The People Of Prophet Lot And Their Destruction

Cağfer KARADAŞ

وَلُوطاً اِذْ قَالَ لِقَوْمِهٖٓ اِنَّكُمْ لَتَأْتُونَ الْفَاحِشَةَؗ مَا سَبَقَكُمْ بِهَا مِنْ اَحَدٍ مِنَ الْعَالَمٖينَ.

اَئِنَّكُمْ لَتَأْتُونَ الرِّجَالَ وَتَقْطَعُونَ السَّبٖيلَ وَتَأْتُونَ فٖي نَادٖيكُمُ الْمُنْكَرَؕ

“And (remember) Lut: behold, he said to his people: "Ye do commit lewdness, such as no people in Creation (ever) committed before you.
"Do ye indeed approach men, and cut off the highway? - and practise wickedness (even) in your councils?"
(Al-Ankebût 29/28-29)

HUMAN: FEMALE VE MALE

Almighty Allah has created humans as female and male and has willed the human race to continue with children born from the union of these two opposite sexes. The coming together of the male and the female made the formation of the family, and the coming together of the families made the formation of tribes and nations. These institutional structures and communities have been made the cause and assurance of both the existence and sustainability of humans and the human generation.

Accordingly, the aim of the family institution, which is the smallest building block of society, is to bring males and females together and ensure the care and safety of the children to be born. Therefore, the family not only ensures the continuity of the human generation but also ensures the future existence of that generation. Sometimes the family is not enough to achieve this; thus, there is a need for kinship communities formed by the coming together of families. While the Arabs call these communities tribes, the Turks use the term clan. A tribe or clan is the name of a structure in which the culture of solidarity and cooperation is formed and maintained. In Islam, the preservation of this structure is expressed with the concept of silat al-rahim, which means keeping the ties of kinship alive. Those who cut off or neglect these ties are severely condemned (Al-Baqarah 2/27; An-Nisâ 4/1). Since kinship relations are formed according to blood ties, it is Almighty Allah who established this structure. Cutting this off means acting against Allah’s will and the nature (fitrah) ordained by Allah. In fact, Prophet Lot’s (pbuh) reproach, “keşke size karşı koyacak gücüm veya güçlü bir kabilem olsaydı” (Hûd 11/80), in the face of the raging attack of the homosexual community indicates the importance of the tribe.

As mentioned above, sometimes even tribal unity is not enough to sustain security, and larger organizations in the form of nations and states are needed. In fact, in the verse, “Ey insanlar! Sizi bir erkek ve kadından yarattık tanışasınız diye sizi milletlere ve kabilelere ayırdık. Allah katında en değerli olanınız, ona itaatsizlikten en çok sakınanızdır. Allah her şeyi hakkıyla bilmektedir ve her şeyden haberdardır” (Al-Hujurat 49/13), the family consisting of male and female and their superior institutional structure, the tribe and nation, are indicated. The concept, referred to as tearuf in the Qur'an and translated as so that you may get to know one another, is not just a mere acquaintance; it also includes the meaning of coming together, establishing relationships and solidarity (Matüridî, Te’vilât, II, 509). All these are both the starting point and an umbrella for security that Almighty Allah has ordained for the continuity of humanity. These statuses or structures are not what individuals earn but the states, opportunities, and conditions they have ready. A claim for superiority over them is incorrect because existing within these structures is by the will of Allah. It is out of the question for an individual to choose their mother, father, family, tribe and nation at birth. Therefore, it is meaningless and irrational to make a structure, that one has no contribution to or influence on, a material for boast or obloquy. However, these structures are respected and taken care of to protect their existence since they were formed by the will of Allah.

The structures mentioned above also need arrangements such as hierarchies, laws, rules, customs and traditions to ensure a healthy and balanced functioning between individuals and groups; because it is impossible for a community to live together and create a sustainable relationship network without rules that regulate relations and determine boundaries, in other words, that determine rights and responsibilities. People need to live in a society where order and peace are ensured. However, the society in question is established and maintained with the harmony of cooperation and conflict (تعاون و تمانع). Determining the boundaries of the aforementioned cooperation and conflict within the society is possible by social consensus or external law. Since it is not customary possible for each human being to receive divine revelation or to create a law for themselves, it is clear that there is a need for a legal ground that will ensure social order and peace sent by Almighty Allah through the Prophet (Şehristanî, Nihâyetü’l-ikdâm, p. 238). After all, the claims of anarchists, "it is possible for people to live together without authority, law and order", could not go beyond invalid rhetoric. Because even today, the importance of these structures maintains their existence in minds and their functional value in life. It has emerged as a bitter truth that the breakdown of the family, the smallest corporate building block, in some societies has resulted in terrible consequences, the population growth rates have gone upside down, and even deaths have outstripped births.

SEXUAL NEED

In general, the basic needs of human beings are listed as "eating-drinking, clothing and shelter". Those other than these are among the secondary needs. As with other living things, humans prioritise their nafs (self) to meet these basic needs. Although not as much as these three basic needs, sexual desires appear as a strong desire in all living things since they function to ensure the continuity of the generation. In fact, it may even be possible for it to override basic needs in the human mind and psychology. The fact that sexual need ensures the continuity of the generation has an impact on this; however social life and culture also have a great impact. Since sexual feeling is not a basic need, it is suitable for suppression and being put into the background. The fact that it cannot be suppressed and, on the contrary, coming of it to the fore may be due to personal tendencies, education or social and cultural orientation. The high social and cultural orientation strengthens the possibility that an irrepressible desire for sexuality will emerge or turn into aggression.

The underlying reason for the fierce aggression of the homosexuals in the tribe of Lot is that the social tendency and provocativeness have influenced all individuals. Worse, sexual provocation has turned not into natural sexuality but into a culture of the same sex orientation as a shamefull act. In fact, the fierceness in that tribe reached such a level that even the angels who came to the Prophet Lot in the form of young men were attacked. This is the most striking example of how desires and, especially lust, can reach an extreme. The occurrence of such aggression not only to one's own sex but even to the opposite sex indicates a state of disease and obsession. In all societies, this type of behaviour is described as rape, in other words, sexual assault. Therefore, as in every relationship, it is imperative that sexual relationships are tied to a certain order, rule, and consent in order to be correct and legitimate. This can only happen within the lines of belief, law, and moral principles. Because although sexuality is not a basic need, it is a natural one and necessary for the continuity of humanity.

The religion of Islam considered sexuality as a natural need and took legal and moral steps to establish a solid and healthy legal ground. For this reason, in Muslim culture, lust was neither disparaged nor encouraged, and it was tried to be maintained within its natural course and the lines of specific rules. In other words, a middle ground has been determined, and a legal and moral ground has been established for its natural flow. While the sexual need is met with the family structure formed with legal rules, the continuity of humanity is guaranteed by this structure. Establishing ties of love, compassion, and mercy between spouses is necessary for a family to be strong. Almighty Allah has informed in the verse that Allah will be placing these traits as a divine grace in the inner world of those who want to maintain a marriage bond that is sincere and suitable to fitrat (nature) (Ar-Rûm 30/21). It is out of the question for spouses who preserve their fitrat (nature) in this way and deserve Allah's grace to behave rudely towards each other. That is to say, generations’ continuity and reproduction only occur with new marriages. Every marriage brings with it the foundation of new families, the expansion of tribes, and the increase in the nations’ populations.

THE PURPOSE OF SEXUALITY

Islamic scholars are in agreement that the purpose of lust, which is a sexual desire, is to ensure the existence and continuity of humanity. Although the existence of human beings is realized through sexual intercourse, its sustainability is only possible with a legal arrangement that will create mutual rights and responsibilities. This arrangement is essential in showing and protecting the purpose and limits of sexual desire. If these boundaries are not maintained, the purpose may be pushed into the background, and a tendency towards the satisfaction of sexual desires may come to the fore, which, in turn, brings deviance and aggression with it (see Matüridî, Te’vilât, II, 538; Fahreddîn er-Razî, et-Tefsîru’l-Kebîr, XV, 58).

The reason why so much emphasis is placed on the tribe of Lot in the Qur'an is to show humanity how desperate consequences these shameful acts and aggression can give rise to. As stated in the verse above, bringing this desire to the forefront and talking about it at home, on the street, and even in gatherings and its transformation into behaviour and action is a piece of clear evidence that it has turned into social and cultural deviance from being something personal and individual.

Therefore, according to Ebû Mansûr al-Mâtürîdî and Fahreddin er-Razî, looking at the method and form of the invitation of the Prophet Lot mentioned in the Qur'an, it is clearly seen that warning and avoiding shameful sexual acts is the top priority. Whenas, in the activities of all the Prophets, the call for oneness (tawhid) and worship, "Allah’a kulluk edin, sizin O’ndan başka tanrınız yoktur" (Al-Mü’minûn 23/32), took the first place while avoidance of evil took the second place (Mâtürîdî, Te’vilât, II, 256; Fahreddîn er-Razî, et-Tefsîru’l-Kebîr, XV, 57-58). The change or equalization of priority in the invitation of Prophet Lot is because, unlike other evils, this deviance indicates interference with fitrat (nature). Although the injustice and brutality towards the lower class within the tribe of Prophet Noah, the measurement and weighing frauds within the tribe of Prophet Shuaib, the cruelty of the pharaoh in the period of Prophet Moses, and injustices against women, orphans and enslaved people during the period of the Prophet (pbuh) seem to be important issues, these are not an intervention directly targeted to disrupt fitrat (nature). Since the shameful act in the tribe of Prophet Lot was an attempt to disturb fitrat (nature) and destroy humanity, it directly meant an intervention in the will of Almighty Allah. For this reason, the invitation of Prophet Lot focused on this point, and a simultaneous and equally important struggle was waged with the campaign for tawhid (oneness). It is out of the question for a Prophet not to call people to tawhid (oneness) and worship. The prioritization of warning to this deviance in his invitation is because there is a danger of becoming insensitive to many truths, especially tawhid (oneness) in one’s deviance from their nature. However, the purpose of the invitation to the truth is to keep humans within the line of humanity first and then to tell them the truth. Therefore Almighty Allah states, “Kur’an’ın insanlığını unutmamış, haddini bilen ve vicdanını karartmamış kimseler için bir rehber olacağını” (see Al-Baqarah 2/2, 185, Luqman?/3). It is very difficult for the Prophets’ invitation to benefit people and communities who erode and destroy their humanity, close their ears, eyes, and hearts to the truth, and do not use their minds in the way of truth. Warning and not warning them are the same, and it never helps (Al-Baqarah 2/6, 171; An-Naml 27/80; Fatir 35/22). In fact, if the doctrine, “One who knows himself knows his Lord", is read backwards, it is almost impossible for a person who does not know himself, far from being human and natural, to know Allah and realize that he is a servant.

The deviance from naturalness in the tribe of Lot was in the form of cultural, psychological, and behavioural disorders. Today, by adding the biological dimension to this, so to speak, a layered level of alienation from naturalness and a level of disturbing fitrat (nature) has been achieved. Transforming a female into a male and a male into a female through biological interventions indicates the initiation of an irreversible path. It is important to acknowledge that the cultural, psychological, and behavioural deviances of the tribe of Lot constitute an infrastructure for reaching this point. The solution and treatment of this aberration today are possible to a large extent with the diagnosis of the aberration in the tribe of Lot and the knowledge and experience to be gained from there. The campaign against these aberrations should be in the form of a call to humanity and fitrat (nature), even one step beyond, in the form of a call to tawhid (oneness) and worship.

SEXUAL DEVIANCE

There are many features, powers and possibilities in the human body, some contradictory and some compatible. These are inherently and potentially present in every human being. Individuals themselves, their environment, the cultural and historical heritage they have inherited from the past, their upbringing and education greatly impact the functioning of these potential features, their transformation into practice and production results. The differences between twins raised in different environments can only be explained in this way. Even if the inherited factors have a certain effect, the factors we have mentioned can dominate and shape the personality. The hadith of The Prophet (pbuh), “Dünyaya gelen her insan fıtrat üzere doğar; sonra anne babası onu Yahudi, Hıristiyan, Mecusî yapar” (Buhari, “Cenâiz”, 79, 80, 93; Müslim, “Kader”, 22-25), points to this influence.

This feature has the upper and lower levels of power and possibilities, in other words, the endpoints in the form of bottom and top. The old generations expressed these extremes with the concepts of excess (ifrat) and paucity (tefrit). These extremes cause the person to either have the psychology of withdrawal and burnout or to adopt an attitude of unruliness and aggression. It is possible and probable that lust, one of these features, can become passive or go to the extreme. Hence, the complete or partial suppression of lust might endanger the continuity of the human race; the suppression and pacification of other desires might also be an issue accordingly. On the other hand, excessive sexual desires lead to aggression, persecution of opposite sexes, and even demand for sexual intercourse for same-sex people. These are deviance, aberration, and extremism in terms of lust. The transformation of it into something systematic is persecution. Given an example of this situation from the animal kingdom, bulls whose lustful characteristics are destroyed turn into oxen and their position is reduced to a mere service tool. It is impossible for the ox to function for the continuity of the breed of cattle. Bulls that are not taken under control cannot be restrained and can cause unexpected losses. It is possible to see this situation clearly in the games in which the bulls, which are enraged by feeding methods and provocative training, take the stage. Since a human is an intelligent, strong-willed creature with the ability to plan, the human being must determine where to stop and the path to follow in a correct and healthy way. Being like an ox or turning into a raging bull is incompatible with human personality and identity.

As with other features and possibilities, the religion of Islam has made arrangements for lust to function in a balanced and healthy manner and an in a way that is compatible with fitrat (nature), and it has requested the implementation be carried out in line with these arrangements. With this arrangement, Islam aimed to protect both women and men, keep the family institution alive, and ensure the continuity of societies, nations and humanity. The relationship between the opposite sexes is Allah’s blessing to humanity because the continuity of humanity has been made dependent on it, as per divine laws (adetullah). Such relationships are haram if the codes and laws around them are broken. Adultery, which is haram in Islam, is the name of this relationship that is out of the codes and law. The relationship between man-and-man and woman-and-woman is neither natural nor an act intended by Allah; because there is no benefit in this other than the brutal satisfaction of lust. Satisfying lust in this way is against both natural and human nature (fitrat). Therefore, its haram is not only religious but also intellectual. Imam Matüridî takes a further step and says, "Even if there was no divine prohibition on this matter, the mind/reasoning would have forbidden this kind of deviance." Therefore, just as the relationship of opposite sexes is naturally normal and halal, the relationship of the same sex is abnormal and haram. Since the relationship of opposite sexes is natural, a legal arrangement can be made to make it halal, but since the relationship of the same sex is against the mind/reasoning and fitrat (nature), it is not possible to make a normalizing arrangement (see Matüridî, Te’vilât, II, 256, 542; III, 58). Because it is similar to an attempt to turn a man into a woman and a woman into a man. We say attempt because, due to this process, a new and uncertain figure emerges, which is neither male nor female. The fact that such doings and operations are haram is so loud and clear that it does not require reasoning in terms of mind. On the other hand, the divine will revealed in the story of the Prophet Lot is the clearest and definitive proof of its haram.

THE REASON FOR THE DESTRUCTION

“Almighty Allah does not destroy any people in world life simply because of their unbelief and shirk. However, with the prayers of the Prophets, Almighty Allah destroyed some tribes that killed or persecuted the Prophets, belittled others, oppressed others and committed injustice systematically; persistently and stubbornly perpetrated acts that the mind deems bad and religion declared as haram, and turned these superstitious attitudes and behaviours into a lifestyle and culture (Matüridî, Te’vilât I, 403; II, 257).

Looking at the people invited by Prophet Lot, it is a fact that they persisted in their shameless sexual acts and turned them into social behaviour and culture. Therefore, Prophet Lot's invitation to warn them about sexual deviance took precedence. Despite this, since that tribe continued their ugly desires, wild demands, and aggression, they almost called for destruction themselves. Because despite all his efforts and insistence, the warnings of the Prophet Lot (pbuh) did not benefit them; moreover, they declared him and his believers as unwanted people.

The development of the incidence of destruction is as follows: The angels who came to the house of the Prophet Lot as guests were in the form of beautiful and charming boys. The reason they came in such a way was to show the people of Sodom the depth of the pit of heresy into which they fell. In fact, it was a final warning and test for them; because they started to see everyone as an object of lust, regardless of the identity and personality of the individuals. Even the guests or passengers coming to the city were getting their share of these evils. Indeed, they behaved as expected toward the angels who entered the city in the form of charming boys; they attempted to harass them despite the host's resistance and even pleading. The Prophet Lot’s warnings, “Allah’tan korkun! Beni misafirlerimin yanında küçük düşürüyorsunuz. İçinizde hiç aklı başında kimse yok mu?” (Hûd 11/78), did not help either. Because their head, numb with lust, was not able to comprehend his request or the respect and courtesy that should be shown to a guest. In fact, the Prophet Lot himself did not know that those who came were angels. On the one hand, he was feeling sorry for the situation of a big city full of people, on the other hand, he was worried that his guests would be harmed, and he was bewailing that he couldn't do anything about being humiliated in this way. While he was fervently trying to save his guests from these lustful fools, angels revealed the truth and the fate of the tribe to Prophet Lot. They informed that this tribe had been judged and that they will be destroyed with the dawn. For this reason, they recommended and advised that they should immediately reach a safe place with their relatives and believers until the time of dawn, without looking back. Except for his wife, who connived the bad tradition and habits of his tribe, Prophet Lot and the believers, they immediately left the city per this divine warning. At dawn, there was a great shaking in the area, stones began to fall from the sky, and the city was turned upside down (see Cağfer Karadaş, Hidayet Rehberleri Peygamberler, Bursa: Emin Yayınları 2013 p. 75-78).

CONCLUSION

Just as it is not possible to expect good, beautiful and benefits from a community that has brought evil, persecution and shameless act to the most excessive point and turned them into a lifestyle and culture, it is also not possible to expect them to know Lord, express their gratitude to their Lord, and remember the afterlife. In fact, they have prepared a ground that will consume them, corrupt society, and destroy humanity till its roots. The fact that their story is told with such clarity in the Qur'an and their evil is pointed out is an exemplary warning for the upcoming nations. The punishment given to them is generally seen as death and the end of worldly life. Especially for those with a materialistic viewpoint, death is considered a punishment since there is no life after death in their beliefs. However, death is a natural consequence for everyone. Some die in the ordinary course of life, some because of accidents, some in disasters, and some by a killer's bullet, but everyone dies. Even for the Prophets, the possibility of "death and killing" is mentioned in the Qur'an (see Âl-i İmrân 3/144). Neither in the past nor today has there been anyone who has escaped death among created beings. If the death of the people of the Prophet Lot had been a punishment for their crime, it would have been a salvation for them. In addition to being a deterrent, the punishment should also have an aspect that satisfies the victim, meets their rights, and compensates for their damages. All this can be achieved by the great court, where divine justice will be manifested. So, if the punishments of unbelievers, polytheists, rebels, deniers, oppressors and murderers are not given in this world, their punishment will take place in a complete way in the life after death; all the justified expectations of the victims will be met, and the damages they have suffered will be remedied.