فَأَسْرِ بِأَهْلِكَ بِقِطْعٍ مِنَ اللَّيْلِ وَاتَّبِعْ أَدْبَارَهُمْ وَلَا يَلْتَفِتْ مِنْكُمْ أَحَدٌ وَامْضُوا حَيْثُ تُؤْمَرُونَ ﴿۶۵﴾ وَقَضَيْنَا إِلَيْهِ ذَلِكَ الْأَمْرَ أَنَّ دَابِرَ هَؤُلَاءِ مَقْطُوعٌ مُصْبِحِينَ ﴿۶۶﴾ وَجَاءَ أَهْلُ الْمَدِينَةِ يَسْتَبْشِرُونَ ﴿۶۷﴾ قَالَ إِنَّ هَؤُلَاءِ ضَيْفِي فَلَا تَفْضَحُونِ ﴿۶۸﴾ وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَلَا تُخْزُونِ ﴿۶۹﴾ قَالُوا أَوَلَمْ نَنْهَكَ عَنِ الْعَالَمِينَ ﴿۷۰﴾ قَالَ هَؤُلَاءِ بَنَاتِي إِنْ كُنْتُمْ فَاعِلِينَ ﴿۷۱﴾ لَعَمْرُكَ إِنَّهُمْ لَفِي سَكْرَتِهِمْ يَعْمَهُونَ ﴿۷۲﴾

﴾65﴿ Fa asri bi ahlika biqit'im minal laili wattabi' adbaarahum wa laa yaltafit minkum ahadunw wamdoo haisu tu'maroon
﴾66﴿ Wa qadainaaa ilaihi zaalikal amra anna daabira haaa'ulaaa'i maqtoo'um musbiheen
﴾67﴿ Wa jaaa'a ahlul madeenati yastabshiroon
﴾68﴿ Qaala inna haaa'ulaaa'i daifee falaa tafdahoon
﴾69﴿ Wattaqul laaha wa laa tukhzoon Qaalooo awalam nanhaka 'anil 'aalameen
﴾70﴿ Qaalooo awalam nanhaka 'anil 'aalameen
﴾71﴿ Qaala haaa'ulaaa'i banaateee in kuntum faa'ileen
﴾72﴿ La'amruka innahum lafee sakratihim ya'mahoon

﴾65﴿ So take your family during part of the night, and you follow them from behind, and let none of you look back. And go where you are commanded
﴾66﴿ And We conveyed to him this decree: that the root of these people would be cut off by the morning
﴾67﴿ And the people of the town came rejoicing
﴾68﴿ Lot (peace be upon him) said, Indeed, they are my guests, so do not disgrace me
﴾69﴿ And fear Allah, the Most High, and do not disgrace me
﴾70﴿ They said, Did we not forbid you from associating with people
﴾71﴿ He said, These (women) are my daughters, if you must fulfill your desire
﴾72﴿ By your life, indeed they are wandering blindly in their intoxication

[65] In this verse, four principles for salvation are mentioned: 1. Departing at night – which offers protection and concealment.
2. The leader (amir or elder) walking behind the group – to be aware of everyone’s condition and to ensure no one is left behind.
3. Prohibition from looking back – because turning back weakens resolve and slows down the journey toward the destination.
4. Migrating to the place Allah has commanded – and that place was the land of Sham (Greater Syria).
[66] In the word (دَابِرَ) there is an indication that the punishment completely surrounded them, leaving no one to escape it.
This type of expression is also used in verse 45 of Surah al-An‘ām, referring to past nations in general.
[67] In the story within this Surah, chronological order is not followed, because the actual sequence of events was: first, the arrival of the people toward the guests; then, Lut (peace be upon him) trying to push them back; and afterward, the angels informing Lut (peace be upon him) of the impending punishment.
One reason for this arrangement is that the primary objective in this account is to give glad tidings to the believers, so that was mentioned first. The second objective is warning and fear—and that was mentioned afterward.
A second reason relates to language and grammar: the phrase (وَجَاءَ أَهْلُ الْمَدِينَةِ) is considered a ḥāl (circumstantial clause) according to the Basri grammarians, with an implied “qad” (قَد), though according to the Kufis, it is correct even without it.
Additionally, the conjunction “wa” (وَ) does not necessarily indicate sequential order.
[68,69] (فَلَا تَفْضَحُونِ) – The meaning of faḍīḥah (disgrace) here is: Do not shame me in front of my guests, because dishonoring guests is essentially a humiliation for the host and his household.
(وَلَا تُخْزُونِ) – Khisy (disgrace or humiliation) means: Do not humiliate me, for rejecting the words of an elder is a form of dishonoring and demeaning him.
In (وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ) – it means: Accept the word of Allah the Exalted and His Messenger, which is a call to piety and obedience.
[71] The explanation of this has already been given in Surah Hud—that what is meant by “my daughters” (بَنَاتِي) is the women of the people, who are like the daughters of Lut (peace be upon him) in status and relation.
[72] The preferred interpretation is that this statement is addressed directly to Lut (peace be upon him), and the chain of speech remains unbroken—meaning: despite all this advice and counsel, it had no effect on them, because in the intoxication of ignorance, they were blind and lost.
(لَعَمْرُكَ) – The “lām” is for oath, and ‘umur and ‘amr are the same word, but when used in an oath, the letter ‘ayn is read with fatḥah (a). This is an oath by Allah the Exalted, and it is permissible for Allah to swear by anything He wills. However, we are bound by the rulings of Allah and His Messenger (May Allah bless him and give him peace), and in an authentic hadith of the Prophet (May Allah bless him and give him peace), it is stated: “Whoever swears by other than Allah has committed shirk.” So we cannot go against this ruling. For this reason, Qurtubi narrates from Imam Malik that in such expressions, the word “Khāliq” (Creator) is implied—meaning: “By the life of your Creator.”
It is also reported from Ibrahim that such oaths upon the lives of people are prohibited, and Imam Malik is also quoted saying: This type of swearing is done by weak people and women—men do not do this. And such oaths cannot be compared to the oaths of Allah the Exalted.
Note: An oath by Allah is for the sake of emphasis and testimony—not because He fears or hopes in that thing. Allah is above such needs.
Here, the meaning is: O Prophet! This life of yours, full of hardship, is itself a witness that this nation is ignorant and blind.
When humans swear by something, it’s usually because they fear it or hope for benefit from it—and applying that concept to Allah is exclusive to Him. Hence, if a human swears by anything other than Allah, it is considered shirk.
(سَكْرَتِهِمْ) – refers to their state of misguidance.
(يَعْمَهُونَ) – means being heedless of life’s purpose, wandering aimlessly in confusion and delusion.