The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 3) — Page 407
PT. 14 R. 5. AL-HIJR CH. 15 62. And "when the messengers came unto the family of Lot, 1765 "11:78; 29:34. measured or computed or estimated. (qaddara) means, he meditated or considered; he supposed or conjectured or surmised. When used about God, it means, He decreed or appointed or ordained (Aqrab & Lane). See also 2:21. Commentary: The verse purports to say that out of the family of Lot his wife would not be saved, as she would remain behind and would not leave the city with Lot. The messengers used the expression which here means, "we surmise" because they were not sure about her fate and had only guessed that she would remain behind. Evidently, one or more of them might have had a dream regarding this affair and, naturally, they were not quite sure about its interpretation but had only inferred that she would not be saved. Or it may be that, having regard to the feelings of Abraham, they did not like to stress the point of the sad end of Lot's wife and expressed it vaguely. Here is another divergence between the description of this affair as given in the Bible and the Quran. The Bible says: And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters, which are here; lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city. And while he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand فَلَمَّا جَاءَ أَلَ لُوْطِ الْمُرْسَلُوْنَ ) of his two daughters; the Lord being Merciful unto him: and they brought him forth, and set him without the city (Gen. 19:15,16). two The Quran, on the other hand, says that Lot had been informed beforehand that his wife would not leave the city with him but would remain behind (29:34). It can easily be judged which of these accounts is more natural and nearer the truth. According to the Quran, she not only remained behind but was from the very beginning destined to do so, but the Bible says that the angels led her out of the city, although they knew that God had decreed that she would share its fate. The Bible thus depicts the angels to be acting against the decree of God, which is evidently wrong. word المرسلون 1765. Commentary: By using the (messengers), the Quran hints that the bearers of the message were men. The Bible, however, sometimes them mentions as men (Gen. 18:2,16,22) and sometimes as angels (Gen. 19:1) and in the latter case even goes so far as to say that Lot prepared for them unleavened bread (Gen. 19:3) as if angels partook of the same. Such inconsistencies of the Bible provide a proof of the fact that it has suffered materially from later interpolations. 1615