What is the meaning of "These are my daughters if you must act"?

Peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah, dear brothers. Often, we not only fail to understand the interpretation of some verses, but we may also understand them incorrectly, leading to an unseemly assumption about Allah the Almighty or His messengers, peace be upon them. The Muslim is held accountable for such assumptions, for it is his duty to safeguard the purity of his heart and beliefs, and to seek the meanings of these verses.

The Danger of Misjudging the Prophets

Once, I spoke in a mosque about the danger of feeling discomfort about something that Allah has revealed. After the talk, a man who I think was in his fifties approached me and said, "Since you brought up this topic, I want to tell you something. I am astonished by Allah's narration about Lot, peace be upon him, who said to his people, the deviants: 'These are my daughters if you must act.'"

I asked him, "Do you understand this as if Lot, peace be upon him, is saying to his people: If you must act, then committing adultery is less evil than deviance?" He replied, "Honestly, yes."

I was pained then because this man had harbored discomfort about a verse for decades and did not rush to seek a remedy. He remained misunderstanding the verse in a way unworthy of a prophet and only sought the correct meaning when someone asked him to. This, dear brothers, is not acceptable. The treatment of the heart is more important than the treatment of the body. You would not leave an organic illness untreated for decades, so seeking treatment for the heart from misjudging the prophets is even more important.

In any case, this companion of mine asked, while others may come to death without asking.

The Correct Meaning of "These are my daughters if you must act"

What is the meaning of Lot, peace be upon him, saying to his people: "These are my daughters if you must act"?

The First Interpretation: The People's Daughters

Lot, peace be upon him, might mean by saying "my daughters" the daughters of his people. 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." And this hadith was authenticated by An-Nawawi. So, Lot, peace be upon him, was telling them: Let the males among you marry the females.

The Second Interpretation: His Own Daughters

Or he might be speaking about his own daughters. And the meaning of "if you must act" is if you intend to satisfy your lusts and respond to the drive of instinct.

Summary of the Interpretations

In both cases, Lot, peace be upon him, is commanding his people to marry females in a chaste and pure marriage. This is indicated by his saying in another verse: "O my people, these are my daughters; they are purer for you." He is guiding them to purity, not guiding them to one indecency over another, and he would not approve of indecency for his household or the daughters of his nation.

Conclusion

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