Contemplation [28:76-82]

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Indeed, Qarun was from the people of Moses, but he tyrannized them. And We gave him of treasures whose keys would burden a band of strong men; thereupon his people said to him, "Do not exult. Indeed, Allaah does not like the exultant. But seek, through that which Allaah has given you, the home of the Hereafter; and [yet], do not forget your share of the world. And do good as Allaah has done good to you. And desire not corruption in the land. Indeed, Allaah does not like corrupters." He said, "I was only given it because of knowledge I have." Did he not know that Allaah had destroyed before him of generations those who were greater than him in power and greater in accumulation [of wealth]? But the criminals, about their sins, will not be asked. So he came out before his people in his adornment. Those who desired the worldly life said, "Oh, would that we had like what was given to Qarun. Indeed, he is one of great fortune." But those who had been given knowledge said, "Woe to you! The reward of Allaah is better for he who believes and does righteousness. And none are granted it except the patient." And We caused the earth to swallow him and his home. And there was for him no company to aid him other than Allaah , nor was he of those who [could] defend themselves. And those who had wished for his position the previous day began to say, "Oh, how Allaah extends provision to whom He wills of His servants and restricts it! If not that Allaah had conferred favor on us, He would have caused it to swallow us. Oh, how the disbelievers do not succeed!" [28:76-82]

Tip of the day:

When you read about the people or nations of the past, think about present nations and if these qualities are in them also.

Comments

+1 #19 Abou Ghyth 2010-08-20 01:22

So, I ask ALLAH to give us the right knowledge and the correct understanding of our complete and perfected way of life, Islam. The moral of the story as I see it is “brothers and sisters seek the right and correct knowledge of the Deen.” The knowledge of the Deen is what we should strive for. Any act of worship should be based on the book of ALLAH and/or the authentic SUNNAH of His prophet. That’s the knowledge that will all the time lead us to say with certainty to Q and W kind: "Woe to you! The reward of ALLAH is better for he who believes and does righteousness. And none are granted it except the patient."

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+1 #18 Abou Ghyth 2010-08-20 01:22

People, especially the A kind, cannot claim righteousness without being tested. ALLAH exposed A’s true desire during Q’s parade. As for some of them (the W kind), when they saw the apparent wealth of Q, the real nature of their heart took over their personalities, especially their tongues, and wished they possessed Q’s wealth. To them, Q was very fortunate. The real nature of a human is usually expressed via his own tongue at the moments of truth/test (Bin Al-Quyam in Rawdat Al-Muhbeen has a very nice fictional story about a discussion between the limbs, especially the eye, and the heart, that can related to this).

It can easily be seen from the scenery depicted in these beautiful verses that the K kind are the very fortunate ones. Indeed, they are the ones who succeeded and passed the test: they know the value of Q’s wealth is nothing compared to the reward of ALLAH. The key element of their success is they were given the right knowledge.

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+1 #17 Abou Ghyth 2010-08-20 01:21

This set of beautiful verses put forward a scene full of events and wisdom. Four main characters are mentioned in these concise and powerful verses: a wealthy, arrogant and oppressing person (which I refer to as Q), a set of people who apparently spread the truth and advice others to it (A), a set of people who love the worldly life (W), and a set of people who were given the right knowledge (K). From SUNNAN (universal laws) perspective, it does not matter what Q, A, W and K are. Among the many miracles of the Quran is that it provides universal truths through concrete examples as in these verses.

Q is being advised by A to be kind and generous as ALLAH was kind and generous to him. Q was asked to work for the hereafter as well as for this life. Unfortunately, Q arrogantly thinks that he was given that wealth because of his own knowledge. SUBHAN ALLAH, even today we hear the exact same response of Q from many kings, presidents, leaders, and wealthy people.

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+3 #16 Younus Kathrada 2010-08-18 07:55

After seeing Qarun being punished before their very eyes they came back to their senses. They realized that wealth and power are from Allaah; He gives it to whomever He wills and witholds it from whom He wills. Here we need to pause and think carefully; we see so many people who are wealthy and apparently "enjoying life", but what is the reality of those people? Should we wish for what they have? Or should we learn to be content and accept what Allaah has decreed for us? We need to remind ourselves that a person's true worth cannot be guaged by what they possess of wealth.
They realized that Allaah favoured them by not punishing them. Hopefully we too have learned this lesson.
As for the disbelievers, rest assured, they will not succeed in this world nor in the Hereafter.

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+2 #15 Younus Kathrada 2010-08-18 07:45

Those with knowledge/understanding admonished the ones who were deceived. They reminded them of a much higher goal, the reward of Allaah. But that reward will only come if one has faith and works righteous deeds and is patient. Indeed, there are those who know but are not patient. They do not practice self restraint and so the reward will not be attained since they choose the material pleasures over the Hereafter.
Then look at how the punishment befits the crime. Qarun he was so haughty and looked down upon people and so Allaah punished him by lowering him into the earth with all those possessions he bragged about. And where was his wealth now? What did his power benefit him at this time?

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+2 #14 Younus Kathrada 2010-08-18 07:34

Just try and picture the arrogance of Qarun. Imagine what may have been going through his mind as he boasted in front of the people. Here we need to to keep something in mind; we may be blessed with wealth and perhaps some of us can afford nice clothing and vehicles etc... That in and of itself is permissible as long as we do not becdome too lavish and wasteful. Thee problem arises when these things "get to our heads". That is, we look down upon those who do not have what we have and consider ourselves superior because of our wealth.
Those who desired what he had were not really very ambitious; all they could see was the apparent beauty of what Qarun had and they forgot what life is really all about. They forget that the Hereafter holds that which is much better.

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+2 #13 Amatullaah 2010-08-17 17:36

23) Many of these stories end with someone expressing regret... the characters in the story realize their folly and wish they had acted differently. We are reading these and we can learn these lessons so we are not faced with regret... may Allaah guide us to heed and reform ourselves

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+3 #12 Amatullaah 2010-08-17 17:33

22) The last verse is Oh, how the disbelievers do not succeed! Look at Qarun, didn't he have everything we associate with success in present terms? Wealth, power, affluent lifestyle, investments... and we are told he did not succeed. Which success are we chasing? May Allaah give us the tawfeeq to strive for the success in the hereafter.

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+2 #11 Amatullaah 2010-08-17 17:30

21) As I think about these verses, one more thing stands out - it is not apparent status that matters, the only thing that matters is the status with Allaah.

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+3 #10 Younus Kathrada 2010-08-17 17:22

Allaah reminds us that others were given even more than Qarun yet they were destroyed. So Qarun and others like him too can just as easily be destroyed should they be deserving and if Allaah wills.
" But the criminals, about their sins, will not be asked." They will deny doing wrong and will sing their own praises but to no avail. Allaah will punish them for their crimes and their "testimony" not be accepted since their crimes are so apparent and obvious.

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