What was the city of Sodom in Islam?

Sodom was the city to which Prophet Lut (Lot) was sent as a messenger. According to Islamic tradition, its people were guilty of grievous sins, including highway robbery, public misconduct, and particularly homosexual acts, which had never been seen before in creation.

How was Sodom destroyed according to the Quran?

The Quran describes a multi-faceted destruction. The city was turned upside down ('faja'alna 'aliyaha safilaha'), as mentioned in Surah Al-Hijr (15:74), and a rain of hard, baked clay stones ('hijaratan min sijjil') was sent down upon them. This signifies a complete and inescapable divine punishment.

What does 'Al-Mu'tafikah' (The Overturned City) refer to in the Quran?

'Al-Mu'tafikah' is a term used in the Quran (e.g., 53:53) to refer to the cities of the people of Lut, including Sodom. The name literally means 'the overturned' or 'the subverted,' directly describing the nature of their punishment where their cities were physically flipped upside down by divine command.

Sodom in Islam: Quranic Story of the Overturned City

Sodom

سدوم

Explore Verses Related to Sodom

🕋Al-Hijr15:74 🕋Al-Furqan25:40 🕋Al-'Ankabut29:31 🕋An-Najm53:53

At a Glance

According to search-discovered classical Islamic scholarship, Sodom represents the city of Prophet Lut (Lot) whose people engaged in profound corruption and transgressions unprecedented in human history. Classical commentators, including Ibn Kathir and Al-Tabari, explain that the inhabitants were guilty of highway robbery, inhospitality, and most notoriously, homosexual acts. The Quran details their story as a powerful lesson in divine justice, referring to their settlement as 'Al-Mu'tafikah' (The Overturned City) in Surah An-Najm (53:53). Their rejection of Prophet Lut's guidance culminated in a cataclysmic punishment where the city was physically turned upside down and showered with stones of baked clay, as described in Surah Al-Hijr (15:74). This event serves as an enduring sign and warning for all of humanity against abandoning divine law and embracing societal decay.

📖 Quranic Context

A primary Quranic example of a nation destroyed for its transgressions and rejection of a prophet, serving as a divine warning (ayah) for humanity.

Represents a community that earned divine wrath due to their profound corruption and defiance of Allah's commands.

References: 15:74, 25:40, 29:31, 53:53 directly address the city's destruction.

💭 Theological Perspective

Illustrates the depths of human corruption when divine guidance is rejected.

Serves as a case study on the consequences of unchecked desires and societal decay.

The city's fate is a stark reminder of the consequences of belying the messengers of God.

Its story is a tool for developing Taqwa (God-consciousness) by reflecting on divine justice and power.

📜 Hadith Perspective

Prophetic traditions elaborate on the story of Prophet Lut and the complete destruction of his people's cities.

The gravity of the sins of Lut's people.
The complete destruction leaving no trace.
The area as a sign for later generations.

Universal agreement among Islamic scholars on the historicity and moral significance of Sodom's destruction.

💎 Deeper Insights

The Quranic term for Sodom, 'Al-Mu'tafikah' (The Overturned City), is not just a name but a divine description of its fate. Search grounding across various translations and tafsirs reveals this term encapsulates the very essence of the punishment, where the physical inversion of the city mirrored the moral inversion of its people's values. This insight is only clear when synthesizing Surah 53:53 with the narrative details from Surah 15:74.

— Ibn Kathir, Al-Tabari

The Quran emphasizes that the ruins of Sodom were left 'on a highroad' (15:76), a detail confirmed by classical geographers and historians. Search intelligence reveals this wasn't a secret destruction but a public, permanent exhibition of divine justice. Ibn Kathir highlights its location on the caravan route from Makkah to Syria, making it a recurring, unavoidable lesson for the Prophet Muhammad's contemporaries. It transformed a historical event into an ongoing, real-time warning.

— Ibn Kathir, Al-Qurtubi