The fright is what one feels of fear. When he denied his guests. The meaning is that when his heart became assured after the fear and was filled with joy because of the glad tidings instead of sorrow, he became free to argue. If you say: Where is the answer to 'when'? I say: It is omitted just as the saying 'So when they took him away and they agreed' is omitted, and the saying 'he argues with us' is an independent statement indicating the answer. Its estimation is: he dared to address us, or he became aware of our argument, or he said: such and such.

Then he began by saying 'he argues with us about the people of Lot.' It is said that 'he argues with us' is the answer to 'when,' and it was brought in the present tense to narrate the situation. It is said that 'when' returns the present tense to the meaning of the past, just as 'if' returns the past to the meaning of the future. It is said that its meaning is that he began to argue with us, and he approached to argue with us. The meaning is: he argues with our messengers. And his argument with them was that they said: 'Indeed, we will destroy the people of this city.' He said: 'Did you see if there were fifty men of the believers in it, would you destroy it?' They said: 'No.' He said: 'What about forty?' They said: 'No.' He said: 'What about thirty?' They said: 'No.'

Until he reached ten. They said: 'No.' He said: 'Did you see if there were one Muslim man in it, would you destroy it?' They said: 'No.'

At that, he said: 'Indeed, there is Lot in it.' They said: 'We know better who is in it; we will surely save him and his family.' 'In the people of Lot' is in their meaning. And from Ibn Abbas: They said to him: 'If there are five who pray, the punishment will be lifted from them.' And from Qatadah: 'What a people there would be if there are not ten among them who are good.' It is said that there were four thousand thousand people in it. 'Indeed, Ibrahim is forbearing, not hasty towards anyone who wrongs him, very much sighing from sins, turning back to Allah with what He loves and is pleased with.' These attributes indicate tenderness of heart, compassion, and mercy. So it is clear that this is what motivated him to argue for them in the hope that the punishment would be lifted from them and that they would be given respite, perhaps they would bring about repentance and return, just as it motivated him to seek forgiveness for his father.