Exegesis of the saying of Allah the Exalted: (He said: What is your business, O messengers?)
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Exegesis of the saying of Allah the Exalted: (He said: What is your business, O messengers?)
We have reached the saying of Allah the Exalted: [Surat al-Dhariyat: 31-32].
The one who says: What is your business? It is Ibrahim (peace be upon him),Meaning: What is your affair, O messengers? [Surat al-Dhariyat: 32-33].
(We sent) meaning: We, Allah Mighty and Majestic, sent them; for it is known that no one sends any of the angels except their Creator, Blessed and Exalted is He, to a people who are criminals,Meaning: possessing a great crime, which is sodomy—seeking refuge with Allah from it—for they used to approach men with desire instead of women, approaching what was not created for them and forsaking what was created for them, as their prophet Lut (peace be upon him) said to them: [Surat al-Shu'ara: 166].
And this is a heinous crime, a detestable abomination that no intellect, no innate disposition, and no religion approves of. Therefore, its punishment is the death penalty for both the active and passive parties, provided they are adults of sound mind, whether they are married or unmarried. This is unlike unlawful sexual intercourse (zina), which carries a lighter punishment; for the one who commits zina while unmarried is punished by being flogged one hundred lashes and exiled from the city for a full year, and if he is married—And it is: one who has married and had intercourse—his punishment is to be stoned with stones until he dies. As for this (sodomy), its punishment is killing in all cases,As came in the hadith: (Whoever you find doing the deed of the people of Lut, kill the active and the passive party).
This heinous crime occurred during the time of Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him), so he ordered that both the active and passive parties be burned; for burning is the greatest punishment by which the children of Adam are punished. Similarly, it was reported from some of the caliphs that they ordered the burning of the sodomite.Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said: The Companions agreed unanimously on killing the sodomite, whether he was the active or the passive party, but they differed on how he should be killed.Some of them burned, and some said: He is to be stoned with stones until he dies, like the married adulterer.And some of them said: He is to be thrown from the highest point in the city.Meaning: From a high place, the highest point in the city, and then he is to be followed by stones until he dies.
The point is that they agreed on killing him, and there is no doubt that killing him is the wisdom; for when this heinous crime spreads among men, the men become like women, and humiliation, disgrace, and shame begin to appear on the face of the passive party, which he will not forget until he dies.
Then the men became self-sufficient with men, and the women remained; for this heinous crime—seeking refuge with Allah from it—when a person is afflicted with it, he does not turn to anything else; for it is a fatal, contagious disease. Therefore, if these people are executed, and they are in reality a corrupt germ that corrupts the human being, that is the essence of reform. Then, sodomy—seeking refuge with Allah from it—cannot be guarded against; for it is between two males, and no person can find two males walking in the market and forbid them from gathering; but zina is possible to address, a man with a woman, one who condemns it or accuses him and speaks to him. Therefore, the death penalty for the sodomite is the most secure thing for the sake of wisdom, and indeed mercy as well. It is mercy for the perpetrators, the active and the passive party, so that they do not remain in their lives acquiring sin and the punishment increases upon them. And it is mercy for the society, so that their punishment serves as a deterrent, so that the society is not corrupted.Therefore, the angels said to Ibrahim:[Al-Hijr 15:58] .
And their crime—seeking refuge with Allah from it—was what they preceded to it,As their prophet said to them: [Surat al-A'raf: 80] They sent [Surat al-Dhariyat: 33-34] stones of clay, but not the clay that crumbles, rather the hard, great clay, which when these stones hit one of the people and struck him on the head, they came out of his rear, no bone or flesh repelling them, due to their strength, intensity, and hardness, seeking refuge with Allah from it, and they were marked.
We have reached the saying of Allah the Exalted:
(57) [Abraham] said, "Then what is your business [here], O messengers?" (58) They said, "Indeed, we have been sent to a people of criminals,
قَالَ فَمَا خَطْبُكُمْ أَيُّهَا الْمُرْسَلُونَ * قَالُوا إِنَّا أُرْسِلْنَا إِلَى قَوْمٍ مُجْرِمِينَThe one who says: What is your business? It is Ibrahim (peace be upon him),Meaning: What is your affair, O messengers?
(32) They said, "Indeed, we have been sent to a people of criminals (33) To send down upon them stones of clay,
قَالُوا إِنَّا أُرْسِلْنَا إِلَى قَوْمٍ مُجْرِمِينَ * لِنُرْسِلَ عَلَيْهِمْ حِجَارَةً مِنْ طِينٍ(We sent) meaning: We, Allah Mighty and Majestic, sent them; for it is known that no one sends any of the angels except their Creator, Blessed and Exalted is He, to a people who are criminals,Meaning: possessing a great crime, which is sodomy—seeking refuge with Allah from it—for they used to approach men with desire instead of women, approaching what was not created for them and forsaking what was created for them, as their prophet Lut (peace be upon him) said to them:
And leave what your Lord has created for you as mates
وَتَذَرُونَ مَا خَلَقَ لَكُمْ رَبُّكُمْ مِنْ أَزْوَاجِكُمْAnd this is a heinous crime, a detestable abomination that no intellect, no innate disposition, and no religion approves of. Therefore, its punishment is the death penalty for both the active and passive parties, provided they are adults of sound mind, whether they are married or unmarried. This is unlike unlawful sexual intercourse (zina), which carries a lighter punishment; for the one who commits zina while unmarried is punished by being flogged one hundred lashes and exiled from the city for a full year, and if he is married—And it is: one who has married and had intercourse—his punishment is to be stoned with stones until he dies. As for this (sodomy), its punishment is killing in all cases,As came in the hadith: (Whoever you find doing the deed of the people of Lut, kill the active and the passive party).
This heinous crime occurred during the time of Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him), so he ordered that both the active and passive parties be burned; for burning is the greatest punishment by which the children of Adam are punished. Similarly, it was reported from some of the caliphs that they ordered the burning of the sodomite.Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said: The Companions agreed unanimously on killing the sodomite, whether he was the active or the passive party, but they differed on how he should be killed.Some of them burned, and some said: He is to be stoned with stones until he dies, like the married adulterer.And some of them said: He is to be thrown from the highest point in the city.Meaning: From a high place, the highest point in the city, and then he is to be followed by stones until he dies.
The point is that they agreed on killing him, and there is no doubt that killing him is the wisdom; for when this heinous crime spreads among men, the men become like women, and humiliation, disgrace, and shame begin to appear on the face of the passive party, which he will not forget until he dies.
Then the men became self-sufficient with men, and the women remained; for this heinous crime—seeking refuge with Allah from it—when a person is afflicted with it, he does not turn to anything else; for it is a fatal, contagious disease. Therefore, if these people are executed, and they are in reality a corrupt germ that corrupts the human being, that is the essence of reform. Then, sodomy—seeking refuge with Allah from it—cannot be guarded against; for it is between two males, and no person can find two males walking in the market and forbid them from gathering; but zina is possible to address, a man with a woman, one who condemns it or accuses him and speaks to him. Therefore, the death penalty for the sodomite is the most secure thing for the sake of wisdom, and indeed mercy as well. It is mercy for the perpetrators, the active and the passive party, so that they do not remain in their lives acquiring sin and the punishment increases upon them. And it is mercy for the society, so that their punishment serves as a deterrent, so that the society is not corrupted.Therefore, the angels said to Ibrahim:
They said, "Indeed, we have been sent to a people of criminals,
قَالُوا إِنَّا أُرْسِلْنَا إِلَى قَوْمٍ مُجْرِمِينَAnd their crime—seeking refuge with Allah from it—was what they preceded to it,As their prophet said to them: