15:77

إِنَّ فِي ذَٰلِكَ لَأٓيَةٗ لِّلۡمُؤۡمِنِينَ

Inna fee thalika laayatan lilmumineena

Indeed in that is a sign for the believers.

Word by word
  1. إِنَّIndeed
  2. فِيin
  3. ذَٰلِكَthat
  4. لَأٓيَةٗsurely (is) a Sign
  5. لِّلۡمُؤۡمِنِينَfor the believers
Al-Hijr · 15:77Makkah

Rescue and ruin, both a sign for believers.

The whole story of Lut as one lesson


The whole story
Lut savedwith his family
the town destroyedfor its deeds
a sign for
the believerswho trust Allah
What the believer takes away
only feara scary story
fear and hopeAllah saves the upright

Ibn Kathir sums it up: all We did to the people of Lut, from the destruction, to how We saved Lut and his family, are clear signs to those who believe. For the Prophet ﷺ in Makkah, it meant the faithful are not forgotten.

You feel like the only one trying to do right at work or at home. This story ends with one small family walked out to safety. Allah sees the few who stay upright.

Stories of punishment are just meant to scare me.

The story shows both justice and rescue; the believer takes hope as well as warning.

Try this

Make dua tonight: O Allah, make me and my family among those You save.

Simplified reflection. Read the tafsir for scholarship.draft
Tafsir Ibn Kathir (shared passage from 15:73)

So the Sayhah overtook them at the time of sunrise (73)And We turned them upside down and rained stones of baked clay upon them (74)Surely, in this are signs for those who see (75)And verily, they were right on the highroad (76)Surely, there is indeed a sign in that for the believers (77)

The Destruction of the People of Lut

Allah said;

فَأَخَذَتْهُمُ الصَّيْحَةُ

(So the Sayhah overtook them) This is the piercing sound that came to them when the sun rose, which was accompanied by the city being flipped upside down, and stones of baked clay (As-Sijjil) raining down upon them. The discussion of As-Sijjil in Surah Hud is a sufficient explanation. Allah said:

إِنَّ فِي ذَٰلِكَ لَآيَاتٍ لِّلْمُتَوَسِّمِينَ

(Surely, in this are signs for those who see.) meaning that the traces of the destruction of that city are easily visible to any one who ponder about it, whether they look at it with physical eyesight or mental and spiritual insight, as Mujahid said concerning the phrase,

لِّلْمُتَوَسِّمِينَ

(those who see) he said, "those who have insight and discernment." It was reported from Ibn 'Abbas and Ad-Dahhak that it referred to those who look. Qatadah said: "those who learn lessons".

The City of Sodom on the Highroad

وَإِنَّهَا لَبِسَبِيلٍ مُّقِيمٍ

(And verily, they were right on the highroad.) meaning that the city of Sodom, which was physically and spiritually turned upside down, and pelted with stones until it became a foul smelling lake (the Dead Sea), is on a route that is easily accessible until the present day. This is like the Ayah,

وَإِنَّكُمْ لَتَمُرُّونَ عَلَيْهِم مُّصْبِحِينَ - وَبِاللَّيْلِ ۗ أَفَلَا تَعْقِلُونَ

(Verily, you pass by them in the morning, and at night. Will you not then reflect?)(37:137-138).

إِنَّ فِي ذَٰلِكَ لَآيَةً لِّلْمُؤْمِنِينَ

(Surely, there is indeed a sign in that for the believers.) meaning, 'All that We did to the people of Lut, from the destruction and the vengeance, to how We saved Lut and his family, these are clear signs to those who believe in Allah and His Messengers.'