Quran, Culture And Civilization

Quran, Culture And Civilization

An Analysis of the Role of Ado, Prophet Lot's Wife, in the Quranic Representation of Civilizational Decline

Authors
1 Postdoctoral Researcher in Social Sciences and Demography, Women's Research Center, Alzahra University, Tehran, Iran; Level Three Student in Islamic Women's Studies, Jamiat al-Zahra, Qom, Iran.
2 Level Four Student in Comparative Exegesis, Kosar Higher Education Complex, Tehran, Iran.
3 M.A. in Applied Physics, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.
4 M.A. in Women's Studies, University of Religions and Denominations, Qom, Iran.
5 Level Three Student in Fiqh and Principles of Jurisprudence, Jamiat al-Zahra, Qom, Iran.
10.22034/jksl.2025.528559.1473
Abstract
Adopting an interpretive-critical approach within Fairclough's three-dimensional framework of critical discourse analysis, this study examines the role of Ado, Prophet Lot's wife, in the Quranic discourse of civilizational decline. The Quranic text is analyzed as a living and active discourse that participates in shaping the ethical and social structures of communities. The account of Lot's wife is not merely a historical narrative; rather, it constitutes a warning discourse concerning the identity and moral crises produced by familial deviance and alignment with the corrupt values of the people of Lot. The study corpus comprises verses relating to the people of Lot, Lot's wife, and patterns of sexual and moral deviance, classified according to their direct or indirect relevance. These verses were examined in light of authoritative Quranic commentaries, and the role of Lot's wife was interpreted as a negative familial exemplar and a symbol of discursive betrayal. The analysis proceeded at three levels: linguistic description, thematic interpretation, and explanation of the text's relationship to contemporary issues. The findings indicate that Lot's wife symbolizes the influence of corrupt social structures on the individual and the reproduction of civilizational decline. This analytical framework identifies identity and moral crises, together with the normalization of deviance, as signs of civilizational decline.
Keywords
Subjects

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  • Receive Date 20 July 2025
  • Revise Date 24 October 2025
  • Accept Date 16 November 2025
  • Publish Date 23 September 2026