Tafsir for verses: 26:160, 26:161, 26:162, 26:163, 26:164, 26:165, 26:166
كَذَّبَتۡ قَوۡمُ لُوطٍ ٱلۡمُرۡسَلِينَ ١٦٠ ﴿160 إِذۡ قَالَ لَهُمۡ أَخُوهُمۡ لُوطٌ أَلَا تَتَّقُونَ ١٦١ ﴿161 إِنِّي لَكُمۡ رَسُولٌ أَمِينٞ ١٦٢ ﴿162 فَٱتَّقُواْ ٱللَّهَ وَأَطِيعُونِ ١٦٣ ﴿163 وَمَآ أَسۡـَٔلُكُمۡ عَلَيۡهِ مِنۡ أَجۡرٍۖ إِنۡ أَجۡرِيَ إِلَّا عَلَىٰ رَبِّ ٱلۡعَٰلَمِينَ ١٦٤ ﴿164 أَتَأۡتُونَ ٱلذُّكۡرَانَ مِنَ ٱلۡعَٰلَمِينَ ١٦٥ ﴿165 وَتَذَرُونَ مَا خَلَقَ لَكُمۡ رَبُّكُم مِّنۡ أَزۡوَٰجِكُمۚ بَلۡ أَنتُمۡ قَوۡمٌ عَادُونَ ١٦٦ ﴿166
160The people of LūT rejected the messengers 161when their brother LūT said to them, “Do you not fear Allah? 162I am an honest messenger for you. 163So fear Allah and obey me. 164I do not claim from you any reward for it. My reward is with none but with the Lord of the worlds. 165Do you go to the males (for having sex) out of the whole universe, 166and leave your wives whom your Lord has created for you? Indeed you are a people who cross (all) limits.”
AI-Assisted Translation: This translation was produced by AI agents carefully trained over several months and thoroughly reviewed. It does NOT replace the scholarship of traditional scholars and is intended as a step in the right direction to make classical tafsir more accessible. There may still be inaccuracies—please report them promptly so we can improve the translation quality.

Commentary

He meant by 'the worlds': the people. That is: do you come from among the children of Adam, peace be upon him, despite their great number, the diversity of their kinds, and the predominance of females over males in number, mentioning that they, as if the females have become scarce for you.

Or do you come, you who are from among those other than you from the worlds, to the males? This means that you, O people of Lot, are exclusively engaged in this abomination. The 'worlds' in this saying refers to everything that is engaged in the mating of animals from your spouses, which serves to clarify what was created. [Mawlood said: 'It is possible that 'from your spouses' clarifies what was created, and that it is for partitive meaning, referring to the permissible member among them. In the recitation of Ibn Mas'ud: 'What your Lord has made lawful for you from your spouses,' as if they were doing that with their women.' Ahmad said:

And Al-Zamakhshari hinted at this indication to use this verse as evidence for the prohibition of approaching women in a manner other than the proper way. Its clarification is that if 'from' were to be explanatory, then the meaning would be a condemnation of them for abandoning their spouses. There is no doubt that abandoning spouses is associated with approaching males.' Thus, the objection against them is the combination of abandoning spouses and approaching males, not that abandoning spouses alone is objectionable. If that were the case, the accusative in the second would be directed towards the combination, which would be either the most eloquent or the necessary. The general public has agreed on the reading as raised, and they do not agree to abandon the most eloquent for what has no place in eloquence or permissibility at all. When this is clarified, it becomes evident that this meaning is not intended, and it is necessary to interpret 'from' as partitive, so the objection against them consists of two matters, each of which is independently objectionable: the first is approaching males, and the second is avoiding approaching women in the proper way, desiring to approach them in another way. Thus, the raising is directed towards the absence of the necessary combination in the first manner, and the independence of each of these two great matters in objection. And Allah is the Grantor of success.], and it may be for partitive meaning, and what is meant by what was created: the permissible member among them.

And in the recitation of Ibn Mas'ud: 'What your Lord has made lawful for you from your spouses,' as if they were doing something similar with their women. The 'transgressor' is the one who exceeds in his wrongdoing, going beyond the limit. Its meaning is: do you commit this sin despite its enormity? Rather, you are a people who transgress in all sins; this is among that, or rather you are a people deserving to be described as transgressors, as you have committed such a great sin.

Explore Other Scholars on This Verse

Compare different scholarly perspectives on Surah Ash-Shu'ara verse 160

Al-ZamakhshariAbū al-Qāsim Maḥmūd ibn ʿUmar al-Zamakhsharī
Learn more about Al-Zamakhshari
1796 / 2978