Surah Al-Ankaboot (29) — Ayah 26

(Ayah 26) ➊ {فَاٰمَنَ لَهٗ لُوْطٌ:} When Ibrahim (peace be upon him) came out of the fire safe and sound and gave this advice, then Lut (peace be upon him) immediately believed in him and became obedient to him; no one else believed in him. The meaning of "immediately" is derived from the "fa" (فَ).
➋ Here is a question: generally, for believing and affirming, the word {’’آمَنَ بِهِ‘‘} is used, while {’’آمَنَ لَهُ‘‘} is used in the sense of trusting and being certain of someone's statement, as the brothers of Yusuf (peace be upon him) said: «{ وَ مَاۤ اَنْتَ بِمُؤْمِنٍ لَّنَا وَ لَوْ كُنَّا صٰدِقِيْنَ }» [ یوسف : ۱۷ ] "And you will never trust us, even if we are truthful." So what is the wisdom in using {’’آمَنَ لَهُ‘‘} here? Most commentators have answered that both words, {’’امَنَ بِهِ‘‘} and {’’آمَنَ لَهُ‘‘}, are used for believing and affirming, as in the case of the magicians' belief, Allah has sometimes quoted Pharaoh's statement as {’’اٰمَنْتُمْ لَهٗ ‘‘} (see Ta-Ha: 71) and sometimes as {’’ اٰمَنْتُمْ بِهٖ ‘‘} (see Al-A'raf: 123). Therefore, the meaning of {’’آمَنَ بِهِ‘‘} and {’’آمَنَ لَهُ‘‘} is the same. Ibn Juzayy, the author of Al-Tashil, has answered that here, within the meaning of {’’آمَنَ‘‘}, the sense of {’’اِنْقَادَ ‘‘} (became obedient) is included, so its prepositional complement came as {’’لَهُ‘‘}, meaning "So at that very moment, Lut became obedient to him." Among the commentators, some have described Lut (peace be upon him) as Ibrahim's nephew (sister's son), and most as his nephew (brother's son); no one has mentioned a reliable proof, but it is clear that Lut (peace be upon him) was a man of his people and his city.
➌ { وَ قَالَ اِنِّيْ مُهَاجِرٌ اِلٰى رَبِّيْ… :} When Ibrahim (peace be upon him) saw that even after witnessing such a great miracle, only one person from the entire nation believed, he became hopeless and left from there; his wife Sarah and Lut (peace be upon him) were with him. He had no idea where to go, so entrusting everything to Allah, he said, "I am leaving my homeland and going towards my Lord." He is the All-Powerful, the All-Wise; He will protect me, grant me dominance, and take me wherever His wisdom demands. Thus, Allah saved him from his people and brought him safely and securely to the land of Sham, as He said elsewhere: «{ وَ نَجَّيْنٰهُ وَ لُوْطًا اِلَى الْاَرْضِ الَّتِيْ بٰرَكْنَا فِيْهَا لِلْعٰلَمِيْنَ }» [ الأنبیاء : ۷۱] "And We delivered him and Lut to the land which We had blessed for the worlds." In the Quran, the blessed land refers to the land of Sham. (See Surah Bani Isra'il: 1) For what happened to the nation after their migration, see the footnotes of Surah Al-Anbiya, verses (74, 75). Some commentators have written that after the migration of Ibrahim (peace be upon him), Allah sent an angel to guide Nimrod and his people, but when they did not desist from rebellion, a punishment of mosquitoes was sent upon them. These mosquitoes drank all their blood, ate all their flesh and fat, and only the bones fell to the ground, but a mosquito entered Nimrod's brain, because of which his head was beaten for a long time, and after this humiliation, he too was destroyed. Tabari has narrated this from the Tabi'i Zayd bin Aslam, which is clearly an Israelite narration, so it cannot be believed in any way, nor can it be mentioned in the exegesis of the Quran, because the exegesis of the "book in which there is no doubt" must also be established through a "no doubt" source. It is also worth noting in this story that many of our preachers have been narrating that shoes hit Nimrod's head for years because of this mosquito, whereas the poor mosquito's total lifespan is not more than a few hours. The fondness for wonders among Muslim preachers has made this a well-established fact.

26-1. Hazrat Lut عليه السلام was the nephew of Hazrat Ibrahim ؑ. He believed in Hazrat Ibrahim ؑ, and later he was also sent as a prophet to the region of 'Sodom'.

26-2. This was said by Hazrat Ibrahim ؑ, and according to some, by Hazrat Lut ؑ, and some say both migrated. That is, when it became difficult for Ibrahim ؑ and Lut ؑ, who believed in him, to worship Allah in their area 'Kuti', which was a settlement of Kufa on the way to Haran, they migrated from there to the region of Syria. The third person, Hazrat Ibrahim ؑ's wife Sarah was with them.

26. (When Lot saw the fire become cool for Abraham) Lot believed in Abraham [40], and Abraham said, "I am going to migrate [41] to my Lord as He has commanded me. Surely, He is the All-Mighty, the All-Wise."

[40]
The Faith of Sayyiduna Lut and His Migration:

Hazrat Lut ؑ was the paternal cousin of Hazrat Ibrahim ؑ. Both were residents of the city of Babylon in Iraq. When Hazrat Ibrahim ؑ emerged safe and sound from the trial of the fire, at that time Hazrat Lut ؑ declared his faith in him. This does not mean at all that Hazrat Lut ؑ was previously a polytheist, because even before prophethood, the lives of prophets are, by Allah’s grace, pure and clean from such impurities. Besides the prophets, there are also many people who, though they possess a sound heart and detest polytheism, do not receive proper guidance. Even in the Prophetic era, before the Prophet’s prophethood, there were six such people.
[41] The commentators say that this migration was undertaken jointly by Hazrat Ibrahim ؑ and Hazrat Lut ؑ. And this journey of migration was from Babylon to Palestine. It was Allah’s wisdom that you should go there; it was at this very place that Hazrat Lut ؑ was also granted prophethood, so Hazrat Ibrahim ؑ sent Hazrat Lut ؑ towards the region of Sodom.