Surah Al-A'raf, Ayah 82

إِنَّهُمْ أُنَاسٌ يَتَطَهَّرُونَ

("These are indeed men who want to be pure (from sins)!") Qatadah commented, "They shamed them (Lut and the believers) with what is not a shame at all." Mujahid commented, "(Lut's people said about Lut and the believers,) They are a people who want to be pure from men's anuses and women's anuses!" Similar was narrated from Ibn `Abbas.

In the third verse (82) Lut (علیہ السلام) in response to his word of advice has been put in a way that it shows that his people could not find a suitable rejoinder to what he had said. But, they were still adamant and started saying among themselves that these people seem to be self-righteous claiming a lot of purity for themselves. The treatment they deserved was that they should be thrown out of their town.

Truth always reveals itself on the strength of arguments and not on the strength of worldly glories. Those who are capable of seeing the Truth in the shape of arguments immediately find it, while those perpetually awed by outward glories remain doubtful. They never receive God’s guidance to become supporters of truth. The killer of Salih’s she-camel was an arrogant member of that community. But this action was attributed to the entire community and it was said, ‘They hamstrung the she-camel.’ This shows that if one member among a group performs a bad deed and other people do not condemn such deeds, all of them are treated as a party to this criminal action. The community which succumbs to desire is not at all impressed by realistic talk. It is not prepared to support anyone who invites its members to engage in serious and sincere action. On the contrary, huge crowds gather around people who utter pleasant words and trade in false promises. They are not attracted towards true well- wishers, but rush towards the exploiters.