7:80

Salaam all,

This is 7:80
Walootan ith qala liqawmihi atatoona alfahishata ma sabaqakum biha min ahadin mina alAAalameena

The Aya says:
And Lot as he said to his people: “Do you committ the indecency. No one of the peoples preceded you with it.”

My personal note:
ALFAHISHA is any act that is considered to be ugly or inappropriate whether in words or deeds and so on. The Qur’an uses the term mostly in sexual misconduct or indecent exposure and so on. The use of the AL at the beginning of the word suggests that the people he is talking to know what he is talking about.

The Aya suggests that this indecent act that they committed is something that has no precedent in previous societies. This can be understood in one of several ways including:
1- No single person ever committed this act
2- No single society committed or sanctioned such an act.
3- Of course the first option encompasses the second but the second options allows that individuals may have done something like this but it never became widespread or sanctioned within the society of that time.

What is the act? The coming Ayat will give us some glimpse but to get the complete picture one has to read all the related passages of the Qur’an to arrive at a more cohesive and complete picture.

Translation of the transliterated words:
Walootan: and Lot/ Lut
Ith: as
Qala: He said/ communicated
Note: QALA is derived from the root Qaf-W-L and it means saying in any way possible. QALA is an action that is completed that is derived from the root. It means the action of saying happened by the subject (third person singular). This, in turn means: He said or responded or communicated.
Liqawmihi: to his people
Note: Li means to. QAWMIHI is derived from the root Qaf-Y-M and it means standing or standing upright. ALQAWM are the people that stand together and that makes the group or people or nation, basically, any group of people that stand together based on location rather than ideologiy or ideas. QAWMI means people of/ HI means him and points to Lot.

Atatoona: do you come/ do you commit/ do you enthusiastically approach?
Note: the root is Hamza-T-Y and it means in concrete the water that comes from the rain of another land. In concrete it means the coming of something or someone with many of it’s implications. ATATOONA is a question addressed to a group with a criticism at the same time. It means: Do you come/ Do you approach/ Do you commit


Alfahishata: the abomination/ the ugly word or deed/ the indecency
Note: the root is F-Ha-SH and it means: the ugly word or deed or any word or deed that has exceeded the border of decency and appropriateness. The term is often used related to sexual acts, but it is not limited to it. FAHISHA is the ugly word or deeds including sexually or nudity/indecent exposure. The use of AL at the beginning suggests that they know what he is pointing to.

ma sabaqakum: did not precede you (plural)
Note: MA is for negating the action that comes next. SABAQAKM is derived from the root S-B-Qaf and it means being ahead in time or place or in a race. Conceptually, it is used for preceding and for racing. SABAQAKUM is an action that is completed. It means the action of preceding the object (KUM=plural you) happened by the subject (third person singular or plural)
Biha: with her/ by her
Note: Bi suggests that what comes after it is either a tool of the action or an object of the action or any combination. If bi serves as an object of the action that it serves as an emphasis of the action. It can also add an object to the action of make what comes after the bi be present in close association with the subject. HA means her and it points to the FAHISHA.

Min: of/ from
Ahadin: one
Note: the root is W-Ha-D and it means one. AHADIN means one or single entity which could a single person or a single nation.

Mina: of
alAAalameena: the beings/ the factual entities/ all/ the peoples
Note: the root is Ain-L-M and it means knowing/knowledge or knowledge of facts. ALAAaLAMEENA are the knowns and that includes all factual entities. In this context it points to humans rather than other entities.

Salaam all and have a great day.

Hussein