Why Did She Laugh?

Immediately when they said this statement, and Sayyidatunā Sārah was in the background listening to them, and when she heard that these three messengers (messengers, as in angels), when these three messengers are going to punish the people of Lūṭ, she laughed. Fa-ḍaḥikat: she laughed.

Why did she laugh? We should have hatred in our hearts of evil, and we should be happy and pleased when the punishment comes on evil. So Sayyidatunā Sārah, when she heard the news that these evil people are going to be destroyed, she was happy. Obviously, maybe many of us don't understand this concept. What we understand is when my team wins in soccer, or when my team wins in basketball or in football: that's when we're happy, and that's when we're cheering. But with the ṣāliḥīn, the righteous, these are the games that they watch, and this is what they're happy for. And it's not a game; it's the conflict between good and evil. And they're happy when good wins, and they're upset when evil wins. So Sayyidatunā Sārah was happy when she heard the news that the people of Lūṭ are going to be destroyed.

When she laughed, what was the response of the angels, the three men? These angels were in the form of men. Fa-bashsharnāhā bi-Isḥāqa wa min warāʾi Isḥāqa Yaʿqūb: We gave her the glad tidings of Isḥāq, and after Isḥāq, Yaʿqūb, Jacob. So they gave her now glad tidings. We also came to give you the glad tidings that you will have a son; his name will be Isḥāq. And then your son, Isḥāq, will have a son, and he's Yaʿqūb.