Tarikh (al-Tabari) 232
The story of Moses the one who spoke with Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)
قِصَّةُ قَارُونَ مَعَ مُوسَى عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ وَسَلْبِهِ كُلَّ مَكْنُونٍ وَمَخْزُونٍ قَالَ الْأَعْمَشُ بسنده عَنِ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ، قَالَ: كَانَ قَارُونُ ابْنَ عَمِّ مُوسَى. وَكَذَا قَالَ إِبْرَاهِيمُ النَّخَعِيُّ، وَعَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ الْحَارِثِ بْنِ نَوْفَلٍ، وَسِمَاكُ بْنُ حَرْبٍ، وَقَتَادَةُ، وَمَالِكُ بْنُ دِينَارٍ، وَابْنُ جُرَيْجٍ، وَزَادَ فَقَالَ: هُوَ قَارُونُ بْنُ يَصْهَرَ بْنَ قَاهَثَ، وَمُوسَى بْنُ عِمْرَانَ بْنِ قَاهَثَ. قَالَ ابْنُ جُرَيْجٍ: وَهَذَا قَوْلُ أَكْثَرِ أَهْلِ الْعِلْمِ أَنَّهُ كَانَ ابْنَ عَمِّ مُوسَى. وَرَدَّ قَوْلَ ابْنِ إِسْحَاقَ إِنَّهُ كَانَ عَمَّ مُوسَى. قَالَ قَتَادَةُ: وَكَانَ يُسَمَّى الْمُنَوِّرَ; لِحُسْنِ صَوْتِهِ بِالتَّوْرَاةِ وَلَكِنَّ عَدُوَّ اللَّهِ نَافَقَ، كَمَا نَافَقَ السَّامِرِيُّ، فَأَهْلَكَهُ الْبَغْيُ لِكَثْرَةِ مَالِهِ. وَقَالَ شَهْرُ بْنُ حَوْشَبٍ: زَادَ فِي ثِيَابِهِ شِبْرًا طُولًا; تَرَفُّعًا عَلَى قَوْمِهِ. وَقَدْ ذَكَرَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى كَثْرَةَ كُنُوزِهِ; حَتَّى إِنَّ مَفَاتِيحَهُ كَانَ يَثْقُلُ حِمْلُهَا عَلَى الْفِئَامِ مِنَ الرِّجَالِ الشِّدَادِ، وَقَدْ قِيلَ: إِنَّهَا كَانَتْ مِنَ الْجُلُودِ، وَإِنَّهَا كَانَتْ تُحْمَلُ عَلَى سِتِّينَ بَغْلًا. فَاللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ. وَقَدْ وَعَظَهُ النُّصَحَاءُ مِنْ قَوْمِهِ; قَائِلِينَ: لَا تَفْرَحْ إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يُحِبُّ الْفَرِحِينَ أَيْ; لَا تَبْطَرْ بِمَا أُعْطِيتَ، وَتَفْخَرْ عَلَى غَيْرِكَ. وَابْتَغِ فِيمَا آتَاكَ اللَّهُ الدَّارَ الْآخِرَةَ يَقُولُونَ: لِتَكُنْ هِمَّتُكَ مَصْرُوفَةً لِتَحْصِيلِ ثَوَابِ اللَّهِ فِي الدَّارِ الْآخِرَةِ، فَإِنَّهُ خَيْرٌ وَأَبْقَى، وَمَعَ هَذَا وَلَا تَنْسَ نَصِيبَكَ مِنَ الدُّنْيَا أَيْ; وَتَنَاوَلْ مِنْهَا بِمَالِكَ مَا أَحَلَّ اللَّهُ لَكَ، فَتَمَتَّعْ لِنَفْسِكَ بِالْمَلَاذِّ الطَّيِّبَةِ الْحَلَالِ، وَأَحْسِنْ كَمَا أَحْسَنَ اللَّهُ إِلَيْكَ أَيْ; وَأَحْسِنْ إِلَى خَلْقِ اللَّهِ كَمَا أَحْسَنَ اللَّهُ خَالِقُهُمْ وَبَارِئُهُمْ إِلَيْكَ، وَلَا تَبْغِ الْفَسَادَ فِي الْأَرْضِ أَيْ; وَلَا تُسِئْ إِلَيْهِمْ، وَلَا تُفْسِدْ فِيهِمْ فَتُقَابِلَهُمْ ضِدَّ مَا أُمِرْتَ فِيهِمْ، فَيُعَاقِبَكَ وَيَسْلُبَكَ مَا وَهَبَكَ، إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يُحِبُّ الْمُفْسِدِينَ فَمَا كَانَ جَوَابَهُ قَوْمَهُ لِهَذِهِ النَّصِيحَةِ الصَّحِيحَةِ الْفَصِيحَةِ، إِلَّا أَنَّ قَالَ إِنَّمَا أُوتِيتُهُ عَلَى عِلْمٍ عِنْدِي يَعْنِي: أَنَا لَا أَحْتَاجُ إِلَى اسْتِعْمَالِ مَا ذَكَرْتُمْ، وَلَا إِلَى مَا إِلَيْهِ أَشَرْتُمْ; فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ إِنَّمَا أَعْطَانِي هَذَا لِعِلْمِهِ أَنِّي أَسْتَحِقُّهُ، وَأَنِّي أَهْلٌ لَهُ، وَلَوْلَا أَنِّي حَبِيبٌ إِلَيْهِ، وَحَظِيٌّ عِنْدَهُ، لَمَا أَعْطَانِي مَا أَعْطَانِي. قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى رَدًّا عَلَيْهِ مَا ذَهَبَ إِلَيْهِ: أَوَلَمْ يَعْلَمْ أَنَّ اللَّهَ قَدْ أَهْلَكَ مِنْ قَبْلِهِ مِنَ الْقُرُونِ مَنْ هُوَ أَشَدُّ مِنْهُ قُوَّةً وَأَكْثَرُ جَمْعًا وَلَا يُسْأَلُ عَنْ ذُنُوبِهِمُ الْمُجْرِمُونَ أَيْ; قَدْ أَهْلَكْنَا مِنَ الْأُمَمِ الْمَاضِينَ بِذُنُوبِهِمْ وَخَطَايَاهُمْ مَنْ هُوَ أَشَدُّ مِنْ قَارُونَ قُوَّةً وَأَكْثَرُ أَمْوَالًا وَأَوْلَادًا، فَلَوْ كَانَ مَا قَالَ صَحِيحًا لَمْ نُعَاقِبْ أَحَدًا مِمَّنْ كَانَ أَكْثَرَ مَالًا مِنْهُ، وَلَمْ يَكُنْ مَالُهُ دَلِيلًا عَلَى مَحَبَّتِنَا لَهُ، وَاعْتِنَائِنَا بِهِ، كَمَا قَالَ تَعَالَى: وَمَا أَمْوَالُكُمْ وَلَا أَوْلَادُكُمْ بِالَّتِي تُقَرِّبُكُمْ عِنْدَنَا زُلْفَى إِلَّا مَنْ آمَنَ وَعَمِلَ صَالِحًا [ سَبَأٍ: 37 ]. وَقَالَ تَعَالَى: أَيَحْسَبُونَ أَنَّمَا نُمِدُّهُمْ بِهِ مِنْ مَالٍ وَبَنِينَ نُسَارِعُ لَهُمْ فِي الْخَيْرَاتِ بَلْ لَا يَشْعُرُونَ [ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ: 55، 56 ]. وَهَذَا الرَّدُّ عَلَيْهِ يَدُلُّ عَلَى صِحَّةِ مَا ذَهَبْنَا إِلَيْهِ مِنْ مَعْنَى قَوْلِهِ: إِنَّمَا أُوتِيتُهُ عَلَى عِلْمٍ عِنْدِي. وَأَمَّا مَنْ زَعَمَ أَنَّ الْمُرَادَ مِنْ ذَلِكَ، أَنَّهُ كَانَ يَعْرِفُ صَنْعَةَ الْكِيمْيَاءِ، أَوْ أَنَّهُ كَانَ يَحْفَظُ الِاسْمَ الْأَعْظَمَ، فَاسْتَعْمَلَهُ فِي جَمْعِ الْأَمْوَالِ، فَلَيْسَ بِصَحِيحٍ; لِأَنَّ الْكِيمْيَاءَ تَخْيِيلٌ وَصِبْغَةٌ لَا تُحِيلُ الْحَقَائِقَ، وَلَا تُشَابِهُ صَنْعَةَ الْخَالِقِ، وَالِاسْمُ الْأَعْظَمُ لَا يَصْعَدُ الدُّعَاءُ بِهِ مِنْ كَافِرٍ بِهِ، وَقَارُونُ كَانَ كَافِرًا فِي الْبَاطِنِ، مُنَافِقًا فِي الظَّاهِرِ، ثُمَّ لَا يَصِحُّ جَوَابُهُ لَهُمْ بِهَذَا عَلَى هَذَا التَّقْدِيرِ، وَلَا يَبْقَى بَيْنَ الْكَلَامَيْنِ تَلَازُمٌ،. قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى: فَخَرَجَ عَلَى قَوْمِهِ فِي زِينَتِهِ ذَكَرَ كَثِيرٌ مِنَ الْمُفَسِّرِينَ أَنَّهُ خَرَجَ فِي تَجَمُّلٍ عَظِيمٍ; مِنْ مَلَابِسَ، وَمَرَاكِبَ، وَخَدَمٍ، وَحَشَمٍ. وَقَدْ حَمَلَ مَعَهُ ثَلَاثَمِائَةِ جَارِيَةٍ عَلَى مِثْلِ بِرْذَوْنِهِ وَأَرْبَعَةَ آلَافٍ مِنْ أَصْحَابِهِ، وَبَنَى دَارَهُ، وَضَرَبَ عَلَيْهَا صَفَائِحَ الذَّهَبِ، وَعَمِلَ لَهَا بَابًا مِنْ ذَهَبٍ، فَتَمَنَّى أَهْلُ الْغَفْلَةِ وَالْجَهْلِ مِثْلَ مَا لَهُ، فَنَهَاهُمْ أَهْلُ الْعِلْمِ بِاللَّهِ. وَأَمَرَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى بِالزَّكَاةِ، فَجَاءَ إِلَى مُوسَى مِنْ كُلِّ أَلْفِ دِينَارٍ دِينَارٌ، وَعَلَى هَذَا مِنْ كُلِّ أَلْفِ شَيْءٍ شَيْءٌ، فَلَمَّا عَادَ إِلَى بَيْتِهِ وَجَدَهُ كَثِيرًا، فَجَمَعَ نَفَرًا يَثِقُ بِهِمْ مِنْ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ فَقَالَ: إِنَّ مُوسَى أَمَرَكُمْ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ فَأَطَعْتُمُوهُ، وَهُوَ الْآنَ يُرِيدُ أَخْذَ أَمْوَالِكُمْ. فَقَالُوا: أَنْتَ كَبِيرُنَا وَسَيِّدُنَا، فَمُرْنَا بِمَا شِئْتَ. فَقَالَ: آمُرُكُمْ أَنْ تُحْضِرُوا فُلَانَةً الْبَغِيَّ فَتَجْعَلُوا لَهَا جُعْلًا فَتَقْذِفُهُ بِنَفْسِهَا، فَفَعَلُوا ذَلِكَ، فَأَجَابَتْهُمْ إِلَيْهِ. ثُمَّ أَتَى مُوسَى، فَقَالَ: إِنَّ قَوْمَكَ قَدِ اجْتَمَعُوا لَكَ لِتَأْمُرَهُمْ وَتَنْهَاهُمْ. فَخَرَجَ إِلَيْهِمْ، فَقَالَ: مَنْ سَرَقَ قَطَعْنَاهُ، وَمَنِ افْتَرَى جَلَدْنَاهُ، وَمَنْ زَنَى وَلَيْسَ لَهُ امْرَأَةٌ جَلَدْنَاهُ مِائَةَ جَلْدَةٍ، وَإِنْ كَانَتْ لَهُ امْرَأَةٌ رَجَمْنَاهُ حَتَّى يَمُوتَ. فَقَالَ لَهُ قَارُونُ: وَإِنْ كُنْتَ أَنْتَ ؟ فَقَالَ: نَعَمْ. قَالَ: فَإِنَّ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ يَزْعُمُونَ أَنَّكَ فَجَرْتَ بِفُلَانَةَ. فَقَالَ ادْعُوهَا فَإِنْ قَالَتْ فَهُوَ كَمَا قَالَتْ. فَلَمَّا جَاءَتْ قَالَ لَهَا مُوسَى: أَقْسَمْتُ عَلَيْكِ بِالَّذِي أَنْزَلَ التَّوْرَاةَ إِلَّا صَدَقْتِ: أَنَا فَعَلْتُ بِكِ مَا يَقُولُ هَؤُلَاءِ ؟ قَالَتْ: لَا، كَذَبُوا، وَلَكِنْ جَعَلُوا لِي جُعْلًا عَلَى أَنْ أَقْذِفَكَ. فَسَجَدَ وَدَعَا عَلَيْهِمْ، فَأَوْحَى اللَّهُ إِلَيْهِ: مُرِ الْأَرْضَ بِمَا شِئْتَ تُطِعْكَ. فَقَالَ: يَا أَرْضُ خُذِيهِمْ. وَقِيلَ: إِنَّ هَذَا الْأَمْرَ بَلَغَ مُوسَى، فَدَعَا اللَّهَ تَعَالَى عَلَيْهِ، فَأَوْحَى اللَّهُ إِلَيْهِ: مُرِ الْأَرْضَ بِمَا شِئْتَ تُطِعْكَ. فَجَاءَ مُوسَى إِلَى قَارُونَ، خسف الأرض بقارون فَلَمَّا دَخَلَ عَلَيْهِ عَرَفَ الشَّرَّ فِي وَجْهِهِ، فَقَالَ لَهُ: يَا مُوسَى ارْحَمْنِي. فَقَالَ مُوسَى: يَا أَرْضُ خُذِيهِمْ. فَاضْطَرَبَتْ دَارُهُ وَسَاخَتْ بِقَارُونَ، وَأَصْحَابِهِ إِلَى الْكَعْبَيْنِ، وَجَعَلَ يَقُولُ: يَا مُوسَى ارْحَمْنِي. قَالَ يَا أَرْضُ خُذِيهِمْ، فَأَخَذَتْهُمْ إِلَى رُكَبِهِمْ. فَلَمْ يَزَلْ يَسْتَعْطِفُهُ وَهُوَ يَقُولُ: يَا أَرْضُ خُذِيهِمْ، حَتَّى خُسِفَ بِهِمْ، فَأَوْحَى اللَّهُ إِلَى مُوسَى: مَا أَفَظَّكَ ! أَمَا وَعِزَّتِي لَوْ إِيَّايَ نَادَى لَأَجَبْتُهُ، وَلَا أُعِيدُ الْأَرْضَ تُطِيعُ أَحَدًا أَبَدًا بَعْدَكَ، فَهُوَ يُخْسَفُ بِهِ كُلَّ يَوْمٍ، فَلَمَّا أَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ نِقْمَتَهُ حَمِدَ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ اللَّهَ، وَعَرَفَ الَّذِينَ تَمَنَّوْا مَكَانَهُ بِالْأَمْسِ خَطَأَ أَنْفُسِهِمْ وَاسْتَغْفَرُوا، وَتَابُوا. لَمَّا ذَكَرَ تَعَالَى خُرُوجَهُ فِي زِينَتِهِ، وَاخْتِيَالَهُ فِيهَا، وَفَخْرَهُ عَلَى قَوْمِهِ بِهَا، قَالَ: فَخَسَفْنَا بِهِ وَبِدَارِهِ الْأَرْضَ كَمَّا رَوَى الْبُخَارِيُّ مِنْ حَدِيثِ الزُّهْرِيِّ، عَنْ سَالِمٍ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ، عَنِ النَّبِيِّ ﷺ، قَالَ: بَيْنَا رَجُلٌ يَجُرُّ إِزَارَهُ، إِذْ خُسِفَ بِهِ، فَهُوَ يَتَجَلْجَلُ فِي الْأَرْضِ إِلَى يَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ. وَقَدْ رُوِيَ عَنْ قَتَادَةَ أَنَّهُ قَالَ: يُخْسَفُ بِهِمْ كُلَّ يَوْمٍ قَامَةً، إِلَى يَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ. وَعَنِ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ أَنَّهُ قَالَ: خُسِفَ بِهِمْ إِلَى الْأَرْضِ السَّابِعَةِ. وَقَدْ ذَكَرَ كَثِيرٌ مِنَ الْمُفَسِّرِينَ هَاهُنَا إِسْرَائِيلِيَّاتٍ كَثِيرَةً، أَضْرَبْنَا عَنْهَا صَفْحًا وَتَرَكْنَاهَا قَصْدًا. وَقَوْلُهُ تَعَالَى: فَمَا كَانَ لَهُ مِنْ فِئَةٍ يَنْصُرُونَهُ مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ وَمَا كَانَ مِنَ الْمُنْتَصِرِينَ لَمْ يَكُنْ لَهُ نَاصِرٌ مِنْ نَفْسِهِ، وَلَا مِنْ غَيْرِهِ، كَمَا قَالَ: فَمَا لَهُ مِنْ قُوَّةٍ وَلَا نَاصِرٍ [ الطَّارِقِ: 10 ]. وَلَمَّا حَلَّ بِهِ مَا حَلَّ مِنَ الْخَسْفِ، وَذَهَابِ الْأَمْوَالِ، وَخَرَابِ الدَّارِ، وَهَلَاكِ النَّفْسِ وَالْأَهْلِ وَالْعَقَارِ، نَدِمَ مَنْ كَانَ تَمَنَّى مِثْلَ مَا أُوتِيَ، وَشَكَرُوا اللَّهَ تَعَالَى الَّذِي يُدَبِّرُ عِبَادَهُ بِمَا يَشَاءُ مِنْ حُسْنِ التَّدْبِيرِ الْمَخْزُونِ، وَلِهَذَا قَالُوا: لَوْلَا أَنْ مَنَّ اللَّهُ عَلَيْنَا لَخَسَفَ بِنَا وَيْكَأَنَّهُ لَا يُفْلِحُ الْكَافِرُونَ، وَقَدْ قَالَ قَتَادَةُ: وَيْكَأَنَّ بِمَعْنَى أَلَمْ تَرَ أَنَّ. وَهَذَا قَوْلٌ حَسَنٌ مِنْ حَيْثُ الْمَعْنَى. وَاللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ. ثُمَّ أَخْبَرَ تَعَالَى تِلْكَ الدَّارُ الْآخِرَةُ وَهِيَ دَارُ الْقَرَارِ. وَهِيَ الدَّارُ الَّتِي يُغْبَطُ مَنْ أُعْطِيَهَا، وَيُعَزَّى مَنْ حُرِمَهَا، إِنَّمَا هِيَ مُعَدَّةٌ لِلَّذِينِ لَا يُرِيدُونَ عُلُوًّا فِي الْأَرْضِ وَلَا فَسَادًا. فَالْعُلُوُّ هُوَ التَّكَبُّرُ وَالْفَخْرُ وَالْأَشَرُ وَالْبَطَرُ. وَالْفَسَادُ هُوَ عَمَلُ الْمَعَاصِي اللَّازِمَةِ وَالْمُتَعَدِّيَةِ; مِنْ أَخْذِ أَمْوَالِ النَّاسِ، وَإِفْسَادِ مَعَايِشِهِمْ، وَالْإِسَاءَةِ إِلَيْهِمْ، وَعَدَمِ النُّصْحِ لَهُمْ، ثُمَّ قَالَ تَعَالَى: وَالْعَاقِبَةُ لِلْمُتَّقِينَ. وَقِصَّةُ قَارُونَ هَذِهِ، قَدْ تَكُونُ قَبْلَ خُرُوجِهِمْ مِنْ مِصْرَ; لِقَوْلِهِ: فَخَسَفْنَا بِهِ وَبِدَارِهِ الْأَرْضَ فَإِنَّ الدَّارَ ظَاهِرَةٌ فِي الْبُنْيَانِ، وَقَدْ تَكُونُ بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ فِي التِّيهِ، وَتَكُونُ الدَّارُ عِبَارَةً عَنِ الْمَحِلَّةِ الَّتِي تُضْرَبُ فِيهَا الْخِيَامُ.
Translation
✧ The story of Qārūn with Moses (peace and blessings be upon him) and the stripping away of every hidden and stored treasure. Al-Aʿmash said with his chain of transmission from Ibn ʿAbbās, saying: Qārūn was the paternal cousin of Moses. Likewise said Ibrāhīm al-Nakhaʿī, ʿAbd Allāh b. al-Ḥārith b. Nawfal, Simāk b. Ḥarb, Qatādah, Mālik b. Dīnār, and Ibn Jurayj, who added: He is Qārūn b. Yaṣhar b. Qāhith, and Moses is the son of ʿImrān b. Qāhith. Ibn Jurayj said: This is the saying of most of the people of knowledge, that he was the paternal cousin of Moses. And he rejected the saying of Ibn Isḥāq that he was the paternal uncle of Moses. Qatādah said: He used to be called al-Munawwir (the illuminator) because of the beauty of his voice with the Torah, but the enemy of Allah acted hypocritically as al-Sāmirī acted hypocritically, and transgression destroyed him because of the abundance of his wealth. Shahr b. Ḥawshab said: He added a span in length to his garments out of haughtiness over his people. Allah, exalted be He, has mentioned the abundance of his treasures, such that the carrying of its keys was heavy upon a group of strong men, and it has been said: They were made of leather, and they were carried on sixty mules—Allah knows best. The sincere advisers among his people admonished him, saying: “Do not exult; indeed Allah does not love the exultant,” meaning: Do not be insolent with what you have been given and boast over others. “And seek, in what Allah has given you, the abode of the Hereafter,” they say: Let your concern be directed to attaining Allah’s reward in the Hereafter, for it is better and more lasting, and with this “do not forget your share of the world,” meaning: Take from it with your wealth what Allah has made lawful for you, and enjoy for yourself the good lawful pleasures, “and do good as Allah has done good to you,” meaning: Be good to the creation of Allah as Allah, their Creator and Originator, has been good to you, “and do not seek corruption in the land,” meaning: Do not mistreat them, and do not corrupt them, lest you meet them with the opposite of what you were commanded regarding them, and He will punish you and strip you of what He bestowed upon you, “indeed Allah does not love the corrupters.” His answer to his people to this sound and eloquent advice was only to say: “I was given it only because of a knowledge I possess,” meaning: I do not need to employ what you mentioned, nor what you indicated; for Allah gave me this only because He knows that I deserve it and am worthy of it, and had I not been beloved to Him and favored in His sight, He would not have given me what He gave me. Allah, exalted be He, said in refutation of what he claimed: “Did he not know that Allah had destroyed before him of the generations those stronger than him in power and greater in accumulation? And the criminals will not be asked about their sins,” meaning: We destroyed of the past nations because of their sins and transgressions those stronger than Qārūn in power and more abundant in wealth and children. If what he said were true, We would not have punished anyone who had more wealth than him, and his wealth would not be evidence of Our love for him and Our care for him, as the Exalted said: “And it is not your wealth or your children that bring you near to Us in station, except one who believes and does righteous deeds” [Sabaʾ: 37]. And the Exalted said: “Do they think that what We extend to them of wealth and children is hastening for them in good things? Rather, they do not perceive” [al-Muʾminūn: 55–56]. This refutation of him indicates the soundness of what we have concluded of the meaning of his saying: “I was given it only because of a knowledge I possess.” As for those who claim that the meaning of that is that he knew the craft of alchemy, or that he memorized the Greatest Name and used it to amass wealth, that is not correct, because alchemy is imaginary and a dyeing that does not change realities, and does not resemble the work of the Creator. The Greatest Name—supplication with it does not ascend from a disbeliever in it, and Qārūn was a disbeliever inwardly and a hypocrite outwardly. Moreover, his answer to them would not be valid with this on this assumption, and no correlation would remain between the two statements. Allah, exalted be He, said: “So he went forth to his people in his adornment.” Many of the exegetes mention that he went forth in great splendor, of garments, mounts, servants, and retinue. He brought with him three hundred slave girls on mounts like his own, and four thousand of his companions, and he built his dwelling and covered it with sheets of gold, and made for it a door of gold. The people of heedlessness and ignorance wished for the like of what he had, but the people of knowledge of Allah forbade them. And Allah, exalted be He, commanded him to give zakāh, so he came to Moses with one dinar from every thousand dinars, and likewise one thing from every thousand things. When he returned to his house, he found it to be much, so he gathered a group he trusted from the Children of Israel and said: “Moses commanded you with everything and you obeyed him, and now he wants to take your wealth.” They said: “You are our elder and our master, so command us as you wish.” He said: “I command you to bring that prostitute woman and give her a payment so that she accuses him of herself.” They did that, and she agreed to it. Then he came to Moses and said: “Your people have gathered for you so that you may command them and forbid them.” He went out to them and said: “Whoever steals, we cut off his hand; whoever slanders, we flog him; whoever commits fornication without having a wife, we flog him one hundred lashes; and if he has a wife, we stone him until he dies.” Qārūn said to him: “Even if it is you?” He said: “Yes.” He said: “The Children of Israel claim that you committed immorality with that woman.” He said: “Call her; if she says it, then it is as she said.” When she came, Moses said to her: “I adjure you by the One who sent down the Torah to speak truthfully: Did I do to you what these people say?” She said: “No, they have lied, but they gave me a payment to accuse you.” He prostrated and supplicated against them, and Allah revealed to him: “Command the earth as you wish and it will obey you.” He said: “O earth, seize them.” It has also been said: This matter reached Moses, and he supplicated to Allah, exalted be He, against him, and Allah revealed to him: “Command the earth as you wish and it will obey you.” Moses came to Qārūn, and the earth swallowed Qārūn. When he entered upon him, he recognized evil in his face, and Qārūn said to him: “O Moses, have mercy on me.” Moses said: “O earth, seize them.” His dwelling shook and sank with Qārūn and his companions up to the ankles, and he kept saying: “O Moses, have mercy on me.” He said: “O earth, seize them,” and it took them up to their knees. He did not cease seeking his compassion while he said: “O earth, seize them,” until they were swallowed up. Then Allah revealed to Moses: “How harsh you are! By My might, if he had called upon Me, I would have answered him, and I will never again make the earth obey anyone after you.” So he is swallowed up every day. When Allah sent down His vengeance, the believers praised Allah, and those who had wished for his place the day before recognized their error and sought forgiveness and repented. When the Exalted mentioned his going forth in his adornment and his conceitedness therein and his boasting over his people by it, He said: “So We caused the earth to swallow him and his dwelling,” as al-Bukhārī narrated from the hadith of al-Zuhrī, from Sālim, from his father, from the Prophet ﷺ, who said: “While a man was dragging his lower garment, he was swallowed up, and he is sinking in the earth until the Day of Resurrection.” It has been narrated from Qatādah that he said: “They are swallowed up every day by a fathom, until the Day of Resurrection.” And from Ibn ʿAbbās that he said: “They were swallowed down to the seventh earth.” Many of the exegetes have mentioned many Israelite accounts here, which we have turned away from and deliberately left aside. And His saying, exalted be He: “And he had no company to help him besides Allah, and he was not of those who could defend themselves”—he had no helper from himself or from others, as He said: “Then he has no strength and no helper” [al-Ṭāriq: 10]. When what befell him of the swallowing, the loss of wealth, the ruin of the dwelling, and the destruction of self, family, and property occurred, those who had wished for the like of what he was given regretted, and they praised Allah, exalted be He, who manages His servants with what He wills of excellent hidden management. Therefore they said: “Had Allah not bestowed favor upon us, He would have caused the earth to swallow us. Ah! It seems that the disbelievers do not prosper.” Qatādah said: “Wykʾannahu” has the meaning of “Do you not see that…” and this is a good saying in terms of meaning. Allah knows best. Then the Exalted informed: “That abode of the Hereafter” and it is the abode of permanence. It is the abode that whoever is given it is envied, and whoever is deprived of it is consoled. It is only prepared for those who do not desire exaltation in the earth or corruption. Exaltation is arrogance, boasting, insolence, and wantonness. Corruption is the committing of sins that are personal and transgressive, of taking people’s wealth, corrupting their livelihoods, mistreating them, and failing to counsel them. Then the Exalted said: “And the outcome is for the God-fearing.” This story of Qārūn may have been before their departure from Egypt, because of His saying: “So We caused the earth to swallow him and his dwelling,” for the dwelling is apparent in the building, and it may have been after that in the wilderness, with the dwelling referring to the campsite where tents are pitched.
Grades by grader
No grade is recorded for this wording.