Episode 21 - Clarifying a Misunderstanding of the Verse: (These are my daughters if you insist)

Peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah. Dear brothers, often we not only misunderstand the interpretation of some verses but may also understand them incorrectly, leading to an unworthy assumption about Allah the Almighty or His messengers, peace be upon them. The Muslim is held accountable for this assumption, as he should strive to keep his heart and beliefs pure and seek the meanings of these verses.

I once spoke in a mosque about the danger of someone feeling uneasy about something revealed by Allah, and after my speech, a man who I think was in his fifties came to me and said: Since you brought up this topic, I want to tell you something: I am surprised by Allah's story about Lut when he said to his people, the deviants: ((These are my daughters if you insist)). I asked him: Do you understand it as if Lut, peace be upon him, is saying to his people: If you insist, then adultery is less evil than deviance? He said: Honestly, yes.

I was saddened then because this man had carried this unease in his heart for decades without seeking a remedy. He continued to misunderstand the verse in a way unworthy of a prophet and did not ask about the correct meaning until someone asked him about it. And this, dear brothers, is not acceptable. Treating the heart is more important than treating the body. You wouldn't leave a physical illness untreated for decades! Treating the heart from bad assumptions about the prophets is even more important. So, let each of us ask while others may die without asking.

What is the meaning of the verse then? What does Lut mean when he says to his people: These are my daughters if you insist? Either Lut, peace be upon him, means by saying (my daughters) the daughters of his people, for every prophet is like a father to his people, as the Prophet, peace be upon him, said: ((I am only like a father to you, the most knowledgeable)) (authenticated by An-Nawawi). So, Lut, peace be upon him, is telling them to marry the females among you, or he is speaking about his own daughters... And the meaning of ((if you insist)) is: if you want to satisfy your lust. In both cases, Lut, peace be upon him, is commanding his people to marry females in a pure and honorable way, as indicated by his saying in another verse: ((O my people, these are my daughters, they are purer for you)) (Hud). He is guiding them to purity, not to one lewdness over another. And he would not accept this for his household or the daughters of his nation.

In conclusion, brothers, if we understand a verse in a way that does not suit the infallibility of the prophets, peace be upon them, we must hurry to know its correct interpretation. Peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah.