This rock formation (near the city of Salt) is believed by Christians to be the wife of Lut (upon him be peace), who looked back at the punishment being inflicted on the people of Sodom and Gommorah and as a result was turned into a pillar of salt. According to the Holy Quran, the wife of Lut (upon him be peace) was inflicted with punishment but her turning into a pillar of salt is not specifically mentioned. Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) knows best. Please note that this has been shown for information purposes only as it relates to Quranic revelation. By no means does this imply that this is a place of veneration for Muslims.
• Some angels came down in the form of handsome young men to Sadoom (Sodom), where lived Lut (upon him be peace) among a community indulging in homosexuality and immoral behaviour. The first to see them was one of the daughters of Lut (upon him be peace) who immediately told her father about them. Lut (upon him be peace), fearing that they will be abused if they were spotted, rushed out to meet them and invited them to his house as his guests. Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) mentions this incident in the Quran in Surah Hud:“And when Our Messengers came to Lut he was grieved on their account and felt himself straightened for them (lest the town people should approach them to commit sodomy with them). He said: ‘This is a distressful day’.” [11:17]
• Only the people of his house were aware of the guests but his wife went out and informed the people that Lut (upon him be peace) had brought handsome men into the house. People immediately came and surrounded the house and demanded Lut (upon him be peace) to give up his guests to them. Lut (upon him be peace) barricaded himself behind the closed door but when he found the task of holding them back formidable, he said,“Would that I had power against you, or might have some strong support for refuge.” [11:80]
• In that moment, Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) makes mention of what the angels said:“O Lut ! Verily, we are the Messengers from your Lord! They shall not reach you! So travel with your family in a part of the night, and let not any of you look back, but your wife (will remain behind), verily, the punishment which will afflict them, will afflict her. Indeed, morning is their appointed time. Is not the morning near?” [11:81]
• Lut (upon him be peace) left with his family and when the sun rose the decree of Allah was fulfilled. A severe punishment descended upon the people and destroyed all of them. On the saving of Lut (upon him be peace), Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) says in the Holy Quran: “So we saved him and his family, all except an old woman (his wife) among those who remained behind.” [26:170-171]
• There are two interpretations about how his wife was destroyed. Either she remained inside the city or she looked back at the punishment and as a result was punished herself.
• Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) has mentioned in Surah At-Tahrim: “Allah has struck a similitude for those who disbelieve – the wife of Nuh and the wife of Lut. They were under two of our righteous servants, but they betrayed them, so that they (their husbands) availed them nothining whatsoever against Allah; so it was said (to them) enter the fire along with the enterers.” [66:10]
Cave of Prophet Lut (upon him be peace)
• According to Christian tradition, this cave, situated close to the Dead Sea is where the Prophet Lut [Lot] (upon him be peace) sought refuge in after the destruction of Sodom, his village.
• In Islam, Lut (upon him be peace), like all the other Prophets of Allah is regarded as being righteous and the upholder of all forms of moral conduct. There occurs a major difference between the Islamic and Judeo/Christian beliefs regarding what happened to Lut (upon him be peace) and his daughters after they fled the destruction of Sodom.
• According to “Who’s Who in the Bible” by Peter Calvocoressi, after they went to live in the cave the two daughters of Lut (upon him be peace) feared they would never get a man so they plotted to make their father seduce them when he was drunk. They took it in turns and each subsequently bore a son who became the ancestors of the Moabites and Ammonites. The story is told in Genesis 19:30-36:
30 And Lot went up out of Zoar, and dwelt in the mountain, and his two daughters with him; for he feared to dwell in Zoar: and he dwelt in a cave, he and his two daughters.
31 And the firstborn said unto the younger, Our father is old, and there is not a man in the earth to come in unto us after the manner of all the earth:
32 Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father.
33 And they made their father drink wine that night: and the firstborn went in, and lay with her father; and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose.
34 And it came to pass on the morrow, that the firstborn said unto the younger, Behold, I lay yesternight with my father: let us make him drink wine this night also; and go thou in, and lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father.
35 And they made their father drink wine that night also: and the younger arose, and lay with him; and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose.
36 Thus were both the daughters of Lot with child by their father.
• The allegation of drunkenness and incestuous behaviour of Lut (upon him be peace) is completely rejected in Islam who regard him as one of the mightiest messengers of Allah (God) who were all examples of moral and spiritual rectitude.