Hast thou not considered him who disputed with Abraham concerning his Lord, because God had given him the kingdom? _And he was Nimrod._ When Abraham said, (_upon his saying unto him, Who is thy Lord, unto whom thou invitest us?_), My Lord is He who giveth life and causeth to die,—he replied, I give life and cause to die.—_And he summoned two men, and slew one of them, and left the other. So when he saw that he understood not_, Abraham said, And verily God bringeth the sun from the east: now do thou bring it from the west.—And he who disbelieved was confounded; and God directeth not the offending people.
And Our messengers came formerly unto Abraham with good tidings _of Isaac and Jacob, who should be after him_. They said, Peace. He replied, _Peace be on you_. And he tarried not, but brought a roasted calf. And when he saw that their hands touched it not, he disliked them and conceived a fear of them. They said, Fear not: for we are sent unto the people of Lot, _that we may destroy them_. And his wife _Sarah_ was standing _serving them_, and she laughed, _rejoicing at the tidings of their destruction_. And we gave her good tidings of Isaac [Isḥáḳ]; and after Isaac, Jacob [Yaạḳoob]. She said, Alas! shall I bear a child when I am an old woman, _of nine and ninety years_, and when this my husband is an old man, _of a hundred or a hundred and twenty years_? Verily this [would be] a wonderful thing.—They said, Dost thou wonder at the command of God? The mercy of God and His blessings be on you, O people of the house (_of Abraham_)! for He is praiseworthy, glorious.—And when the terror had departed from Abraham, and the good tidings had come unto him, he disputed with Us (_that is, with Our messengers_) respecting the people of Lot; for Abraham was gentle, compassionate, repentant. _And he said unto them, Will ye destroy a city wherein are three hundred believers? They answered, No. He said, And will ye destroy a city wherein are two hundred believers? They answered, No. He said, And will ye destroy a city wherein are forty believers? They answered, No. He said, And will ye destroy a city wherein are fourteen believers? They answered, No. He said, And tell me, if there be in it one believer? They answered, No. He said, Verily in it is Lot. They replied, We know best who is in it. And when their dispute had become tedious, they said_, O Abraham, abstain from this _disputation_; for the command of thy Lord hath come _for their destruction_, and a punishment not [to be] averted is coming upon them.