A good man living in a city that had turned against goodness.
لَوْ أَنَّ لِي بِكُمْ قُوَّةً أَوْ آوِي إِلَىٰ رُكْنٍ شَدِيدٍ
His story
Lut believed in his uncle Ibrahim and migrated with him 29:26. He was sent to a city that committed open indecency and robbed travellers on the roads 29:28-29.
He told them to stop. Their answer was to throw him out, "because they are people who keep themselves pure" 7:82. When guests came to him, he felt powerless and said: if only I had strength, or a strong support to turn to 11:80.
The Prophet ﷺ said: may Allah have mercy on Lut, he wished for a strong support Bukhari 3372. He already had one. He was told to leave by night with his family and not look back. The punishment came at dawn 11:81.
Moments
- 01
Migrating with Ibrahim
When Ibrahim was thrown into the fire and came out unharmed, Lut believed in him. Then Lut said: "I am emigrating to my Lord. He is the Mighty, the Wise." He left everything familiar for his faith.
- 02
The guests
Guests came to his house, and his people rushed towards him to harm them. Lut pleaded with them: "Fear Allah and do not disgrace me in front of my guests. Is there not one right-minded man among you?" Then the words of a man who feels powerless: "If only I had strength against you, or could take refuge in a strong support." The guests were angels. They told him: "Lut, we are messengers of your Lord. They will never reach you."
What he did when…
Lut lived among a people who had turned to something no nation had done before them. They threatened to drive him out of their town for staying pure. He kept speaking anyway: "Do you commit such indecency as no one in the world has done before you?" Feeling powerless did not make him silent.
Lut said: "If only I had strength against you, or could take refuge in a strong support." The Prophet ﷺ said about this moment: "May Allah have mercy on Lut. He was taking refuge in a strong support," meaning Allah. When you feel you have no one behind you, remember who is.
Lut believed in Ibrahim when almost no one did, and left his homeland with him: "I am emigrating to my Lord. He is the Mighty, the Wise." He did not know where the road would end. He knew who it led to.
If your child carries this name
لوط Lut
Lut is a name of decency under pressure.
Sources on this page
Quran 7:80-82Quran 11:77-81Quran 11:80Quran 29:26Sahih al-Bukhari 3372
Quran meanings are given in plain English, close to the Arabic. Hadith numbers follow sunnah.com.