Ma'arif al-Qur'an
Mufti Muhammad ShafiCommentary
Mentioned in these verses is the fifth event that relates to Sayyidna Lut (علیہ السلام) . This event has appeared at several places earlier, therefore, no more details are needed. Here, the people of Makkah have been particularly admonished that they passed by the site of Sadum (Sodom) day and night while traveling with theirs trade caravans to the country of Syria, and Sadum was a place where this grave event came to pass, an event full of vital lessons, yet they failed to learn any. The time of morning and evening was particularly mentioned for the reason that the people of Arabia generally used to pass through here during these very hours. Says Qadi Abu-s-Sa'ud: 'Perhaps, this site of Sodom was located at a stage on this route that those who departed from here did so in the hours of the morning and those who arrived here did so at the time of the evening' (Tafsir abi-s- Saud).