Story of Qārūn and Mūsā
﴿ إِنَّ قَـٰرُونَ كَانَ مِنْ قَوْمِ مُوسَىٰ فَبَغَىٰ عَلَيْهِمْ ۖ وَءَاتَيْنَـٰهُ مِنَ الْكُنُوزِ مَآ إِنَّ مَفَاتِحَهُۥ لَتَنُوٓأُ
بِالْعُصْبَةِ أُولِى الْقُوَّةِ ج إِذْ قَالَ لَهُۥ قَوْمُهُۥ لَا تَفْرَحْ ۖ إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يُحِبُّ الْفَرِحِينَ ﴾
Indeed, Qārūn was from the people of Mūsā, but he oppressed them. And We gave him treasures of which the keys would indeed burden a company of
strong men. When his people said to him, ‘Do not exult – indeed,
Allah does not love the exultant.’ [28:76]
This Sūrah is known as Sūrat al-Qaṣaṣ (Chapter of The Stories). The Sūrah begins with the Story of Mūsā n and Fir‘awn, it also contains the story of Qārūn who was from the people of Mūsā n. According to some scholars, he was the first cousin of Mūsā n. However, he had many ill traits; for example, Allah f says:
﴿ فبغي عليهم ﴾
but he oppressed them
According to some scholars, this phrase is defined as oppression and cruelty to others. Others are of the opinion thar it refers to being arrogant and conceited.
Nevertheless, he was conceited, arrogant and cruel – these were a few of the traits he possessed. Qārūn was blessed with wealth and it was this that caused him to be arrogant, rather than thanking Allah f for the blessings He had bestowed upon him.
Furthermore, Allah f had chosen Mūsā n and Hārūn n with leadership and prophecy, so Qārūn was jealous of both his cousins. Although he had wealth, he wanted more, and his greed drove him to become oppressive and this led to his downfall.
The extent of his wealth was such that a group of strong men would struggle to carry the keys to his treasures.
Today we hoard our wealth in our bank accounts, similar to during Qārūn’s time, when their wealth was stored in treasure boxes.
The keys to Qārūn’s treasure were so many that his men would find it difficult to carry all his keys. عصبة (A company of men) is the term mentioned to describe the amount of people carrying his keys, which ranges from 10 to 70 people. So up to 70 men would find it difficult to carry the keys to his treasure-boxes!
Although Qārūn was from Mūsā’s n community and incredibly wealthy, he didn’t fulfil the rights of this wealth. He was arrogant and above all, he believed his wealth was acquired due to his skills and abilities. He believed that had Allah f not been pleased with him and recognized his grace, He would not have given him wealth.
Allah f states:
﴿ أَوَ لَمْ یَعْلَمْ أَنَّ اللَّهَ قَدْ أَهْلَكَ مِن قَبْلِهِۦ مِنَ الْقُرُونِ مَنْ هُوَ أَشَدُّ مِنْهُ قُوَّةً وَأَكْثَرُ جَمْعًا ۚ ﴾
Does he not know that Allah indeed destroyed before him generations who were stronger than him in strength and greater in numbers? [28:78]
He failed to understand that his wealth had no value to him unless he used it in the path of Allah f and to help people for the sake of Dīn (religion).
Qārūn’s downfall came when he plotted against Mūsā n. He accused Mūsā n of committing adultery. It is mentioned that Qārūn called a woman and said,
“I will give you a lot of wealth if you announce in front of everyone that you have had an illicit relationship with Mūsā n.”
However, when she was brought in front of everybody, she denied that she had had any illicit relationship with Mūsā n. Rather, she exposed Qārūn. When Mūsā n discovered this, he went into prayer. He said:
“O Allah f, Qārūn has been oppressing me, so help me.”
Allah f gave Qārun the opportunity to make whatever supplication he wanted for the sake of preserving his dignity. Allah fthen called on the earth to swallow Qārūn with his treasures. When Qārūn realised what was happening to him, he called to Mūsā n,
“Help me, have mercy on me!”
At every moment, as he was getting swallowed up, he called out to Mūsā n for mercy. When he got swallowed up to his knees, he begged to Mūsā n for mercy, when he got swallowed up to his hips, he begged for mercy again, when he got swallowed up to his neck, he begged for mercy.
He continued begging to Mūsā n a total of 70 times, until the earth swallowed him up with his entire possessions. Mūsā was ignoring him due to his severe anger, until Qārūn and his entire possessions were swallowed up by the earth.
According to Baghawī’s transmission, we learn that Allah f revealed to Mūsā saying,
“How hard-hearted can you be! He (Qārūn) asked you for help 70 times but you did not respond to him. By My Might and Honour, had Qārūn asked Me for help only once, I would have helped him (and not let him be swallowed by the earth).” [1]
May Allah f save us from following in Qārūn’s footsteps. May Allah f give us the ability to take from this world only what is necessary for us. Āmīn.
Allah f reminds us in the Qur’ān that whatever we have been given, it is the enjoyment of the worldly life and whatever we preserve with Allah f, that will remain forever and is eternal.
[1] Baghawī, Ma‘ālim al-Tanzīl fī Tafsīr al-Quran, 6:225.
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“The best among you (Muslims) are those who learn the Qur’an and teach it.”
The Prophet (peace be upon him)
