وَجَعَلْنَاهُمْ أَئِمَّةً يَهْدُونَ بِأَمْرِنَا وَأَوْحَيْنَا إِلَيْهِمْ فِعْلَ الْخَيْرَاتِ وَإِقَامَ الصَّلَاةِ وَإِيتَاءَ الزَّكَاةِ وَكَانُوا لَنَا عَابِدِينَ ﴿۷۳﴾ وَلُوطًا آتَيْنَاهُ حُكْمًا وَعِلْمًا وَنَجَّيْنَاهُ مِنَ الْقَرْيَةِ الَّتِي كَانَتْ تَعْمَلُ الْخَبَائِثَ إِنَّهُمْ كَانُوا قَوْمَ سَوْءٍ فَاسِقِينَ ﴿۷۴﴾ وَأَدْخَلْنَاهُ فِي رَحْمَتِنَا إِنَّهُ مِنَ الصَّالِحِينَ ﴿۷۵﴾

﴾73﴿ Wa ja'alnaahum a'immatany yahdoona bi amrinaa wa awhainaaa ilaihim fi'lal khairaati wa iqaamas Salaati wa eetaaa'az Zakaati wa kaanoo lanaa 'aabideen
﴾74﴿ Wa Lootan aatainaahu hukmanw wa 'ilmanw wa najjainaahu minal qaryatil latee kaanat ta'malul khabaaa'is; innahum kaanoo qawma saw'in faasiqeen
﴾75﴿ Wa adkhalnaahu fee rahmatinaa innahoo minas saaliheen

﴾73﴿ And We made them leaders, guiding by Our command, and We inspired them to do good deeds, establish prayer, and give zakat, and they were worshippers of Us alone
﴾74﴿ And remember Lot, to whom We gave prophethood and knowledge, and We saved him from the people of the town who committed wicked deeds. Indeed, they were an evil, disobedient people
﴾75﴿ And We admitted him into Our mercy; indeed, he was among the righteous

[73] In this verse, their servitude and dependence on Allah the Exalted are mentioned.
Here, imāmah (leadership) refers to nubuwwah (prophethood), and it becomes clear that the primary duty of an imām is to call people to the religion of Allah.
Wa awḥaynā (We revealed) is proof that whether one is an imām, a prophet, or a walī (saint), he is still obligated to worship Allah in accordance with revelation.
Al-khayrāt refers to all virtues whose goodness is confirmed through revelation.
The mention of iqāmat aṣ-ṣalāh (establishing prayer) and ītā’ az-zakāh (giving alms) after the general mention of good deeds is a case of specifying after generalizing—due to their great importance, even though they are included within al-khayrāt.
And in ‘ābidīn (worshippers), there is an indication that they fulfilled Allah’s commands and refrained from sin and disobedience.
This also subtly supports the claim of the surah—that true leadership lies in obedience and servitude to Allah.
[74] In this verse, there is a transmitted proof through Lūṭ (peace be upon him) showing his dependence on Allah the Exalted—serving as a reminder of Tawḥīd.
The essence is that Lūṭ (peace be upon him) was in need of Allah in matters of prophethood, knowledge, salvation, and mercy.
Al-khabā’ith refers to the evil act of men engaging with men (homosexuality), mocking guests, throwing stones—alongside their shirk and disbelief.
Qawma sū’ refers to a people who are uniquely immersed in evil and sinful acts, and deprived of good deeds.
Living among such a people is itself a trial for the believers, so being saved from them is a blessing from Allah the Exalted.
Fāsiqīn includes both corrupt belief and corrupt actions.
[75] The meaning of raḥmatinā (Our mercy) is the deliverance from the punishment that was sent upon his people.
The cause of that deliverance was complete righteousness (ṣāliḥiyyat kāmilah).
Aṣ-ṣāliḥīn (the righteous) is mentioned in contrast to sū’ (evil) and fāsiqīn (the corrupt).