﴿ مُّسَوَّمَةً عِندَ رَبِّكَ لِلْمُسْرِفِينَ ﴾

“marked out in thy Sustainer’s sight for [the punishment of] such as have wasted their own selves.””

At that time Abraham was in Palestine. Nearby, around the Dead Sea there were the townships of Sodom and Gomorrah in which the contemporaries of Lot were settled. In spite of Lot’s preaching for a long time, they were not ready to give up a life vitiated by forgetfulness of God. So, at God’s behest, Lot and his companions departed. Then, the aforesaid angels destroyed the entire community by an earthquake, stormy winds and showers of pebbles. The community of Lot was destroyed two thousand years ago, but their devastated habitat (south of the Dead Sea) exists even today to teach a lesson to those who have the inclination to learn from events.