7:82 Al-A'raaf (The Heights)

{ وَمَا كَانَ جَوَابَ قَوْمِهِ إِلَّا أَنْ قَالُوا أَخْرِجُوهُمْ مِنْ قَرْيَتِكُمْ إِنَّهُمْ أُنَاسٌ يَتَطَهَّرُونَ ْ} أي: يتنزهون عن فعل الفاحشة. { وَمَا نَقَمُوا مِنْهُمْ إِلَّا أَنْ يُؤْمِنُوا بِاللَّهِ الْعَزِيزِ الْحَمِيدِ ْ} .

أي ما أجابوا لوطا لا أن هموا بإخراجه ونفيه ومن معه من بين أظهرهم فأخرجه الله تعالى سالما وأهلكهم في أرضهم صاغرين مهانين وقوله تعالى "إنهم أناس يتطهرون" قال قتادة: عابوهم بغير عيب. وقال مجاهد: إنهم أناس يتطهرون من أدبار الرجال وأدبار النساء. وروى مثله عن ابن عباس أيضا.

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.

And the response of his people was only that they said ‘Expel them that is Lūt and his followers from your city. Surely they are folk who would be pure!’ from the abomination of penetrating the rears of men.

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.