(Then when the fear had gone away from (Ibrahim), and the glad tidings had reached him, he began to plead with Us for the people of Lut. Verily, Ibrahim was, without doubt forbearing, used to invoke Allah with humility, and was repentant. "O Ibrahim! Forsake this. Indeed, the commandment of your Lord has gone forth. Verily, there will come a torment for them which cannot be turned back.")(11:74-76) Allah said here,
Small pebbles of baked clay would be sent down upon them: مُّسَوَّمَةً عِندَ رَبِّكَ "marked, with your Lord, for the transgressors."... 51:34), that is, pebbles conspicuously marked by Allah. Some scholars say that each stone bore the name of the person with which he was to be destroyed, and if he ran in any particular direction, he was pursued by the same stone. Other verses say that these people were destroyed by Jibra'il's (علیہ السلام) turning their territory upside down. The two descriptions of the punishment are not mutually contradictory: Probably, the stoning incident took place first, and then the earth was turned upside down.
Tazkirul Quran
Maulana Wahiduddin KhanOn ayahs 37–38
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.
Uthmani text of the Madinah mushaf (King Fahd Complex). Translation: Saheeh International. Tafsir via Quran.com.
