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*Stories Of The Qur-ān By Ibn Katheer*
*Part 6*
*The Story of Qarun(Korah)*
Allah the Almighty says:
{Verily, Qarun (Korah) was of Musa's (Moses) people, but he
behaved arrogantly towards them. And We gave him of the treasures,
that of which the keys would have been a burden to a body of strong
men. Remember when his people said to him: "Do not exult (with
riches, being ungrateful to Allah). Verily Allah likes not those who exult
(with riches, being ungrateful to Allah). "But seek with that (wealth)
which Allah has bestowed on you, the home of the Hereafter, and
forget not your portion of lawful enjoyment in this world,' and do good
as Allah has been good to you, and seek not mischief in the land. Verily,
Allah likes not the Mufsidun (those who commit great crimes and sins,
oppressors, tyrants, mischief-makers, corrupters)." He said: "This has
been given to me only because of the knowledge I possess." Did he not
know that Allah had destroyed before him generations, men who were
stronger than him in might and greater in the amount (of riches) they
had collected? But the Mujrimun (criminals, disbelievers, polytheists,
sinners) will not be questioned of their sins (because Allah knows them
well, so they will be punished without being called to account). So he
went forth before his people in his pomp. Those who were desirous of
the life of the world, said: "Ah, would that we had the like of what
Qarun (Korah) has been given! Verily he is the owner of a great
fortune." But those who had been given (religious) knowledge said:
"Woe to you! The Reward of Allah (in the Hereafter) is better for those
who believe and do righteous good deeds, and this none shall attain
except those who are AsSabirun (the patient in following the truth).
"So We caused the earth to swallow him and his dwelling place. Then
he had no group or party to help him against Allah, nor was he one of
those who could save themselves. And those who had desired (for a
position like) his position the day before, began to say: "Know you not
that it is Allah Who enlarges the provision or restricts it to
whomsoever He pleases of His slaves. Had it not been that Allah was
Gracious to us, He could have caused the earth to swallow us up (also)!
Know you not that the disbelievers will never be successful." That
home of the Hereafter (i.e. Paradise), We shall assign to those who
rebel not against the truth with pride and oppression in the land nor do
mischief by committing crimes. And the good end is for the Muttaqun
(the pious and righteous persons)}. (Al-Qasas, 76-83)
Ibn `Abbas (May Allah be pleased with him) held the opinion that Qarun
(Koran) was a paternal cousin to Musa (Peace be upon him). This view is
supported by many other narrators, including Ibn Juraij who added that he is
Qarun Ibn Yashar Ibn Qahith, while Musa was the son of `Imran Ibn Hafith. Ibn
Juraij went further and rejected the viewpoint of Ibn Ishaq that he was a
paternal uncle to Musa (Peace be upon him).
Qatadah said: He was called "An-Nur" (the light) for he had a melodious
voice while reciting the Torah (Taurat), but he became a hypocrite just like
As-Samiri who became a hypocrite too. Thus, Qarun was destroyed because of
his transgression due to the wealth and riches he had.
Shahr Ibn Haushab said: he dragged his garment out of pride and arrogance
(conceit).
Allah the Almighty mentioned the numerousness of his wealth and riches so
that its keys would have been a burden to a body of strong men. It was also
said: the keys were made of leather and that they used to be carried on sixty
mules. Allah knows best!
However, he was advised by the godly men from among his people saying:
{Do not exult} i.e. do not be arrogant or conceited with riches, being
ungrateful to Allah the Almighty. {Verily Allah likes not those who exult
(with riches, being ungrateful to Allah). "But seek with that (wealth)
which Allah has bestowed on you, the home of the Hereafter} they
advise him to direct his endeavors to gain Allah's Reward in the
Hereafter as it is the best of all rewards. But, {and forget not your
portion of lawful enjoyment in this world}, i.e. take thereof with your
money what is made lawful to you and have the possible lawful joys of this
present life. And {do good as Allah has been good to you}, i.e. do good to
the creation of Allah Who has been good to you. And {seek not mischief in
the land}, i.e. do not harm the people regarding whom you were commanded
to do good. If you harm them, He will punish you and take back what He has
granted you {Verily, Allah likes not the Mufsidun (those who commit
great crimes and sins, oppressors, tyrants, mischief-makers,
corrupters)}. His answer to this good advice of his people was nothing but:
{He said: This has been given to me only because of the knowledge I
possess}, i.e. I do not need what you have said or referred to, as Allah only
gave me this for He knew that I deserve it and I am really qualified thereto.
Moreover, were it not for that He loves me, He would not grant or give me this.
However, Allah the Almighty refuted his statement saying: {Did he not know
that Allah had destroyed before him generations, men who were
stronger than him in might and greater in the amount (of riches) they
had collected? But the Mujrimun (criminals, disbelievers, polytheists,
sinners) will not be questioned of their sins (because Allah knows
them well, so they will be punished without being called to account)},
i.e. We have destroyed before him generations because of their sins and bad
deeds and that they were stronger than Qarun and they had more riches and
children than him. So, if what he said was true, We would not punish anyone of
those who had more riches than him and his wealth and riches would not be a
proof of Our love or care for him. Allah the Almighty says: {And it is not your
wealth, nor your children that bring you nearer to Us (i.e. please Allah),
but only he who believes (in the Islamic Monotheism), and does
righteous deeds (will please Us),. as for such, there will be twofold
reward for what they did, and they will reside in the high dwellings
Paradise) in peace and security}. (Saba', 37) and, He says: {Do they think
that in wealth and children with which We enlarge them. We hasten
unto them with good things. Nay, [it is a Fitnah (trial) in this worldly
life so that they will have no share of good things in the Hereafter] but
they perceive not}. (Al-Mu'minun, 55,56). Allah's answer to Qarun's claims
confirms our interpretation of his saying, {This has been given to me only
because of the knowledge I possess}. But as for those who claimed that he
was a chemist or that he knew the Greatest Name of Allah the Almighty and that
he used it to collect wealth, all these are fallacies and not true. For chemistry
cannot change the reality of something, and the Greatest Name is of no effect if
it is pronounced by a disbeliever. And, Qarun was inherently a disbeliever and
apparently a hypocrite. Moreover, the context of the advice given by his people
and his answer to them do not support that claim.
Almighty Allah says: {So he went forth before his people in his pomp},
many interpreters mentioned that he went forth before his people in great
luxuries (servants, clothes and riding animals). When those who were desirous of
the life of the world saw him, they wished to have the same and wondered
"what a great fortune he has!" When their saying reached the ears of the godly
righteous men they said to them: {Woe to you! The Reward of Allah is
better for those who believe and do righteous good deeds}, i.e. the
Reward of Allah in the Hereafter is better and higher than this.
Almighty Allah says: {and this none shall attain except those who are
As-Sabirun (the patient in following the truth)}, i.e. this -advice, saying
and high determination regarding the Hereafter in presence of the joys of this
present life -none shall attain except those who were guided and those whose
hearts were fixed and minds made stable by the Grace of Allah the Almighty.
And, nothing is better than the saying of some of our earlier scholars who said:
"Verily, Allah loves penetrative insight in time of suspicious matters and perfect
reasoning in time of the presence of lusts" .
Allah the Almighty says: {So, We caused the earth to swallow him and his
dwelling place. Then, he had no group or party to help him against
Allah, nor was he one of those who could save themselves}, when Allah
the Almighty mentioned his setting forth in his pomp, He said {So, We caused
the earth to swallow him and his dwelling place}. As transmitted by Imam
Al-Bukhari, Allah's Prophet (Peace be upon him) said: "While a man was walking,
clad in a two-piece garment and proud of himself with his hair well-combed,
suddenly Allah made him sink into the earth and he will go on sinking into it till
the Day of Resurrection. " (Sahih Al-Bukhari)
Narrated Ibn `Abbas (May Allah be pleased with him) and As-Sadiy that
Qarun gave a prostitute a sum of money to say to Musa (Peace be upon him)
while he is accompanied with other people that he (Musa) committed with her
(adultery). It is said that she did it and consequently, Musa (Peace be upon him)
trembled with fear and he performed two Rak`ahs (bowing in prayer) and then
said to her: By Allah! Tell me, who hired you to do this? She said: It was Qarun
who hired me to do that. Then, she sought Allah's Forgiveness and repented to
Him. Upon that, he (Musa (Peace be upon him)) prostrated himself and invoked
Allah against Qarun. Allah the Almighty revealed to him that He subjugated the
earth to obey him. Musa (Peace be upon him) commanded the earth to swallow
Qarun and his dwelling place. And it was! Allah knows best!
It was also said: That when Qarun went forth before his people in his pomp:
guards, mules and clothes, he passed by Musa (Peace be upon him) while he
was reminding the people of Allah. When the people saw him, the faces of most
of them turned towards him. Musa (Peace be upon him) called him and said:
Why do you do this? Qarun replied saying: O Musa! You have been favored with
Prophethood and I have been favored with riches. If you want, you may go forth
and invoke Allah against me, and I would invoke Him against you. Thereupon,
both of them went forth and Musa (Peace be upon him) said: Would you like to
begin? Qarun said: Yes, and he made his invocations but they were not
answered. When Musa (Peace be upon him) invoked Allah the Almighty against
him saying: O Allah! Command the earth to transgress today. Allah revealed to
him that He did. Then, Musa (Peace be upon him) said: O earth! Take them! And
it took them to their feet. Then, he said: take them! And it took them to their
knees. Then, he said: take them! And it took them to their shoulders. Then, he
said: O earth! Bring their
.riches and treasures! They were brought till they saw them, then Musa (Peace be
upon him) pointed with his hand saying: Go, you sons of Laui! And they sank
into the earth.
It was narrated from Qatadah that he said: "They would sink into the earth
till the Day of Resurrection." Ibn 'Abbas (May Allah be pleased with him) said:
"They sank into the earth till they reached the seventh earth."
Allah the Almighty says: {Then he had no group or party to help him
against Allah, nor was he one of those who could save themselves}, i.e.
he could not help himself or get help from others. Allah the Almighty states:
{Then he will have no power, nor any helper}. (At-Tariq, 10) When the people saw what happened to Qarun and his treasures of sinking into the earth
and complete destruction, those who had desired for a position like his position
the day before regretted and thanked Allah the Almighty and hence they said:
{Had it not been that Allah was Gracious to us, He could have caused
the earth to swallow us up (also)! Know you not that the disbelievers
will never be successful}.
Then, Allah the Almighty informs us that {That home of the Hereafter}, i.e.
Paradise is prepared only for those {who rebel not against the truth with
pride and oppression in the land nor do mischief by committing crimes}
and then He says: {And the good end is for the Muttaqun (the pious and
righteous persons)}.
This story of Qarun might have taken place before they get out of Egypt for
Allah the Almighty says: {So, We caused the earth to swallow him and his
dwelling place}, or it might have taken place after that during the Diaspora.
Allah knows best!
However, Almighty Allah mentions the dispraise of Qarun in several Verses on
the Glorious Qur'an. Allah says: {And indeed We sent Musa (Moses) with
Our Ayat (proofs, evidences, .verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.),
and a manifest authority. To Fir'aun (Pharaoh), Haman and Qarun
(Korah), but they called (him): "A sorcerer, a liar!"}. (Ghafir, 23, 24) and,
in Surah Al-'Ankabut after mentioning 'Ad, Thamud, Pharaoh, Haman and Qarun,
He says: {And (We destroyed also) Qarun (Korah), Fir'aun (Pharaoh),
and Haman. And indeed Musa (Moses) came to them with lessons,
clear Ayat (proofs, evidences, verses, signs, revelations, etc.), but they
were arrogant in the land, yet they could not outstrip Us (escape Our
punishment). So, We punished each (of them) for his sins,. of them
were some on whom We sent Hasib (a violent wind with shower of
stones) [as on the people of Lut (Lot)], and of them were some who
were overtaken by As-Saihah [torment -awful cry, (as Thamud or
Shu'aib's People)], and of them were some whom We caused the earth
to swallow [as Qarun (Korah)], and of them were some whom We
drowned [as the people ofNuh (Noah), or Fir'aun (Pharaoh) and his-
people]. It was not Allah Who wronged them, but they wronged
themselves}. (Al-'Ankabut, 39, 40) so, he who was swallowed by the earth was
Qarun, and those whom were drowned were Pharaoh, Haman and their troops
because they were sinful.
Imam Ahmed, in his Musnad, reported that once the Prophet (Peace be upon
him) remembered the prayer and said: "He who observes it regularly and
properly, it will be light, evidence and salvation for him on the Day of
Resurrection. And, he who does not observe it regularly and properly, there will
neither be -for him -light, nor evidence, nor salvation. And, on the Day of
Resurrection, he will be (gathered) with Qarun, Fir'aun (Pharaoh), Haman and
Ubaiy Ibn Khalaf".
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