这段篇幅较长的文字提到了神的慈悯与他降下的惩罚的一些例子。其中包括：易卜拉欣在年迈之时得到了生子的喜讯；鲁特及其家人（除了他的妻子）得以免于降临在不义者身上的命运。这些例子还包括麦德彦人和哈吉尔人所遭受的致命惩罚。

This rather long passage refers to some examples of God’s mercy and the punishment He inflicts. These include how Abraham was given in his old age the happy news of a son to be born to him, and how Lot and his household, except his wife, were saved from the fate that befell the wrongdoers. They also include a reference to the fateful punishments that befell the people of the Madyan and those of al-Ĥijr.

这些故事都出现在一段引言之后,引言说:"你告诉我的仆人们,我确是至饶恕的,确是至慈悯的;而且我的刑罚确是最痛苦的刑罚。"(第49-50节)其中一些故事印证了关于真主慈悯的话语,另一些则印证了祂的刑罚确实十分痛苦。这些故事也呼应了本章开头的内容,印证其中的警告:"让他们吃喝享乐吧,让希望迷惑他们吧。他们终将知道。我从未毁灭过任何城市,除非该城市已有经典的警示降临。任何民族都不能先于其定期,也不能推迟。"(第3-5节)这些都是真主在城市居民无视所有警告之后将其毁灭的例子。他们的刑罚,只有在所给予他们的期限届满之后才降临。本段所叙述的故事,也印证了本章前文关于天使及其使命的论述,即天使奉真主的命令降临时:"他们说:'接受了这训诫的人啊!你确是个疯子。如果你是诚实的,你为什么不把天使带到我们面前来呢?'我只依真理降下天使,那时,不信道者将不再获得宽限。"(第6-8节)

All these stories occur after an introduction that says: “Tell My servants that I alone am Much Forgiving, truly Merciful; and also, My punishment is indeed the most grievous suffering.” (Verses 49-50) Some of them thus confirm what has been said about God’s mercy, and some confirm that His punishment is grievous indeed. These stories also refer to what is mentioned at the opening of the sūrah, confirming the warning it contains: “Let them eat and enjoy themselves, and let their hopes beguile them. For they will surely come to know [the truth]. Never have We destroyed any community unless divine revelations have been made known to it. No community can ever forestall its term, nor can they delay it.” (Verses 3-5) These were examples of cities destroyed by God after they ignored all the warnings they had received. Their punishment only befell them after the time they were given had lapsed. The stories we have in this passage also confirm what is mentioned earlier in the sūrah concerning the angels and their mission when they are sent with God’s orders: “They say: ‘You to whom this reminder has been bestowed from on high! You are truly mad. Why do you not bring the angels before us, if you are truthful?’ We never send down angels except in accordance with the truth. And then, [the unbelievers] would be given no further respite.” (Verses 6-8)

这一切表明，整个苏拉是一个统一的整体，每个部分都相互印证。尽管大多数苏拉是分段降示的，后面的经文往往有可能先于前面的经文降示，我们仍然得出这一观察。然而，每个苏拉经文的最终排列是按照神的指示而定的。因此，这种排列必定有明确的目的。我们已经了解了我们所讨论的苏拉中经文排列背后的一些智慧。它们每一个都清楚地呈现为一个完整而完美的结构。然而，我们所说的只是个人的观点，而真正的知识唯独属于神。我们祈求祂引导我们走向正道。

All this goes to show that the whole sūrah is a single unit, with every part confirming the rest. This observation we make in spite of the fact that most sūrahs were revealed in parts, with the possibility that later verses were often revealed before earlier ones. Yet the final ordering of the verses of each sūrah is made in accordance with divine instructions. Hence, there must be a clear purpose in such order. We have learnt some aspects of the wisdom behind the ordering of verses in the sūrahs we have discussed. Each of them appears clearly as a complete and perfect structure. Yet what we say is only a personal point of view, while true knowledge belongs to God alone. We pray to Him to guide us to what is right.

“告诉我的仆人们：唯有我是至赦的，是至慈的；我的刑罚也确是最痛苦的刑罚。”（第49-50节）这句对先知ﷺ的命令，是在提到敬畏的信士所得的报酬和行恶者所受的惩罚之后降下的。二者的联系是不言而喻的。但真主的慈悯与赦宥被置于刑罚之前提及，是因为它们与真主自愿赐予的恩典相契合。有时只提到刑罚和痛苦，或将其置于经文的前列，那只是因为存在特殊的需要，才作如此处理。

“Tell My servants that I alone am Much Forgiving, truly Merciful; and also, My punishment is indeed the most grievous suffering.” (Verses 49-50) This order to the Prophet (peace be upon him) comes after the reward of God-fearing believers and the punishment of wrongdoers are mentioned. The link is self-evident. But God’s mercy and forgiveness are mentioned before the punishment, because they fit in with the grace God has committed Himself to bestow. Sometimes, only the punishment and suffering are mentioned, or they are given precedence in the text, but that is only because there is special need for such treatment.

随后，我们读到先知易卜拉欣与被派往鲁特处的天使相遇的经过。这段故事在《古兰经》中多次提及，每次的叙述方式都不同，以契合其所处的语境。关于鲁特的故事本身，也在其他经文中有所提及。

We are then given an account of the encounter between the Prophet Abraham and the angels sent to Lot. This episode is mentioned several times in the Qur’ān, each time in a different way which fits the context in which it occurs. The story of Lot alone is also mentioned in other places.

例如，罗特（Lot）的故事见于第7章《高处》（Sūrah 7, The Heights），而关于易卜拉欣（Abraham）与罗特故事的另一种叙述见于第11章《呼德》（Sūrah 11, Hūd）。在前者中，罗特谴责其族人的淫乱行为，而他们的回答是："你们把他们［即罗特及其家人］赶出你们的城邦吧，他们确是些自命清高的人。"（7：82）该章也提到拯救他和他的家人，但他的妻子注定要留在那些将被毁灭的人中。这里没有提及天使来到他那里，也没有提及其族人针对天使的阴谋。在后者中，天使与易卜拉欣和罗特的故事有着完全不同的编排。那里对易卜拉欣有更多细节的描述，包括在他妻子面前所给予他的喜讯。那里还提到他与天使就罗特及其族人所进行的争论，而这在此处并未提及。两章在叙述天使与罗特的事件时采用了不同的线索。在《呼德》章中，天使直到他的族人到来时才向他表明身份，而他曾恳求他们饶恕他的客人，但他所有的恳求都如同耳边风。当他对他们感到绝望时，他痛苦地呼喊道：

For example, Lot’s story is covered in Sūrah 7, The Heights, and a different account of Abraham and Lot’s story is given in Sūrah 11, Hūd. In the first we have a denunciation by Lot of the indecent practices of his community, and their reply to him: “Drive them [i.e. Lot and his household] out of your land, for they are indeed people who would keep chaste.” (7: 82) It also refers to saving him and his household, except his wife who was destined to stay behind with those who were to be destroyed. There is no mention of the angels coming to him or the scheme of his people against them. In the second instance, a totally different layout is given to the story of the angels with Abraham and Lot. There we have more details concerning Abraham and the happy news he was given in the presence of his wife. There is also a mention of his argument with the angels concerning Lot and his community, which is not mentioned here. Different lines are adopted in the two sūrahs in relating the events concerning the angels and Lot. In Sūrah Hūd the angels do not reveal their identity to him until his people arrived, and he had pleaded with them to spare his guests, but all his pleas fell on deaf ears. When he despaired of them, he cried out in distress:

当使者们来到鲁特的家中时，他说："你们在这里是陌生人。"他们回答："不，我们带来的是他们一直怀疑的那件事的消息。我们给你带来确定的真相，因为我们所说的确实是实话。你要趁夜带着家人离开，你自己走在他们后面。你们中谁都不要回头看，要径直走到你们被命令去的地方。"我们把这件事向他明确地宣示，那些作恶者的残余，将在清晨被彻底消灭。（第61-66节）

And when the messengers [of God] came to the house of Lot, he said: ‘You are unknown here.’ They answered: ‘No, but we bring you news of that over which they have been disputing. We are bringing you the certainty [of its fulfilment], for we are speaking the truth indeed. Depart with your household in the dead of night, with yourself following them in the rear. Let none of you look back, but proceed to where you are commanded.’ And We made plain the case to him, that the last remnant of those [wrongdoers] will be wiped out by the morning. (Verses 61-66)

如前所述,该章经文指出,天使随即向鲁特表明了他们的真实身份,并说他们是来完成其族人对所受惩罚所争论之事的。这一惩罚是为了应验真主的警告,也证实了一个事实:当天使被派往某个民族时,对其的惩罚是立即降临的。

As indicated earlier, the sūrah states that the angels immediately reveal their true identity to Lot and that they have come to accomplish what his people disputed about their punishment for their misdeeds. That punishment comes in fulfilment of God’s warnings, confirming the fact that when angels are sent to a community, their punishment is immediate.

“他说：‘你们在这里是陌生人。’”（第62节）他这样说是出于烦恼，因为他完全清楚本族人的习性，也料到他们会对客人做出什么来。他在自己的族人中是个外人，而他们在不道德的行为上趾高气扬。因此他告诉客人，在这样一座人所共知其名声败坏的城里，他们前来实在不明智。“他们回答说：‘不，我们带来的是他们一直在争论的那件事的消息。我们带来的是确定的（其应验的）消息，因为我们说的确是实话。’”（第63-64节）所有这些断言都在告诉我们，洛特的惊慌和忧虑有多深：他既想好好款待客人，又要保护他们免受本族人的图谋。因此，客人一再安慰他，然后才向他下达指示：“你要在夜间带着你的家人离开，你自己走在他们的后面。你们中间的任何人都不要回头看，要走向你们被命令去的地方。”（第65节）于是，洛特要在黎明之前趁夜离开城镇。他要走在那些将与他一同获救的人的后面，确保没有人被落下，也没有人回头张望，就像不愿离开故土的流离失所者那样。

“He said: ‘You are unknown here.’“ (Verse 62) He said this in irritation, as he was fully aware of the habits of his people and expected what they would try to do with his guests. He was a stranger among his people, and they were arrogant in their immorality. Hence he tells his guests that it is unwise of them to come to a city when the reputation of its people is well known. “They answered: ‘No, but we bring you news of that over which they have been disputing. We are bringing you the certainty [of its fulfilment], for we are speaking the truth indeed.’” (Verses 63-64) All these assertions serve to tell us the extent of Lot’s alarm and distress, as he wants to be hospitable yet also protect his guests against the designs of his people. Hence, they reassure him time after time, before giving him his instructions: “Depart with your household in the dead of night, with yourself following them in the rear. Let none of you look back, but proceed to where you are commanded.” (Verse 65) Thus Lot was to leave the town by night, before the break of dawn. He was to walk behind those who would be saved with him to make sure that no one was left behind, and no one looked behind, like displaced people unwilling to leave their homeland.

这些城镇是被一种自然现象毁灭的，这种现象似乎与地震和火山喷发相似，有时还伴随着地陷和石块如雨般坠落。有时，整个村庄和城镇就这样被完全淹没。据说，死海正是在这一事件之后形成的，这一事件见证了所多玛和蛾摩拉的沉没：当地表塌陷，形成一个湖泊，后来湖中积满了水。我们不会尝试把他们所受的特殊惩罚解释为地震或火山，因为我们的立场是建立在完全的信仰之上的，这种信仰并不接受此类解释。

The towns were ruined by a natural phenomenon which seems similar to that of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, which are sometimes accompanied by earth subsidence and a showering of stones. Sometimes complete villages and towns are so immersed. It is said that the Dead Sea was formed after this event, which witnessed the sinking of Sodom and Gomorrah, when the surface of the earth collapsed forming a lake that was later filled with water. We will not try to explain their particular punishment as an earthquake or a volcano, for our approach is based instead on complete faith that does not admit such explanations.

我们确知，一切自然现象都依照真主为宇宙所定立的法则运行。但任何现象或事件都不是出于必然性而发生的，而是为了成就真主的意志而发生，这一意志专门针对那一具体情形。真主法则的运行与每一事件都需要真主意志的作用，二者之间并无冲突。我们也确知，真主在其智慧中，有时借助某一事件来成就其特定的意志，以达成某种目的。毁灭鲁特之民城镇的，未必是普通的地震或火山。真主可能意欲以他所选定的任何刑罚，在他所选定的时间，并以他所决定的方式降临于他们。这正是基于信仰来解释所有先知时代所发生的奇迹事件的方法。

We know for certain that all natural phenomena operate in accordance with a law that God has laid down for the universe. But no phenomenon or event occurs on the basis of inevitability. It occurs in fulfilment of God’s will, which applies particularly to that situation. There is no conflict between the operation of God’s law and the need for an act of God’s will for every event. We also know for certain that in some cases God, in His wisdom, accomplishes a particular will of His through a certain event, in order to serve a certain purpose. What destroyed Lot’s townships need not be an ordinary earthquake or volcano. God might have willed to inflict on them whatever scourge He might have chosen, at the time of His choice and by the method He determined. That is the approach to explain, on the basis of faith, all miraculous events that took place at the times of all prophets.

那些城镇位于阿拉伯与叙利亚之间经常往来的道路上。对于那些希望从先前违抗和拒绝神的使者的民族所遭遇的结局中学习的人来说，它们蕴含着良好的教训。但这些教训只对那些愿意从中学习的人有益："这里面确有迹象，给那些观察迹象的人。那些城镇在一条至今仍有人行走的道路旁。这一切中确有一个迹象，给信道的人。"（第75-77节）于是警告应验了。天使的降临是神的惩罚的信号，无人能够阻止或避免。

Those towns were on a road regularly traversed between Arabia and Syria. They contain good lessons for those who wish to learn from the end that befell earlier communities which defied and rejected God’s messengers. But such lessons are of benefit only to those who are prepared to learn from them: “Surely in this there are messages for those who read the signs. Those [towns] stood on a road that is trodden still. In all this there is a sign for true believers.” (Verses 75-77) Thus the warning came true. The sending of the angels was a signal for God’s punishment which no one can prevent or avoid.

同样的道理也适用于先知舒阿卜和萨利哈的族群:"埃卜哈的居民也是不义者,所以我惩罚了他们。 Note: the original says "the dwellers of the wooded dales [of Madyan]" – I've rendered the wooded dales as the Qur'anic "Aykah" which is the people of Shu'ayb; however, to be faithful to the text, the correct translation is: 同样的道理也适用于先知舒阿卜和萨利哈的族群:"林谷的居民[麦地安的]也是不义者,所以我惩罚了他们。