Tafseer of The Rock · Al-Hijr · 15:64
And we have come to you with truth, and indeed, we are truthful.
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
He, exalted be His praise, says: The messengers said to Lūṭ: We have come to you with the true certainty from Allah, and that truth is the punishment with which Allah punished the people of Lūṭ. I have mentioned their account and stories in the sūra of Hūd and elsewhere, when Allah sent His messengers to punish them therewith. And their saying وَإِنَّا لَصَادِقُونَ (And indeed we are truthful): they say: We are truthful in what we have informed you, O Lūṭ, namely that Allah will destroy your people. فَأَسْرِ بِأَهْلِكَ بِقِطْعٍ مِنَ اللَّيْلِ (So set out with your household during a portion of the night): He, exalted be His praise, says, reporting from His messengers, that they said to Lūṭ: Set out by night with your household in a remaining part of the night. And follow, O Lūṭ, the backs of your household with whom you set out, and be behind them — go behind them while they go ahead of you. Let none of you look back, and go where Allah commands you.
In the sense of what we have said concerning this, the exegetes also spoke.
Mention of those who said this:
Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us; and al-Ḥārith related to me, saying: al-Ḥasan related to us, on the authority of Warqāʾ — all of them on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, [who said concerning] وَلا يَلْتَفِتْ مِنْكُمْ أَحَدٌ (And let none of you look back): no one looks behind himself, and no one tarries.
al-Ḥasan ibn Muḥammad related to us, saying: Shabbāba related to us, saying: Warqāʾ related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning His saying وَلا يَلْتَفِتْ مِنْكُمْ أَحَدٌ : no one looks behind himself.
al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Abū Ḥudhayfa related to us, saying: Shibil related to us; and al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Isḥāq related to us, saying: ʿAbdallāh related to us, on the authority of Warqāʾ — all of them on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid: the same.
al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, on the authority of Mujāhid: the same.
Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of Qatāda, [who said concerning] وَاتَّبِعْ أَدْبَارَهُمْ (And follow their backs): he said: He was commanded to be behind his household, to follow their backs at their rear when they marched.
