وَلَوْ أَنَّنَا 341 الأعراف
وَمَا كَانَ جَوَابَ قَوْمِهِ إِلَّا أَنْ قَالُوا أَخْرِجُوهُمْ مِنْ قَرْيَتِكُمْ إِنَّهُمْ أُنَاسٌ يَتَطَهَّرُونَ ﴿۸۲﴾ فَأَنْجَيْنَاهُ وَأَهْلَهُ إِلَّا امْرَأَتَهُ كَانَتْ مِنَ الْغَابِرِينَ ﴿۸۳﴾ وَأَمْطَرْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ مَطَرًا فَانْظُرْ كَيْفَ كَانَ عَاقِبَةُ الْمُجْرِمِينَ ﴿۸۴﴾
﴾82﴿ Wa maa kaana jawaaba qawmihee illaa an qaalooo akhrijoohum min qaryatikum innahum unaasuny yatatahharoon
﴾83﴿ Fa anjainaahu wa ahlahooo illam ra atahoo kaanat minal ghaabireen
﴾84﴿ Wa 'amtarnaa 'alaihim mataran fanzur kaifa kaana aaqibatul mujrimeen
﴾82﴿ And the answer of his people was no, unless they said, drive them out of their village, they are people who consider themselves pure
﴾83﴿ So We saved him and his family, except his wife, who was among the rest (in torment)
﴾84﴿ And we rained an unprecedented rain on them, so look how the criminals ended up
[82] One of the responses of this people is mentioned here, and it is also found in verse 56 of Surah An-Naml.
Their other responses are mentioned in verse 29 of Surah Al-‘Ankabūt.
[83] The wife of Lot (peace be upon him) was a polytheist, and for this reason, she remained among those who were punished. This is mentioned in verse 10 of Surah At-Tahrim.
The phrase "his family (وَأَهْلَهُ)" — from verse 36 of Surah Adh-Dhāriyāt — makes it clear that no one except his family had believed in him.
According to historical accounts, he had only two daughters.
"Al-Ghābirīn (الْغَابِرِينَ)" — ghabr is a word with opposite meanings: it can mean "those who passed" or "those who remained." Here, the second meaning is intended — those who remained behind.
The use of the masculine form in the verb refers to the fact that the punishment of Lot’s wife was like that of the men of the people, even though the reasons for their punishment were different.
[84] In this verse, one specific punishment is mentioned — namely, a rain of stones, as indicated by the word "muṭran" (مطراً) used in the indefinite form.
Other punishments are mentioned in verse 82 of Surah Hud and verse 74 of Surah Al-Hijr.
Here, the mention of this single specific punishment points to the fact that this was the primary cause of their destruction, while the other punishments were preludes leading up to it.
Likewise, this type of punishment in this world is a fitting consequence for those who commit the same act.