Devastating fate of the disbelieving wife of Prophet Lot (Lūṭ عليه السلام) and his people - as mentioned in Al Qur'an

There are many anecdote mentioned in Al Qur'an of the people of the bygone times and their fate for their ungratefulness. While majority of stories relate to the mankind, there are many a mention of women that have been part of the theological history. Though many women are mentioned, they are usually identified by their relationships, such as "the wife of..." or "the mother of..." rather than their proper names, adhering to the Arab tradition of the time. The only woman mentioned by name is Maryam (Mary), mother of Prophet Eesa عليه السلام. 

Besides Maryam, the Quran often uses specific women to highlight virtues or lessons, such as the unfaithful wife of Noah, wife of Abu Lahab and the betraying wife of Prophet Lot (Lūṭ عليه السلام) as examples of disbelief, versus Mary and the wife of Pharaoh as examples of faith. Despite having such good fortunes and such close relations with Allah’s (SWT) prophets, the wives of Prophet Noah and Lot, AS, chose not to benefit from Allah’s(SWT) infinite mercy and blessings. They incurred Allah’s (SWT) wrath by their own actions and brought it upon themselves.

There is also a mention of Queen Sheba along with mention of Prophet Sulaiman, AS. We have already published an exclusive post on Maryam: Women in Quran - Maryam (Mary) - Mother of Prophet Eesa (Jesus). Today through this post, we talk about the devastating fate of betraying wife of Prophet Lot (Lūṭ عليه السلام), who betrayed her pious husband and prophet of Allah and sided with her people who lived a life of utter disgust in a place where shame had died and indecency mocked the mankind.

We have already published a detailed account of the curse of homosexuality in which the people of Prophet Lūṭ عليه السلام have indulged in our earlier post: Prophet Lut (Lot) and Allah's Wrath on his People. Herein under we intend showing our readers an AI generated video exclusively made about the betraying wife of Prophet Lūṭ عليه السلام to graphically show the fate of his wife and people after they refused to life an honourable life and failed the Divine test.

Before we share the video, herein under is just a summary of the complete anecdote that resulted into the Divine wrath on the wicked people who lived in the ancient city of Sodom. The Qur’an presents the story as a moral and spiritual warning:

Prophet Lūṭ عليه السلام was sent to a people who openly practiced grave immorality, rejected divine guidance, and mocked reform despite clear admonition. Lūṭ عليه السلام called them to purity, repentance, and obedience to Allah, but they persisted in denial and hostility. Although his wife lived in the same household as a prophet, she did not share his faith; instead, she sided inwardly with the wrongdoing society and betrayed the mission by supporting the disbelievers (not through marital infidelity, but through belief and loyalty). When Allah’s decree came, the believers were saved while the town was destroyed, and Lūṭ’s wife perished with the disbelievers, demonstrating that nearness to righteousness by relationship does not save anyone—only faith and obedience do (cf. 7:80–84, 11:77–83, 26:160–175, 66:10).

* The photo used in the caption of a statue is attributed in the history books as that of the wife of  Prophet Lūṭ عليه السلام who turned into ashes and was frozen on the ground when she tried to look back to see the Divine wrath falling on her people despite the warning that no one would look back. 

Herein under now watch the AI generated video of the wicked life of people of Sodom and the fate of their life along with the betraying wife of  Prophet Lūṭ عليه السلام:

The purpose of sharing such anecdotes of disbelief, betrayal and wickedness is to impress upon the notion that a pious woman can live with a disbelieving husband (like wife o Pharaoh) and still preserve her faith in one true God, while wicked and unfaithful wives, like wives of Prophets Noah and Lot,  could not benefit from the teachings of their pious husbands and were perished and remain noted in the history books as an example of betrayal and Divine punishment. This story is one of the darkest chapters in human history — a story Allah preserved in the Qur’an as a warning until the Last Day.

Disclaimer: The views expressed in the reference material contained in Islam: My Ultimate Decision are that of the Islamic scholars / websites. We have shared these view as added information for better understanding of Islam. The reader may or may not agree with the views owing to their own perception / school of thought being followed. If any one differs with the material contained in this blog, one may consult the references and their authors.  If someone has more material about the subject, he/she is most welcome to share in the comments box to make our posts all encompassing / comprehensive.

You may also refer to our reference page on Women in Islam and other Reference Pages created so far, to know more about Islam.

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References:  | 1 |  2 | 3 |

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Women Mentioned in the Holy Quran: Queen Sheba and the Prophet Solomon

Prophet Sulaiman (Solomon, peace be upon him) was one of the greatest kings and prophet of Allah who has been mentioned in all holy scriptures including the Holy Qur'an. He, despite being a very powerful king, has been very humble and feared Allah more than anyone else of his times. Beside many bounties, Allah had also blessed him the ability to understand the speech of animals, birds and insects even the ants. He also ruled over the unseen jinns and the human beings. 

There are many stories attributed to him, which we shall share in time, but in this post we share his ability to understand the birds and command the jinns as we describe the story of a powerful woman queen who ruled people of Sheba.

The Prophet Sulaiman held his meeting with all men, jinns, animals and birds every day. It so happened that one day he found that a hoopoe was missing. and from here on the verses 20-44 of Surah An Naml, the 27th surah / chapter of the Holy Qur'an narrates the entire story of how the Prophet Sulaiman came to know of the Queen of Sheba. However, it may be noted that in the Qur'an the name used is Saba, but we use name Sheba as it is known in other scriptures:

20. And he took attendance of the birds and said, "Why do I not see the hoopoe - or is he among the absent?21. I will surely punish him with a severe punishment or slaughter him unless he brings me clear authorization."22. But the hoopoe stayed not long and said, "I have encompassed [in knowledge] that which you have not encompassed, and I have come to you from Saba with certain news.23. Indeed, I found [there] a woman ruling them, and she has been given of all things, and she has a great throne.24. I found her and her people prostrating to the sun instead of Allah, and Satan has made their deeds pleasing to them and averted them from [His] way, so they are not guided,25. [And] so they do not prostrate to Allah, who brings forth what is hidden within the heavens and the earth and knows what you conceal and what you declare -26. Allah; there is no God save Him, the Lord of the Tremendous Throne. 27. (Solomon) said: We shall see whether thou speaketh truth or whether thou art of the liars.28. Go with this my letter and throw it down unto them; then turn away and see what (answer) they return,

Prophet Sulaiman was a deeply religious man and was distressed that a whole people should be lost in worshiping the sun, rather than the One God who created it. Thus he sent a message to the Queen, inviting her and her people to worship Allah.

When the Queen received the letter from the all powerful King, she assembled her assembly of chieftains for consultation:

29. (The Queen of Sheba) said (when she received the letter): O chieftains! Lo! there hath been thrown unto me a noble letter.30. Lo! it is from Solomon, and lo! it is: In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful;31. Exalt not yourselves against me, but come unto me as those who surrender.32. She said: O chieftains! Pronounce for me in my case. I decide no case till ye are present with me.33. They said: We are lords of might and lords of great prowess, but it is for thee to command; so consider what thou wilt command.34. She said: Lo! kings, when they enter a township, ruin it and make the honour of its people shame. Thus will they do.35. But lo! I am going to send a present unto them, and to see with what (answer) the messengers return.36. So when they came to Solomon, he said, "Do you provide me with wealth? But what Allah has given me is better than what He has given you. Rather, it is you who rejoice in your gift.

This verse is worth noticing  for one would find the difference between the answer of an all powerful king and a humble servant and God fearing prophet. In fact the reply is not meant to express pride and vanity. What it means to say is this: “I have no desire for your wealth; I only desire that you should believe, or at least submit to a righteous system. If you agree to neither of these alternatives, it is not possible for me to accept the bribes of wealth and leave you free in the matter of a polytheistic and wicked system of life. What my Lord has given me is enough for me to cherish any desire for your wealth.

37. Return unto them. We verily shall come unto them with hosts that they cannot resist, and we shall drive them out from thence with shame, and they will be abased.

Thus the reply is plainly clear: “O messengers, take these gift back to the people who have sent you. They will either have to yield to our first proposal, i.e. they should come before us as Muslims, or we shall bring forces against them.”

The details of the story that have been omitted are to the effect. The envoys returned to the queen with the gift and made a report of what they had seen and heard. The queen decided on the basis of what she heard about the Prophet Sulaiman to make a visit to Jerusalem to see him personally. She left Saba for Palestine accompanied by her royal entourage and sent a message to Solomon’s court that she was coming to personally hear the invitation from the king and to have a direct talk with him. Here, the story is resumed from the time when the queen had reached near Jerusalem and was going to appear before Solomon (peace be upon him) in a day or two.

And when the queen accepted the invitation to come to his court, Prophet Sulaiman summoned one of his jinns to bring the queen;s throne before she reaches her court to show her his might:

38. He said: O chiefs! Which of you will bring me her throne before they come unto me, surrendering ?39. A stalwart of the jinn said: I will bring it thee before thou canst rise from thy place. Lo! I verily am strong and trusty for such work.40. One with whom was knowledge of the Scripture said: I will bring it thee before thy gaze returneth unto thee. And when he saw it set in his presence, (Solomon) said: This is of the bounty of my Lord, that He may try me whether I give thanks or am ungrateful. Whosoever giveth thanks he only giveth thanks for (the good of) his own soul; and whosoever is ungrateful (is ungrateful only to his own soul's hurt). For lo! my Lord is Absolute in independence, Bountiful.

In the verse 40 above,  nothing is known with certainty as to who this person was, what special knowledge he had and what book is referred to here, the knowledge of which he had. No explanation of these things has been given either in the Quran or in any authentic Hadith. Some of the commentators say that it was an angel, others say that it was a man.  In any case the person was not from among the jinns, and possibly he was a man. He possessed some extraordinary knowledge, which had been derived from some Divine Book. The jinn had claimed to fetch the throne within a few hours by means of his physical strength; this man fetched it in a moment by the power of his knowledge. The words of the Quran are very clear in this regard. This person’s claim did not remain a claim like the jinn’s, but, in fact, as soon as he made the claim the throne was seen placed before the Prophet Solomon (peace be upon him) the next moment.

41. He said: Disguise her throne for her that we may see whether she will go aright or be of those not rightly guided.42. So, when she came, it was said (unto her): Is thy throne like this ? She said: (It is) as though it were the very one. And (Solomon said): We were given the knowledge before her and we had surrendered (to Allah).

This verse 43 below has been added by Allah to clarity the queen’s position, saying that she was not obdurate and stubborn. She had been an unbeliever till then mainly because she came of an unbelieving people. As she had become accustomed to bowing down before a false deity since her childhood, it had become a hindrance for her to the right way. As soon as she came in contact with the Prophet Sulaiman, she discerned the right way and the hindrance was removed forthwith.

43. What prevented her (from accepting the True Faith) was her worshiping deities other than Allah, for she belonged to an unbelieving people.

When the queen was asked to enter the palace, she tucked up her skirts, because she thought she had to pass through a pool of water. Prophet Sulaiman, not wishing to humiliate the queen, informed her that what she had mistaken for water was actually smooth slabs of glass which paved the courtyard.

44. It was said unto her: Enter the hall. And when she saw it she deemed it a pool and bared her legs. (Solomon) said: Lo! it is a hall, made smooth, of glass. She said: My Lord! Lo! I have wronged myself, and I surrender with Solomon unto Allah, the Lord of the Worlds.

This was the last thing, as explained in verse 44 above, that opened queen’s eyes:

• The first thing was Prophet Sulaiman’s letter that began with the name of the All-Compassionate, the All- Merciful Allah, a way different front the common custom prevalent among the kings. 
• The second was his rejection of her gifts, which made the queen understand that he was a different kind of king. 
• The third was the report made by the queen’s envoys from which she came to know about Solomon's pious life, his wisdom and his message of the truth. This very thing had induced her to travel to Jerusalem to personally meet the Prophet Solomon (peace be upon him), and to this she had referred when she said: “and we had surrendered (to Allah)”. 
• The fourth thing was the removal of her throne from Marib to Jerusalem in no time, from which the queen realized that he had Allah’s power with him. Now this was the last thing that removed every doubt from her mind regarding the unique and great personality of the Prophet Solomon (peace be upon him). 

When she saw that in spite of possessing every means of comfort and ease and a grand palace for a dwelling, he was so free from every conceit, so God-fearing and righteous and so grateful to God that he bowed before Him for every small favor and his life was so different from the life of those who were enamored of the world, she exclaimed the words "My Lord! Lo! I have wronged myself, and I surrender with Solomon unto Allah, the Lord of the Worlds."

This story of the Prophet Solomon (peace be upon him) and the queen of Sheba has been related in the Old and the New Testaments and the Israelite traditions in different ways, but the Quranic narration differs from all others. A resume of the story as given in the Old Testament [please read details in E.N. 50 at reference 1 given below]

The story mentioned in the Holy Qur'an thus teaches us that submitting to Allah is richer than silver or gold, and better than splendor or wealth. And this exactly what Prophet Sulaiman had in his mind when he decided to invite the Queen and her people to worship none other than one omnipotent Allah rather than the sun they worshiped.

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Women in Quran - Maryam (Mary) - Mother of Prophet Eesa (Jesus)

One of the only woman mentioned in the Holy Quran by name is Maryam (Mary), mother of Prophet Eesa (Jesus). And her mention is found in many chapters of the Holy Quran to talk of her chastity and describe how as virgin and untouched by any man she gave birth to a prophet to dispel any doubts that have arisen about the birth of her son. Not only that mention of Maryam is made in various chapters, a special chapter is dedicated by name to Maryam (Surah Al Maryam) besides mention of her family (Surah Al Imran) beside her mention in Surah Al Nuh.

Since Allah has specially mentioned the purity and chastity of Maryam, Muslims respect Maryam as the mother of a prophet and one of the few exalted women in the religions of Allah:

Allah Almighty praised her and described her as being pure and chaste; Allah Almighty Says (what means): {And [the example of] Mary, the daughter of ‘Imran, who guarded her chastity, so We blew into [her garment] through Our angel [i.e. Gabriel], and she believed in the words of her Lord and His scriptures and was of the devoutly obedient.} [Quran 66:12] 

Maryam's mother Hannah (Anne) was a pious woman but childless. So she prayed to God to be blessed with an offspring. And when Allah listened to and honoured her request, she made a request in utter distress:

Behold! a woman of 'Imran said: "O my Lord! I do dedicate unto Thee what is in my womb for Thy special service: So accept this of me: For Thou hearest and knowest all things." (Surah Al-Imran, 35)

However, she expected a boy to be born to her as a tiding to this effect was given to her. But when she delivered the baby, it was a female, later called Maryam. Though feeling happy to have become mother, she still "complained" to Allah for she expected a boy to be born to her:

"My Lord, I have delivered a female." And Allah was most knowing of what she delivered, "And the male is not like the female. And I have named her Maryam, and I seek refuge for her in You and [for] her descendants from Satan, the expelled [from the mercy of Allah ]." (Surah Al-Imran, 36)

And thus Maryam grew up in purity and grace and was given to Prophet Zackariah (peace be upon him) to be raised and reared in pure and religious environment. Here it me be mentioned that Prophet Zackariah was the husband of Hannah's sister who later gave birth to Prophet Yahya (peace be upon him) in equally peculiar circumstances as of Hannah.

Maryam lived in seclusion but Allah protected her and provided her with means of sustenance, which even surprised Prophet Zackariah who whenever visited her in her chamber found fresh fruits and eatables. He once asked:

"O Mary! Whence (comes) this to you?" She said: "From Allah.for Allah Provides sustenance to whom He pleases without measure." (Surah Al-Imran, 37) 

And then Holy Quran mentions the special circumstances in which Maryam was impregnated and delivered Prophet Eesa. Read the following selected verses when Angel Jibraeel (Gabriel) visited her chamber and gave her the tidings of  a son being born to her.

When the angel Gabriel approached her, she was frightened as she was all alone in her chamber and no man had ever visted her except for Prophet Zackriah:

She said, "Indeed, I seek refuge in the Most Merciful from you, [so leave me], if you should be fearing of Allah ." (Al Quran Surah Noah, 19:18)Behold! the angel said: "O Mary! Allah hath chosen thee and purified thee- chosen thee above the women of all nations. (Surah Al-Imran, 42)"O Mary! worship Thy Lord devoutly: Prostrate thyself, and bow down (in prayer) with those who bow down." (Surah Al-Imran, 43)Behold! the angels said: "O Maryam! Allah giveth thee glad tidings of a Word from Him: his name will be Christ Jesus, the son of Mary, held in honour in this world and the Hereafter and of (the company of) those nearest to Allah. (Surah Al-Imran, 45)

The Angel Gabriel said:

He said, "I am only the messenger of your Lord to give you [news of] a pure boy." (Al Quran Surah Noah, 19:18)

Maryam replied:

"How can I have a boy while no man has touched me and I have not been unchaste?" (Al Quran Surah Noah, 19:20)

Angel Gabriel said:

"Thus [it will be]; your Lord says, 'It is easy for Me, and We will make him a sign to the people and a mercy from Us. And it is a matter [already] decreed.' " (Al Quran Surah Noah, 19:21)

And so she conceived by the will of Allah and a baby boy was born to her. When she came out of her chamber and went to her people, they were definitely surprised and aghast for they knew of Maryam's piety and that fact that she received no visitation in her chamber.

They said, "O Maryam, you have certainly done a thing unprecedented." (Al Quran Surah Noah, 19:27)O sister of (Prophet) Haroon (Aaron), your father was not a man of evil, nor was your mother unchaste." (Al Quran Surah Noah, 19:28

So she pointed to him. 

They said, "How can we speak to one who is in the cradle a child?" (Al Quran Surah Noah, 19:29)

And then newly born Eesa spoke up and said:

[Eesa] said, "Indeed, I am the servant of Allah . He has given me the Scripture and made me a prophet. (Al Quran Surah Noah, 19:30)And He has made me blessed wherever I am and has enjoined upon me prayer and zakah as long as I remain alive. And [made me] dutiful to my mother, and He has not made me a wretched tyrant. (Al Quran Surah Noah, 19:31-32)

This is how the birth of Prophet Eesa (peace be upon him) happened. The peculiar circumstances gave birth to many controversies as Christians consider Jesus as son of God for he was born to a virgin on commandant from God and they thus consider God as the father.

We take a break here and the remaining account of Prophet Eesa (Jesus, peace be upon him) will be written separately under the part of Prophets.

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