing" may refer to the description of a matter that occurred before informing Lot of the destruction of his people. This indicates that Lot's argument with his people necessitated the weakness of those who did not know of their destruction and that the guests were angels. It is possible that His saying: "And the people of the city came" was after his knowledge of their destruction, and their saying is what comes from the dialogue in the context of mockery towards him, and their plotting against him, and their waiting for him.

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: The first possibility is more likely to me, and it is the apparent meaning from the verses of this surah. And His saying: "They came rejoicing" means: with the guests, hoping from them for the immoral act. And the guest is a source described by it, so it applies to the singular and plural, masculine and feminine.

And their saying: "Did we not forbid you from protecting anyone?" It has been narrated that they had previously approached him not to host anyone or grant him protection, because they do not regard him and do not refrain from seeking immorality with him. Al-Amash read: "Indeed, the end of" with a broken hamzah. It has been narrated that in the reading of Abdullah: "And We decreed to him that matter and said, 'Indeed, the end of these people is cut off.'" And Al-Suddi mentioned that they only committed immoral acts with strangers and did not do so among themselves, so they would obstruct the roads.

And the saying of Lut, peace be upon him: ﴿These are my daughters﴾, there has been a difference in its interpretation. It has been said that he meant the women of his community, because the wives of the prophets are the mothers of the nations, and he is their father. Thus, the women are his daughters in terms of sanctity, and what is meant by marriage. This interpretation necessitates that in his law, the marriage of a disbeliever to a believer is permissible, and it has been reported that the believing women are very few. It has also been said that he only meant the daughters of his own loins, and he called for marriage as well, as stated by Qatadah. This interpretation also necessitates what was required in our previous arrangement. It is possible that he, peace be upon him, meant by his saying: ﴿These are my daughters﴾, the daughters of his own loins, and that would be in a figurative manner. This does not validate the permissibility of marrying his daughters. This is like saying to a person you see wanting to kill another: 'Kill me and do not kill him,' for this is merely a way of denouncing him, and calling for modesty from him. All of this is from the exaggeration of speech that does not involve the meaning of lying, but rather the intent behind it is understood. This aligns with the saying of the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him: 'Even if it were like the nest of a sparrow,' and other such examples.

And 'al-amr' and 'al-‘umr' with an open or a closed 'ayn are one, and they refer to the lifespan and its duration. It is not used in swearing except with the open 'ayn. In this verse, there is honor for Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him, because Allah, the Exalted, swore by his life, and He did not do this with any other human. This was stated by Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him. The oath by 'la-‘amruka' in the Qur'an and 'la-‘amri' and similar phrases in the poetry of the Arabs and their eloquent speech in various contexts, such as the saying:

'By my life, and my life is not easy for me.'

And the saying of another:

'By the life of your father, what is attributed to Al-Mu'alla.'

And the saying of another:

'By your life, indeed death does not miss the young man.'

And the Arabs say: 'By the life of Allah,' and from this is the saying of the poet:

'If the sons of Qushayr are pleased with me, by the life of Allah, I am pleased with their pleasure.'

And Al-A'sha said:

'And by the life of the one who made the months a sign among us, so he clarified its half and its completeness.'

And some of the scholars of meanings said: This is not permissible because it is not said: 'Allah, the Exalted, has a lifespan,' rather it is said: 'an eternal existence.' Al-Zahrawi mentioned this, and Ibrahim Al-Nakha'i disliked that a man should say: 'By my life,' because he swore by the life of his own self, and that is from the speech of weak men, and similar to this. And the saying of Malik regarding 'la-‘amri' and 'la-‘amruka' is that they are not an oath. And Ibn Habib said: 'La-‘amruka' should be used in speech in accordance with this verse.

'And they wander' means they are confused and perplexed. The pronouns in 'in their stupor' refer to the people of Lot mentioned. Al-Tabari mentioned that it refers to Quraysh, but this is unlikely because it disconnects from what precedes and follows it. His saying 'in their stupor' is a metaphor and a comparison, meaning: in their misguidance and their neglect of the truth and their amusement. 'They wander' means they hesitate in their confusion. 'Entering the light' means they have entered into brightness, which is the shining of the sun and its appearance. This was said by Ibn Zayd. This cry is the cry of the calamity, and it is not like the cry of Thamud. They were destroyed after dawn, in the morning, and destruction overtook them while they were entering the light. The report of his saying: 'By your life' is omitted; its meaning is: 'By your life, I swear' or 'my oath.' There is a consideration in this. Ibn Abbas read: 'And your life,' and Al-Ashhab Al-Uqayli read: 'In their stupor' with the 's' pronounced. Ibn Abi Abla read: 'Their stupors,' and Al-Amash read: 'In their stupor' without a 't.' Abu Amr in the narration of Al-Jahdami read: 'That they' with the opening of the hamzah 'in their stupor.'

It has been narrated regarding the meaning of His saying: 'So We made its upper part its lower part' that Gabriel, peace be upon him, uprooted the city with his wing and raised it until the angels of heaven heard the crowing of roosters and the barking of dogs. Then he overturned it and sent everything down. Whoever was struck by something from the rubble of the city died, and whoever escaped from them was hit by stones from Sijjil. 'Sijjil' is a name from the names of the heavens of this world, and it is said to be a Persian word, meaning the stones baked from clay like bricks and the like. This has been previously mentioned.

'And those who observe' said Mujahid: the discerning ones. Al-Duhak said: the watchers. Qatadah said: the ones who take heed. Other interpretations close to this have been mentioned. All of this is an interpretation of it by meaning, but its interpretation by wording is that the meanings that appear in a person or others, whether good or evil, show a mark of those meanings, such as tranquility, piety, and the awe that comes from goodness and the like. The observer is the one who looks at the mark of the meaning to deduce from it the meaning. It is as if the disobedience of these people left a mark of punishment and destruction, so whoever saw the mark deduced from it the disobedience and was led by sight to avoid disobedience so that what befell them would not befall him. Among the poetry regarding this word is the saying of the poet:

'I observed him when I saw an awe upon him, and I said: The man is from the family of Hashim.'

Another said:

'And I stood in it, observing.'

Another said:

'I have observed goodness in you as a supererogatory act.'

The pronoun in His saying: "And indeed it" is possible to refer to the destroyed city, meaning that it is in a clear path for the one who reflects. This is the interpretation of Mujahid, Qatadah, and Ibn Zayd. It is possible that it refers to the verses, and it is possible that it refers to the stones. This interpretation is supported by what has been narrated that the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, said: "Indeed, the stones of punishment have been hanging between the heavens and the earth for a thousand years for the sinners of my nation." And His saying: "as a sign" means a marker and indication, as you say: a sign between me and you is such and such.