The Story of Prophet Lut: A Warning to Avoid Sin

Everyone’s afraid of being punished when they do something wrong. Are you trying to escape Allah’s wrath because of your sin? Prophet Lut’s story will encourage you to avoid sin and instead seek Allah’s mercy.

Prophet Lut’s story is about how God’s wrath destroyed a city. Sadly, his wife was also punished.

There are a lot of important lessons we can take from Prophet Lut’s life. One is how to avoid God’s wrath due to sin. Read here to learn how we can find Allah’s mercy to save us.

The Story of Prophet Lut in the Quran and Bible

The Quran mentions Prophet Lut 27 times. He was Prophet Ibrahim’s nephew and had a wife and two daughters.

In the beginning, Prophets Lut and Ibrahim left the land of Haran together. During their journey, there were conflicts between the shepherds who worked for them. The land where they lived was not big enough to store their wealth or livestock (Torah, Genesis 13:1-13).

Given the situation, Prophet Lut and Prophet Ibrahim decided to live separately. After that, Prophet Lut moved to Sodom, since it was known to be a fertile land. “Lot looked around and saw that the whole plain of the Jordan toward Zoar was well watered, like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt” (Torah, Genesis 13:10).

However, the people of Sodom had sinned greatly and acted immorally. They drank until they were drunk and committed sexual immorality with each other. “Verily, you practice your lusts on men instead of women. Nay, but you are a people transgressing beyond bounds (by committing great sins)” (Quran 7:81).

This type of environment was difficult for Prophet Lut and his family. “And if he rescued Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the depraved conduct of the lawless” (Injil, 2 Peter 2:7).

Our environment greatly affects us. Negative surroundings pull us into sin and sadness. Just like sitting in a room full of smoke; the smell will eventually stick to our clothes.

Allah’s Punishment for Sodom, Salvation for Prophet Lut

Allah, who is All-Seeing, saw what was happening in Sodom and decided to punish them. So, Prophet Ibrahim prayed for Allah’s mercy over Prophet Lut and for his family’s safety, begging Allah to spare them (Torah, Genesis 18:16-33).

Allah listened to Prophet Ibrahim’s prayer and was willing to save his nephew. However, punishment was still required.

“Thus when fear had left Abraham and the good news had been conveyed to him, he began to dispute with Us concerning the people of Lot. Thereupon (Our angels) said to him: ‘O Abraham! Desist from this, for indeed your Lord’s command has come; and a chastisement which cannot be averted is about to befall them” (Quran 11:74,76).

Allah sent His angels in the form of a person to visit Prophet Lut and save his family (Quran 11:69-70). The people of Sodom heard the news about the guests and were planning to harm them, but the angels made them blind.

In the end, Allah destroyed the city of Sodom by sending sulfur and fire (Quran 26:172-173 and Torah, Genesis 19:24). Everyone in Prophet Lut’s family, except his wife, survived the event. The Torah mentions that his wife looked back instead of running away because she still desired Sodom’s riches. As a result, she was turned into a pillar of salt (Torah, Genesis 19:26).

Lessons from Prophet Lut’s Story:

1. It’s important to avoid to seeking worldly wealth and pleasures. Initially, Prophet Lut picked Sodom as his home due to its wealth, but he failed to consider how wicked the city was. We must prioritize the spiritual health of a situation, not simply the material health. It’s too easy for us to chase worldly wealth and pleasure, but it’s dangerous.
2. We need to guard ourselves from sinful environments. Putting ourselves in a sin-filled situation will direct us toward negative behavior. Prophet Lut’s family was influenced by Sodom’s culture. It’s important for us live in a wholesome environment if we want to live righteously.
3. We must keep our family’s values. Influenced by her way of living in Sodom, Prophet Lut’s wife looked back. Consequently, Allah turned her into a pillar of salt. It’s pivotal to create a strong foundation for our family and to remind each other to live according to Allah’s Word.
4. Our sins have serious consequences. Allah sent destruction upon Sodom because of its immorality. “For the wages of sin is death” (Injil, Romans 6:23). We need to be aware of these consequences and turn back from our sins.

Allah’s Mercy to People Who Are Full of Weakness

Allah [God] understands our weaknesses, and He has provided us a solution through Isa Al-Masih. “… but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus (Isa Al-Masih) our Lord” (Injil, Romans 6:23).

The Injil states: “The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will (in Isa Al-Masih) of God lives forever” (Injil, 1 John 2:17). By ‘lives forever’, the verse means the person will receive Allah’s [God’s] grace and mercy here on earth and in heaven through Isa. Allah [God] wants His people to live righteously despite being tempted.

The Connection between Prophet Lut’s Story and Isa Al-Masih

Therefore, we need to know Isa, the living proof of Allah’s [God’s] mercy for us. We’ll have a better understanding about Prophet Lut when we look at Isa Al-Masih as the inspiration. Allah knows we’re sinful. The good news is Allah [God] is willing to help us through Isa Al-Masih.

While it’s important keep ourselves from wickedness, it’s even more necessary that we put our faith in Isa Al-Masih who died on the cross for us. Isa will not only protect you from evil but also guarantee you eternal life in heaven!

 SOME QUESTIONS FOR THE COMMENT SECTION BELOW

We encourage our readers to comment on the article above. Comments that don’t directly relate to the topic will be removed. Please start a dialogue with us by focusing on one of the following questions:

1. People are full of sin. How do you avoid negative company?
2. What do you think about Prophet Lut’s wife who was negatively influenced by the world? What can we learn from her?
3. What do you think about Isa Al-Masih, who is Allah’s solution for mankind’s sin problem?

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