Surah Ash-Shu'ara 26:163: Fear Allah, and follow His messenger.

Fear Allah, and follow His messenger.

Lut's call, same as every brother before

Lut's request

taqwa of Allahworship Him alone

and

obey methe one He sent

What comes first

change the habit firstthen believe

mindfulness firstchange follows

Before forbidding their sin, Lut calls them to worship Allah alone and obey the messenger Allah sent. Every messenger in this surah starts here. The specific wrongs are named after the heart is addressed.

You keep trying to quit a habit by willpower alone, and keep falling back. Maybe the start is not the habit. Maybe it is how present Allah is in your day.

I need to fix my behavior before I can get close to Allah.

Getting closer to Allah is what gives me the strength to fix my behavior.

Try this

Before facing a habit you struggle with today, spend two minutes in dua about it.

Simplified reflection. Read the tafsir for scholarship.draft

The people of Lut denied the Messengers (160)When their brother Lut said to them: "Will you not have Taqwa? (161)"Verily, I am a trustworthy Messenger to you. (162)"So, have Taqwa of Allah, and obey me. (163)"No reward do I ask of you for it; my reward is only from the Lord of all that exits. (164)

Lut and His Call

Here Allah tells us about His servant and Messenger Lut, peace be upon him. He was Lut bin Haran bin Azar, the nephew of Ibrahim Al-Khalil, upon him be peace. Allah sent him to a mighty nation during the lifetime of Ibrahim, peace be upon them both. They lived in Sadum (Sodom) and its environs, where Allah destroyed them and turned the area into a putrid, stinking lake, which is well-known in the land of Al-Ghur [the Jordan Valley], bordering the mountains of Jerusalem, between the mountains and the land of Al-Karak and Ash-Shawbak. He called them to Allah, to worship Him alone with no partner or associate, and to obey the Messenger whom Allah sent to them. He forbade from disobeying Allah and committing the sin that they had invented which was unknown on earth before their time; intercourse with males instead of with females. Allah said: