Men puffed up with wealth, like Qarun, Are not pleasing to Allah:for wealth Is for service, not for hoarding or show In the midst of his pride was Qarun ..Swallowed up in the earth , and the earth ..Knew him no more! It is the righteous That attain a happy End , Let nothing ..Keep your eyes back from that End: Then, and only then,shall ye reach The Eternal Reality, the , glorious Reality, Which is Allah, Who endureth forever!
Surah 28 : Al Qasas verse 76..
Qarun was doubtless, Of the people of Moses; but He acted insolently towards them: Had bestowed on him , that Their very keys would Have been a burden to A body of strong men: Behold, his people said to him: "Exult not, for Allah loveth not Those who exult (in riches).
Qarun is identified with the Korah of the English Bible. His story is told in Nun .xvi.1-35. He and his followers , numbering 250 men, rose in rebellion against Moses and Aaron, on the ground that their position and fame in the congregation entitled them to equality in spiritual matters with the Priests-that they were as holy as any, and they claimed to burned incense at the sacred Alter reserved for the Priests. They had an examplary punishment: " the earth opened her mouth , and swallowed them up , and their houses, and all the men that appertained unto Korah, and all their goods: they , and all that appertained to them, went down alive into the pit , and the earth closed upon them: and they perished from among the congregation."
Qarun's boundless wealth is described in the Midrashim, or the Jewish compilation based on the oral teachings of the Synagogues, which however exaggerate the weight of the keys to be the equivalent of the load of 300 mules!
Usbah: a body of men , here used indefinitely. It usually implies a body of 10-40 mens. The old fashioned keys were big and heavy, and if there were hundreds of treasure chests, the keys must have been a great weight. As they were travelling in the desert, the treasures were presumably left behind in Egypt, and only the keys were carried. The disloyal Qarun had left his heart in Egypt, with his treasures.
Surah 28: Al Qasas verse 77...
"But seek, with the (wealth) Which Allah has bestowed on thee, The Home of the Hereafter*, Nor forget thy portion in this: but do thou good, As Allah has been good To thee, and seek not (Occasions for) mischief in the land: For Allah loves not those Who do mischief."
*Thatis , 'spend your wealth in charity and good works.It is Allah Who has given it to you, and you should spend it in Allah's cause .Nor should you forget the legitimate needs of this life, as misers do, and most people become misers who think too exclusively of their wealth...If wealth is not used properly, there are three evils that follow:
1.its possesser may be a miser and forget all claims due to himself and those about him;:
2.he may forget the higher needs of the poor and needy , or the good causes which require support:and
3.he may even misspend on occasions and cause a great deal of harm and mischief.' Apparently Qarun had all three vices.
Surah 28: Al Qasas verse 78
He said : "This has been given To me because of a certain Knowledge which I have ."* Did he not know that Allah Had destroyed , before him (Whole ) generations-which were Superior to him in strength And greater in amount (Of riches ) they had collected? But the wicked are not Called (immediately) to account** For their sins.
*He was soo blind and arrogant that he thought that his own merit , knowledge, and skill or cleverness had earned him his wealth, and that now , on account of it , he was superior to everybody else and was entitled to ride rough shod over them.Fool!-he was soon pulled up by Allah.
**Even Qarun was given a long run of enjoyment with his fabulous wealth before he had to be removed for the mischief he was doing.
Surah 28: Al-Qasas verse 79
So he went forth among His people in the (pride Of his worldly) glitter. Said those whose aim is The life of this World: "Oh ! that we had the like Of what Qarun has got ! For he is truly a lord Of mighty good fortune!"*
*When he was in the hey -day of his Glory. worldly people envied him and thought how happy they would be if they are in his place. Not so the people of wisdom and discernment. They knew a more precious and lasting wealth, which is described in the next verse...
Surah 28:Al-Qasas verse 80
But those who had been granted (True) knowledge said: "Alas For you ! The reward of Allah (In Hereafter) is best For those who believe And work rightousness: but this None shall attain , save those Who steadfastly presevere (in good)."
Surah 28 :Al-Qasas verse 81..
Then We caused the earth * To swallow him up and His house; and he had not (The least little) party To help him against Allah, Nor could he defend himself.
*-Qarun is identified with the Korah of the English Bible. His story is told in Nun .xvi.1-35. He and his followers , numbering 250 men, rose in rebellion against Moses and Aaron, on the ground that their position and fame in the congregation entitled them to equality in spiritual matters with the Priests-that they were as holy as any, and they claimed to burned incense at the sacred Alter reserved for the Priests. They had an examplary punishment: " the earth opened her mouth , and swallowed them up , and their houses, and all the men that appertained unto Korah, and all their goods: they , and all that appertained to them, went down alive into the pit , and the earth closed upon them: and they perished from among the congregation."
*Surah 16 : Al-Nahl verse 45..
Do then those who devise Evil (plots) feel secure That Allah will not cause The earth to swallow them up, Or that the Wrath will not Seize them from directions They little perceive?*
The wicked plot against Prophets of Allah is secret , forgeting that every hidden thought of theirs is known to Allah ...and that for every thought and action of theirs they will have to account to Allah And Allahs punishment can seize them in various ways..
1.they may be swallowed up in the earth like Qarun,he was swallowed up in the earth while he was arrogantly exulting on the secure of his wealth .
2.It may be that , like Hamam, the prime minister of Pharoah...they are plotting against Allah, when they are themselves overwhelmed by some dreadful calamity ..the case of Pharoah is also in point..He was drowned while he was arrogantly hoping to frustrate Allah's plans for Israel
3.or the punishment may come to people away from their homes and humbles them in their pride..it also happened to Abu Jahl, who came exulting is his pride to the Battle of Badr (A.H.2)..His army was three times the size of the Muslim army from Madinah...but it suffered a crushing defeat , and he himself was ignominiously slain..
*Besides the obvious moral in the literal interpretation of the story, that material wealth is fleeting and may be a temptation and a cause of fail..there are some metaphorical implications that occur ...
1.Qarun was with Israel in the wilderness , even his material wealth was of no use to him there..he had the mere empty keys :material wealth has no value in itself, but only a relative and local value .
2.In body he was with Israel in the wilderness , but his heart was in Egypt with its fertility and slavery...such in the case of many hypocrates, who like to be seen in righteous company but whose thoughts, longings , and doings are inconsistent with such company..
3.There is no good in the this life but comes from Allah ..to think otherwise is to set up a false god besides Allah...Our own merits are soo small that they should never be the object of our idolatry.
4.if Qarun on account of his wealth was setting himself up in rivaltry with Prophet Moses and Aaron , he was blind in the fact that spiritual knowledge is far above any little cleverness in worldly affairs...
Mob-leaders have no position before spiritual guides..
We sent Musa with Our Signs and clear authority to Pharaoh, Haman and Qarun. But they said, "A lying magician." (Qur'an, 40: 23-24)
the story of Qarun teaches us: not to be taken by the allure of the temporary riches of this world and of those who possess them. The ones a believer should be inclined to are hose who withstand hardships in the way of God, those who spend their possessions, and live for the cause of God, and those men of faith and wisdom, whose hearts are full of love for God.
As the Prophet Muhammad (saas) said "God does not look at your forms and possessions, but He looks at your hearts and your deeds." (Muslim)
Those who appear to lead a luxuriant and prosperous life, actually live in spiritual deprivation. Each day drift these people into eternal torment in hell. God indicates this situation as follows:
Do not let their wealth and children impress you. God merely wants to punish them by them during their life in the world and for them to expire while they are unbelievers. (Qur'an, 9: 55)
ref-the meaning of THE HOLY QURAN-ABDULLAH YUSUF ALI
Alhamdulilahi rabbil Alamiin Wasalatu wasalaumu ala ashrafl mursalin nebiyuna wa habibuna Muhamad wa ala ahlihi wa ashabihi ajmaiin
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