The difference in the results of varying conduct and character is highlighted by the incident of Prophet Ibrahim^-AS also, when Allaah^-SWT sent His^-SWT Angels^-AS to convey him the glad tidings of posterity. The same angels^-AS were also assigned the task of decimating the People of Lut^-AS whose settlement was only twelve miles away. As they arrived in human form, Prophet Ibrahim^-AS mistook them for guests. After the exchange of greetings, he invited them inside and served them with a roasted calf immediately.

 

Exchange of Greetings

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It is obvious that in every nation the exchange of some pleasant words is customary when people come across each other. Islam has, for instance, prescribed greetings of mutual peace. The Holy Prophet^-SW bade the believers to address "Assalam-o-Alekum(peace be on you) to be answered by the addressee by Wa ‘Alekum Asslam wa Rahmat Allah ' (and to you too be peace and the Mercy of Allaah^-SWT ). This is not only a greeting but also a commitment. People greeting each other in this way are reassured that they enjoy mutual security and need not fear any harm from one another. It is also among the etiquettes of hospitality that whatever is available to the best of ones capacity must be served to the guest, in the best possible manner, and this is the Sunnah of the Prophets^-AS.

 

Information from the Unseen

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Another reality brought to light here is that the Prophets^-AS inspire of their vast knowledge, are dependant upon Allaah^-SWT ’s Grace all the time and know only what He^-SWT reveals to them. Prophet Ibrahim^-AS's guests were angels. Angels do not take any meals, but he did not recognize them and served them food like human beings. And when they refused to take it, he got worried as it was customary in Arabia and Palestine not to eat on an enemy's table. The angels, however, informed him that they were Allaah^-SWT ’s Messengers^-AS assigned the task of destroying the People of Lut"^-AS. His wife laughed, probably over the haste Prophet Ibrahim^-AS had shown in slaughtering the calf and having it roasted only to find that his guests were angels. They conveyed the good news to the noble lady that she was to be the mother of Prophet Ishaq^-AS and the grandmother of Prophet Y'aqub^-AS. In other words, she was informed about the unseen from Allaah^-SWT through the angels. She was totally astonished for she and her husband were quite old. She could not help expressing her amazement and exclaimed: "Now when I have crossed the usual child bearing age as a woman and my husband, too, is very old, how can we have children?" The angels told her that there was nothing to be amazed at over Allaah^-SWT ’s works for He^-SWT is not dependant on any means, rather He^-SWT creates all means. Moreover, she had lived in the Prophet^-AS's household all her life and had observed so many miracles. She had also witnessed hostile circumstances yielding favourable results; the fire transformed into a garden, and the rulers put to shame. When he was exiled, Allaah^-SWT gave him an abode. In fact, he was to construct Allaah^-SWT ’s House for the entire mankind. She needed not, therefore, be surprised as Allaah^-SWT can bless His^-SWT Mercy at His^-SWT free will.

 

Prophet Ibrahim^-AS was relieved to find out that the guests were not enemies but Allah^-SWT ’s Messengers^-AS. He was delighted to hear the glad tidings of being a father at the twilight of his age. And because of being extremely gracious and tender hearted he couldn't help interceding for the People of Prophet Lut^-AS, that they be spared the torment. He insisted so much that Allah^-SWT reveals: "Ibrahim began to argue with Us^-SWT for the People of Lut." Praise be to Allah, how He^-SWT pampers His^-SWT beloved people! The statement itself is laden with subtle Grace.

 

Prophet Ibrahim^-AS was told: "O’ My^-SWT friend! It is too late. The time to repent for them has passed. Their immorality has driven them to the inevitable torment which is no longer reversible. They have to be destroyed". The People of Prophet Lut^-AS’s were the pioneers of homosexuality, that is why this heinous act was termed as lawatat. They had turned so vile that even the strangers travelling through their land were not spared by their lust. Allah sent His^-SWT Angels^-AS in the form of handsome boys to their settlement. As they arrived at Prophet Lut^-AS's House, he mistook them as guests and became worried that his people would never spare them. The very thought of his guests being dishonoured and insulted in his house grieved him. Over and above, his wife who did not believe in him as Allaah^-SWT ’s Prophet^-AS served as a spy for the non believers. She reported the arrival of the handsome young guests to the people who mobbed their house, as habitual debauchery had by now become a national trait. And when an evil becomes widespread in a nation people no longer feel embarrassed about it. They boldly demanded that the guests be handed over to them.

 

The women also gathered to see what was going on. So Prophet Lut^-AS addressed his people, pointing towards the women that these were the daughters of his nation who were their legal wedded wives, so they must not indulge in homosexuality. He bid them to fear Allah^-SWT and not to insult him and embarrass his guests. They shamelessly replied that they had no interest in the women at all, a fact well known to him. They threatened him to get out of their way, otherwise they would use force. The Prophet^-AS', extremely grieved by this, said that if only he had a group of followers with him today he would have certainly fought against them to rid the land of their wickedness. Seeing his anxiety the angels^-AS came forth and reassured him that Allah^-SWT never allows His-SWT chosen people to be disgraced and that they were his party. They asked him to get aside for the transgressors could not harm him any longer. They said that as the night fell, he should prepare for an exodus along with all those who believed in him. However, his wife would not accompany him for she was not a believer and must share the punishment with the nation with which she had shared her beliefs. The angels^-AS informed Prophet Lut^-AS that the next morning would dawn upon his nation in an ominous manner and the doom was only at a night's distance from them. After all how tong could the night be, it had to pass and the dawn was about to set in.

 

So the visitation began and they were literally thrown up side down. The Arch angel Jibril^-AS uprooted their settlements which comprised four major cities. He hauled them up to the heaven, hurled them back to the ground and then pelted stones of baked clay, specially marked for each malefactor, eliminating the possibility of anyone's survival. It is a Divine Law that the doom always lurks over the non believers and the transgressors. The form of punishment, however, is determined by the conduct of the wicked. Therefore, even today, all those who opt for disbelief and wickedness must not assume themselves safe from Allaah^-SWT ’s Punishment.