Tafsir of Surah Al-Qasas - Verse 76

Qarun and His People's exhortation

It was recorded that Ibn `Abbas said:

إِنَّ قَـرُونَ كَانَ مِن قَوْمِ مُوسَى

(Verily, Qarun was of Musa's people,) "He was the son of his paternal uncle." This was also the view of Ibrahim An-Nakha`i, `Abdullah bin Al-Harith bin Nawfal, Sammak bin Harb, Qatadah, Malik bin Dinar, Ibn Jurayj and others; they all said that he was the cousin of Musa, peace be upon him. Ibn Jurayj said: "He was Qarun bin Yashar bin Qahith, and Musa was the son of `Imran bin Qahith.

وَءَاتَيْنَاهُ مِنَ الْكُنُوزِ

(And We gave him of the treasures,) meaning, of wealth;

مَآ إِنَّ مَفَاتِحَهُ لَتَنُوأُ بِالْعُصْبَةِ أُوْلِى الْقُوَّةِ

(that of which the keys would have been a burden to a body of strong men.) Groups of strong men would not have been able to carry them because they were so many. Al-A`mash narrated from Khaythamah, "The keys of Qarun's treasure were made of leather, each key like a finger, and each key was for a separate storeroom. When he rode anywhere, the keys would be carried on sixty mules with white blazes on their foreheads and white feet." Other views were also given, and Allah knows best.

إِذْ قَالَ لَهُ قَوْمُهُ لاَ تَفْرَحْ إِنَّ اللَّهَ لاَ يُحِبُّ الْفَرِحِينَ

(Remember when his people said to him: "Do not exult. Verily, Allah likes not those who exult.") means, the righteous ones among his people exhorted him. By way of sincere advice and guidance, they said: "Do not exult in what you have," meaning, `do not be arrogant and proud of your wealth.'

إِنَّ اللَّهَ لاَ يُحِبُّ الْفَرِحِينَ

(Verily, Allah likes not those who exult.) Ibn `Abbas said, "This means, those who rejoice and gloat." Mujahid said, "It means those who are insolent and reckless, and do not thank Allah for what He has given them." His saying:

وَابْتَغِ فِيمَآ ءَاتَاكَ اللَّهُ الدَّارَ الاٌّخِرَةَ وَلاَ تَنسَ نَصِيبَكَ مِنَ الدُّنْيَا

(But seek, with that which Allah has bestowed on you, the home of the Hereafter, and forget not your portion of lawful enjoyment in this world;) means, `use this great wealth and immense blessing Allah has given you to worship your Lord and draw closer to Him by doing a variety of good deeds which will earn you reward in this world and the Hereafter.'

وَلاَ تَنسَ نَصِيبَكَ مِنَ الدُّنْيَا

(and forget not your portion of lawful enjoyment in this world;) `That which Allah has permitted of food, drink, clothing, dwelling places and women. Your Lord has rights over you, your self has rights over you, your family has rights over you, and your visitors have rights over you. So give each of them their due.'

وَأَحْسِن كَمَآ أَحْسَنَ اللَّهُ إِلَيْكَ

(and be generous as Allah has been generous to you, ) `Be generous to His creatures, as He has been generous to you.'

وَلاَ تَبْغِ الْفَسَادَ فِى الاٌّرْضِ

(and seek not mischief in the land.) meaning: `do not let your aim be to spread corruption on earth and do harm to Allah's creation.'

إِنَّ اللَّهَ لاَ يُحِبُّ الْمُفْسِدِينَ

(Verily, Allah likes not the mischief-makers.)

Commentary

From the beginning of Surah Al-Qasas to this point, the story of Sayyidna Musa (علیہ السلام) with the Pharaoh and his people was narrated. From here onward another story about his is being related which is about Qarun, who belonged to his own fraternity. This story has an affinity with the previous verses in that it was said in an earlier verse that the wealth you are given in this world is temporary, and it is not wise to get involved in its love. وَمَا أُوتِيتُم مِّن شَيْءٍ فَمَتَاعُ الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا (And whatever thing you are given is the enjoyment of the worldly life - 28:60). Now in the story of Qarun it is described that he forgot this caution after having received the wealth and got so much intoxicated by it that he displayed ingratitude and rejected to fulfill his obligations toward Allah Ta’ ala with regard to bounties he had received from Him. As a consequence of that, he was sunk in the ground along with his treasure.

Qarun is a non-Arabic word, perhaps from Hebrew. It is stated in the Qur'an itself that he belonged to the fraternity of Sayyidna Musa (علیہ السلام) ، Bani Isra'il. As for his actual relationship with Musa (علیہ السلام) ، there are different versions. In a narration of Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbas ؓ he is mentioned as a cousin of Sayyidna Musa (علیہ السلام) . There are some other versions also beside this. (Qurtubi and Ruh).

A narration of Muhammad Ibn Ishaq, reproduced in Ruh ul-Ma’ ani, has observed that Qarun remembered Torah more than any other Isra'ili, but turned out to be a hypocrite like Samiri. The cause of his hypocrisy was his misplaced love and greed for worldly wealth and status. Leadership of the entire Bani Isra’ il was conferred on Sayyidna Musa (علیہ السلام) and his brother, Sayyidna Harun (علیہ السلام) ، who was his assistant and partner in prophethood. Hence, Qarun got jealous that after all he was also a cousin, but why did he not have a share in the leadership. So, he made a complaint to that effect before Sayyidna Musa (علیہ السلام) . He replied that it was all from Allah Ta’ ala, and he had no power in this matter. But Qarun was not convinced on this reply and developed jealousy against Sayyidna Musa (علیہ السلام) .

فَبَغَىٰ عَلَيْهِمْ (Then he rebelled against them - 28:76). There are quite a few meanings of the word بَغَىٰ Bagha. The more popular meaning is to commit cruelty. It is possible to take this word in this meaning here. Thus the meaning of the sentence would be that having got intoxicated by his wealth, he started perpetrating cruelty on people. Yahya Ibn Sallam and Said Ibn Al-Musayyab have stated that Qarun was a wealthy man, and was appointed by the Pharaoh to keep vigilance on Bani Isra'il. Taking advantage of this position, he started harassing Bani Isra'il. (Qurtubi)

The other meaning of Bagha is conceit or arrogance. Many a commentators have adopted this meaning here. Hence, the meaning of the verse would be that having got intoxicated by his wealth, he became conceited and looked down upon Bani Isra'il.

وَآتَيْنَاهُ مِنَ الْكُنُوزِ (And We had given to then such treasures – 28 – 76. Kunuz کَنُوز is the plural of کَنز (Kanz), which means buried treasure. In the commonly used religious sense Kanz is that treasure on which zakah is not paid. Sayyidna 'Ata' ؓ has narrated that he got hold of a magnificent buried treasure of Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) . (Ruh)

لَتَنُوءُ بِالْعُصْبَةِ (would weigh too heavy for a strong group - 28:76). The word نَاَء (Na’ a) means to bend down with weight, and عُصْبَةِ 'Usbah' means a group. The meaning of the sentence is that his treasures were so many and their keys were in such large number, that if a group of strong people would try to lift them, they would bend down under their weight. Normally the keys of the locks are light, but because of their large number, their weight had multiplied so much that it was not possible even for a group of strong persons to lift them all. (Ruh)

لَا تَفْرَ‌حْ (Do not exult - 28:76). Literal meaning of the word فَرَح (Farah) is the happiness one gets as a result of an instant pleasure. Many a Qur'anic verses have declared Farah as contemptible, as in this very verse also إِنَّ اللَّـهَ لَا يُحِبُّ الْفَرِ‌حِينَ (Allah does not like the exultant - 28:76). In another verse it is said لَا تَفْرَ‌حُوا بِمَا آتَاكُمْ (nor rejoice in what has come to you - 57:23). Yet another verse says فَرِ‌حُوا بِالْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا (And they are happy with the worldly life - 13:26). But in some verses Farah is allowed, rather in a way it is declared as desirable. For example in verses, يَوْمَئِذٍ يَفْرَ‌حُ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ (And on that day the believers will rejoice - 30:4) and فَبِذَٰلِكَ فَلْيَفْرَ‌حُوا (with these they should rejoice - 10:58). All these verses put together give us the guideline that Farah is contemptible and is not allowed when it reaches the level of arrogance and boasting. Thus one gets to a point where he regards the attainment of pleasure as his own personal achievement, and not a gift and favour from Allah Ta’ ala. But if the happiness and pleasure does not get to that position, then it is not disallowed; rather in a way it is desirable. In such a situation happiness would be to express the gratitude to Allah Ta’ ala.

Korah or Qarun was one of the Children of Israel, but he cut off his relations with his community and shifted his loyalties towards Pharaoh, as a result of which he became Pharaoh’s courtier. On account of his worldly wisdom, he accumulated great wealth, so much so that he became the richest man in Egypt. Having acquired wealth, he should have been duly grateful, but, instead he allowed his wealth to give him a sense of false pride. With the help of his resources, he should have earned the reward of goodness, but he did not do so. What is meant by creating ‘evil in the land?’ According to verse 77, one of the ways of creating a disturbance on earth is for a man acquiring a lot of wealth, to spend it only on himself. Water from various parts of land gathers in a sea. The sea again scatters the water back over the whole land after turning it into vapour. This is an example of peaceful activity (islah) which is the opposite of creating discord (fasad) in this world of God. The very same approach is required of man. If, for any reason, wealth is accumulated by someone, he should by different methods, return it to those less favoured in the distribution of wealth. In other words, circulating accumulated wealth promotes islah, while hoarding accumulated wealth brings about fasad.