Tafseer of The Spider · Al-Ankaboot · 29:32
[Abraham] said, "Indeed, within it is Lot." They said, "We are more knowing of who is within it. We will surely save him and his family, except his wife. She is to be of those who remain behind."
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.
The explanation of His word, the Exalted: قَالَ إِنَّ فِيهَا لُوطًا قَالُوا نَحْنُ أَعْلَمُ بِمَنْ فِيهَا لَنُنَجِّيَنَّهُ وَأَهْلَهُ إِلا امْرَأَتَهُ كَانَتْ مِنَ الْغَابِرِينَ (32) ("He said: 'Verily, in it is Lūṭ.' They said: 'We know better who is in it; we shall surely save him and his family, except his wife; she is among those who remain behind.'") (29:32)
The Exalted, whose praise is exalted, says: Ibrāhīm said to the messengers of the angels, when they said to him: إِنَّا مُهْلِكُو أَهْلِ هَذِهِ الْقَرْيَةِ إِنَّ أَهْلَهَا كَانُوا ظَالِمِينَ ("Verily, We are going to destroy the people of this town; verily, its people are wrongdoers"), and they had not excepted anyone of them therein, since they described them as wrongdoers: "Verily, in it is Lūṭ", and he is not among the wrongdoers, but rather among the messengers of Allah, the people who believe in Him and obey Him. Then the messengers said to him: "We know better who is in it" of wrongdoers who disbelieve in Allah than you do, and Lūṭ is truly not among them, but he is — as you said — one of the close friends of Allah (awliyāʾ Allāh); "we shall surely save him and his family" from the destruction that is going to befall the people of his town, "except his wife; she is among those who remain behind" — those who let the ages and the days endure, and whose lifespan and existence have stretched out long; and she is among those who perish, from among the family of Lūṭ, together with her people.
