Analysis of the Role of Lot’s Wife (PBUH) in Representing the Quranic Discourse of Civilizational Decline

Sadidpour, Samaneh Sadat; Mir Ghafourian, Najmeh Sadat; Jelveh, Mojgan; Karsaz, Nahid; Jafari, Zohreh

doi:10.22034/jksl.2025.528559.1473

Analysis of the Role of Lot’s Wife (PBUH) in Representing the Quranic Discourse of Civilizational Decline

Articles in Press

Authors

Samaneh sadat Sadidpour ¹

Najmeh Sadat Mir Ghafourian ²

Mojgan Jelveh ³

Nahid Karsaz ⁴

Zohreh Jafari ⁵

¹ Postdoctoral researcher in Social Sciences and Population at the Women's Research Institute, Alzahra University, Tehran, Iran

² Fourth level students, comparative interpretation, Kausar Higher Education Complex, Tehran, Iran

³ Masterdegree, applied physics, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran

⁴ Master’s degree ,Women’s Studies; University of Religions and Denominations,, Qom,,Iran.

⁵ (Fiqh);Level 3 student of Islamic jurisprudence and principles of jurisprudence (Usul) at Al-Zahra Seminary, Qom, Iran

10.22034/jksl.2025.528559.1473

Abstract

This study utilizes an interpretive-critical approach within Norman Fairclough’s three-level discourse analysis framework to examine the function of Lot’s wife in the Quranic discourse on civilizational decline. The Quranic text is analyzed as an active, interventionist discourse within the moral and social structures of societies. The narrative of Lot’s wife is presented as both a historical account and a cautionary discourse, representing familial deviation and alignment with the corrupt values of the people of Lot as an identity and ethical crisis. The research sample consists of verses related to Lot’s community, his wife, family structure, sexual deviation, and ethical discourse in the Quran, divided into direct and indirect categories. These verses were analyzed using authoritative exegeses to identify Lot’s wife as an anti-model of family and a symbol of discursive betrayal in opposition to prophetic and righteous family discourse. The analysis encompassed Fairclough’s three levels: description, interpretation, and explanation. Findings reveal that Lot’s wife functions as a symbol of corrupt societal influences, a key driver of civilizational decay, and a conceptual model for understanding identity and ethical crises, emphasizing the normalization of deviance as a marker of societal decline.

Keywords

Lot’s Wife (PBUH)

Civilizational Decline

Fairclough’s Discourse Analysis

Lot’s People

Familial Deviation

Subjects