Verses 76–84
This selection of verses contains the story of Korah (Qārūn) who was one of the Children of Israel. God relates his story after relating the excuse of the polytheists, which was And they say: If we follow the guidance with you, we shall be carried off from our country (), to which He responded with several rebuttals, as mentioned and discussed in the previous section. The reason God relates the story of Korah is so that the polytheists might consider his actions and fate carefully since his condition resembled their condition. His condition of disbelief in God and ingratitude towards Him led him to a sad and evil outcome. Thus the purpose was to convey the message to the polytheists that they needed to beware lest what befell him should befall them too. This is because God had granted Korah treasures which were such that their keys would weigh down a company of strong men. Consequently, he thought that his acquisition and accumulation of treasures was due solely to his own knowledge, intellectual merit, and good planning and that therefore he alone was responsible for his successes and achievements. As a result, he felt safe and secure from God’s punishment and preferred the life of this world to the life of the hereafter. He sought to work mischief on the earth, and as a result, God made him and his house sink into the earth. Then, there was no group that could help him against God, nor was he able to prevail or triumph.
Commentary
إِنَّ قَارُونَ كَانَ مِنْ قَوْمِ مُوسَىٰ فَبَغَىٰ عَلَيْهِمْ ۖ وَآتَيْنَاهُ مِنَ الْكُنُوزِ مَا إِنَّ مَفَاتِحَهُ لَتَنُوءُ بِالْعُصْبَةِ أُولِي الْقُوَّةِ إِذْ قَالَ لَهُ قَوْمُهُ لَا تَفْرَحْ ۖ إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يُحِبُّ الْفَرِحِينَ ٧٦
(28:76) Surely Korah (Qārūn) was of the people of Moses, but he rebelled against them, and We had given him treasures so much so that their keys would certainly weigh down a company of men possessed of great strength. When his people said to him: Do not exult; Allah does not love the exultant.
Majmaʿ al-Bayān says:
The verbal noun al-baghyu means “to seek or to desire to be unjustly high-handed and haughty”; “to be tyrannical”; “to infringe the rights of others”; “to wrong someone.” […] Al-mafātiḥ is the plural of maftaḥ or miftaḥ, while al-mafātīḥ is the plural of the term miftāḥ. The meaning of both terms is the same, which is “an instrument with which locks are opened; a key.” […] The verb nāʾa with its attendant preposition bi- means “to fall down,” “to sink,” “to collapse” or “to succumb to something while attempting to get up with it.” Its imperfect tense verb is yanūʾu while its verbal noun is nawāʾan. Hence it means “to raise or lift something despite its heaviness”; “to bear a burden with difficulty.”
Other sources have defined this verb to mean “something weighing down another thing till the former makes the latter tilt, slant or incline due to the weight.” Hence the sentence nāʾa bihi al-ḥamlu would translate as “the weight or the heavy thing that was carried weighed down on the person carrying it since it overburdened him thereby making him incline and tilt with it.” This latter definition is more suitable and appropriate for this verse.
Majmaʿ al-Bayān says:
Al-ʿuṣba means “a group or a band of people who are physically intertwined with each other or are physically bound and joined to each other for the sake of cooperation and collaboration in or for a particular task.” Different numbers have been suggested as constituting such a band or group of people who make up a ʿuṣba, ranging from ten individuals to fifteen individuals. This was the opinion of Mujāhid. On the other hand, Qatāda opined that a ʿuṣba constituted of between ten and forty people while Abū Ṣāliḥ was of the opinion that the appropriate number was forty men. Ibn ʿAbbās on the other hand favored a number of three to ten people. It is also suggested that the term in question refers to a band of people who are prejudiced and biased in favor of each other.
The response of Joseph’s brothers reported in which reads: we are a company (ʿuṣba) where they were nine individuals in number proves the spuriousness of the opinions other than the ultimate and penultimate ones.
Hence the meaning of this verse is that Korah was from the Children of Israel. He sought to be haughty, impertinent, unjust and tyrannical towards them. We had granted him of treasures which were such that their keys would prove a heavy burden for a strong group of people, weighing them down. On the other hand, a group of Qur’an commentators has interpreted the plural term al-mafātiḥ as al-khazāʾin, meaning “chests or coffers of treasures”; however, that is incorrect.
When his people said to him: Do not exult (lā tafraḥ, from al-farḥ); Allah does not love the exultant (al-fariḥīn): The words al-farḥ and al-fariḥīn have been explained to mean: “to exult by reason of wealth and to behave with pride, conceit, and ingratitude due to God’s favors.” This is a necessary corollary of excessive joy and happiness due to worldly wealth since it has an intense connection with the life of this world which makes a person forget the hereafter and bequeaths exuberant joy and exulted conceit on him. It is for this reason that God said: nor be exultant (lā tafraḥū) at what He has given you, and Allah does not love any arrogant boaster (). Similarly, the prohibition of such exultation (al-farḥ) has been understood and justified in this verse under discussion, where it reads Allah does not love the exultant…
وَابْتَغِ فِيمَا آتَاكَ اللَّهُ الدَّارَ الْآخِرَةَ ۖ وَلَا تَنْسَ نَصِيبَكَ مِنَ الدُّنْيَا ۖ وَأَحْسِنْ كَمَا أَحْسَنَ اللَّهُ إِلَيْكَ ۖ وَلَا تَبْغِ الْفَسَادَ فِي الْأَرْضِ ۖ إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يُحِبُّ الْمُفْسِدِينَ ٧٧
(28:77) And seek by means of what Allah has given you the future abode, and do not neglect your portion of this world, and do good [to others] as Allah has done good to you, and do not seek to make mischief in the land; Allah does not love the mischief-makers.
The part of this verse that says And seek by means of what Allah has given you the future abode means: “Seek to prepare the abode of the hereafter by means of what God has given you of wealth by spending it in God’s service. Furthermore, spend it in areas and places wherein lies God’s pleasure and satisfaction.”
As for the part of this verse that reads and do not neglect your portion of this world, it means: “Do not abandon what God has allocated or apportioned for you of the life of this world nor abandon your sustenance in it as if you have forgotten it. In addition to this, strive in this world for your hereafter.” This is because the reality of the human being’s share of the world is that he strives to do good in it for the sake of his hereafter since that is what shall remain and abide for him forever. Another meaning suggested is: “Do not forget that your share of the world—even if you are successful and prosperous in it—is only a little bit of what you have been given. This is what you eat of it, drink of it, and use of it as clothing while the rest is a grace which you shall leave behind for another. Therefore take from it what suffices you and do good to others by means of this grace that is a surplus.” This perspective is very good. There are other perspectives and explanations for this part of the verse which however do not correlate with the context of the verse. As for the part of this verse that reads and do good [to others] as Allah has done good to you, it means: “Spend your wealth for others in the spirit of kindness and benevolence just as God has given it to you in kindness and benevolence without yourself deserving or requiring it,” in which case this sentence occurs as an explanatory addition to the previous sentence which is and do not neglect your portion of this world, on the basis of the first of the two perspectives mentioned above and as a complementary sentence on the basis of the second of the two perspectives mentioned above.
The part of this verse that reads and do not seek to make mischief in the land; Allah does not love the mischief-makers means: “Do not seek to work mischief in the land by making use of what God has given you of wealth, nor seek to work mischief in the land by means of what you have achieved of high rank, superiority, and influence by this wealth. This is because God does not love those who work mischief and spread corruption, and that is because the basis of creation rests on goodness and reform.”
قَالَ إِنَّمَا أُوتِيتُهُ عَلَىٰ عِلْمٍ عِنْدِي ۚ أَوَلَمْ يَعْلَمْ أَنَّ اللَّهَ قَدْ أَهْلَكَ مِنْ قَبْلِهِ مِنَ الْقُرُونِ مَنْ هُوَ أَشَدُّ مِنْهُ قُوَّةً وَأَكْثَرُ جَمْعًا ۚ وَلَا يُسْأَلُ عَنْ ذُنُوبِهِمُ الْمُجْرِمُونَ ٧٨
(28:78) He said: I have been given this only on account of the knowledge I have. Did he not know that Allah had destroyed before him of the generations those who were mightier in strength than he and greater in assemblage? And the guilty shall not be asked about their faults.
There is no doubt that the statement He said: I have been given this only on account of the knowledge I have is Korah’s response to the advice and exhortations that the believers made to him. Their advice was based on the argument that his wealth was what God had granted him due to His kindness and benevolence and as a grace and favor from Himself and not because he deserved it or was worthy of it. Therefore it was imperative for him to seek the abode of the hereafter and to do good to the people with his wealth rather than to work mischief in the land by being arrogant, haughty, and exulting.
However he argued that he was not given his wealth as kindness and as benevolence from God; rather, he claimed that he was granted wealth because he merited and deserved it due to the knowledge that he had of how to acquire wealth and how to manage it—knowledge which was not available to others. Consequently, if his wealth was due to his meriting and deserving it then he had an independent right to it. It was his prerogative to do whatever he wanted with his wealth and to spend it however and wherever he wished in order to enjoy different kinds of comforts, to extend his authority and power, and to fulfil his hopes and desires.
This claim of Korah, which was one with which Korah was tried and tested and which ultimately led to his ruin and destruction—that is, the claim that the factor which was responsible for his acquiring treasures and obtaining power was his personal and intellectual genius and nothing else—is a claim that is common among the people of the world. Not one of them thinks that what he possesses of dignity, might, and temporal power is what divine providence and the coming together of beneficial circumstances and factors has brought to him; rather he believes that it is his own self which was the effective cause responsible for it; that it was his own knowledge that led him to it and that it was his own competence and experience which led him to take advantage of opportunities and achieve and secure his destiny.
God refers to this widely prevalent attitude among humanity and humanity’s essential confidence in it in the following verses: So when harm afflicts a man he calls upon Us; then, when We give him a favor from Us, he says: I have been given it only by means of knowledge. Nay, it is a trial, but most of them do not know. Those before them did say it indeed, but what they earned availed them not. So there befell them the evil [consequences] of what they earned; and [as for] those who are unjust from among these, there shall befall them the evil [consequences] of what they earn, and they shall not escape. Do they not know that Allah makes ample the means of subsistence to whom He pleases, and He straitens; most surely there are signs in this for a people who believe? (); Have they not then journeyed in the land and seen how the end of those before them was? They were more [in numbers] than these and greater in strength and in fortifications in the land, but what they earned did not avail them. Then when their messengers came to them with clear arguments, they exulted in what they had with them of knowledge, and there beset them that which they used to mock ().
Considering and applying these verses to the story of Korah leaves no doubt that the intent of the word “knowledge” (ʿilm)—in the preceding verses ( and ) and in this verse where it reads He said: I have been given this only on account of the knowledge I have where this knowledge is neither acknowledged as being a grant of God nor attributed to Him unlike the acknowledgement of those who counselled Korah in And seek by means of what Allah has given you () where they do attribute this grant as a benefaction of God on him goes to show that there was a concerted attempt at avoiding mentioning and acknowledging God’s benevolence coupled with an attempt to belittle God’s glory and greatness in a derogatory manner!
Did he not know that Allah had destroyed before him of the generations those who were mightier in strength than he and greater in assemblage? The interrogative form of this verse is meant to serve as a chiding rebuke and censure (istifhām tawbīkhī) and to serve as the simplest form of rejoinder to Korah’s statement conveyed in this verse which reads He said: I have been given this only on account of the knowledge I have so that he may realize the invalidity of his statement. This is because he thought that the thing by which he had obtained wealth and which would help maintain and secure it for him and which would allow him to enjoy it was his knowledge which was with him while he knew that those before him of past generations were stronger than him and greater in their accumulation of wealth. He claimed that what was with him of power and accumulated wealth was due to knowledge which was with him, yet God had destroyed him due to his crime; hence, if it was knowledge by which he was deluded and which he bragged about and which he considered to be the sole factor responsible for the accumulation of his wealth which he enjoyed and relished, and that it was not a kind, magnanimous, and generous gift from God to him, then such knowledge should have saved the past generations from destruction and from being unable to enjoy their wealth. They should have been able to defend themselves by means of their power and should have been able to triumph by means of their collective number and collaborative effort!
As for the part of this verse that reads And the guilty shall not be asked about their faults, the apparent context suggests that its meaning is to clarify and enunciate God’s modus operandi with respect to punishing the guilty and with regards to their destruction as a result of their sins. Thus it serves as a figurative speech which aims to suggest that they would not be given respite nor be allowed to present what they had devised of excuses or what they had prepared of humility and repentance by which they hoped for salvation. This is akin to those influential and powerful people from among mankind who, when they intend to punish a person over whom they have authority, they ask him about his crime so that they may judge him for his crime and decree its punishment, where it may happen that the guilty person is able to deflect the punishment to be meted out to him by way of excuses which he may have prepared for himself; however, God, , due to His knowledge of the reality of circumstances does not ask the guilty about their crimes, rather He judges them and consequently they are overtaken by punishment which cannot be averted.
It is apparent from this that the sentence serves as a complement to the preceding censure and chiding rebuke as well as serving as a response to Korah attributing his wealth to his personal knowledge. The message obtained is that divine punishment is not like human punishment such that were humans to blame, censure, and admonish a guilty person, the latter could yet deflect the potential punishment from himself by contriving excuses thereby benefiting from his knowledge; rather, this is God who is omniscient and omnipresent. He does not need to ask the guilty about his crime, instead, He just overwhelms him by punishment, and He punishes the guilty person suddenly while the guilty person does not even know it. This is what the context suggests regarding the meaning of the verse; however, other scholars have suggested alternative interpretations.
It has been suggested that what is meant by “knowledge” in He said: I have been given this only on account of the knowledge I have refers to knowledge of the Torah for Korah was the most learned in it from the Children of Israel. It is also suggested that it refers to knowledge of alchemy which he had learnt from Moses, Yūshaʿ b. Nūn and Kālib b. Yūqinā while the meaning of the phrase the knowledge I have means his expertise and specialization in it to the exclusion of the rest of mankind. Thus he had produced by means of this knowledge a huge quantity of gold! It is also suggested that “knowledge” in this verse He said: I have been given this only on account of the knowledge I have means the knowledge of extracting treasures and treasure troves and that he had extracted by means of this knowledge abundant treasure and treasure troves. It is also suggested that the meaning of the term “knowledge” is the knowledge of God in which case the intended meaning of the verse is “I have been given knowledge from God which is a special allocation from Him to me, which He intended for me” while the meaning of the phrase the knowledge I have means “the knowledge that forms part of my thoughts and opinions.” It is also suggested that the meaning of “knowledge” in this verse is the knowledge of God but in the sense of “that which is made known or taught by God.” Hence the meaning is: “I have been given this wealth only on account of a blessing which God taught me and which is with me.” In light of all these opinions the preposition ʿalā that occurs in this sentence, which is ūtītuhu ʿalā ʿilmin ʿindī means one of two things here. It either connotes the meaning of “on,” “upon,” “above” something but in an abstract sense of superior rank and degree (al-istiʿlāʾ) and not in a literal and physical sense. Hence the meaning would be: He said: I have been given this only on the basis of the superior rank and degree of knowledge that I have just as it could also validly mean “for,” “on account of,” or “due to” (al-taʿlīl); that is, “due to” or “for the sake of” or “on account of the knowledge I possess.”
It is also suggested that the meaning of the “questioning” that occurs in the latter part of this verse—And the guilty shall not be asked about their faults—refers to the questioning on the Day of Resurrection; however, the questioning does not mean a kind which attempts to seek out information since God is the best informed of their sins and does not need to question them in order to know while the angels know their sins from the records of their deeds and from their distinctive signs. As for And stop them, for they shall be questioned (32:74), it refers to questioning in the sense of scolding and rebuke and not questioning in order to inquire and obtain information. It is also possible that the questioning mentioned in both these verses has one and the same meaning while the negation of questioning in one verse [] and its confirmation in the other [] is due to the different stations of the Day of Resurrection. Thus they will be questioned at one station but not at the other and therefore there is no contradiction between the two verses.
It is suggested that the masculine third person plural pronominal suffix him refers to those sinners who are worse and exceedingly sinful while the referent of al-mujrimūn—the guilty—in this verse is to other than the exceedingly sinful. Hence the meaning that is supposedly intended is: “Those sinners who are other than the very worse and other than the exceedingly sinful shall not be asked or questioned about the sins of the very worse and exceedingly sinful people, the latter being those whom God had destroyed from among the past generations.” However, all these opinions and perspectives are instances of explanations and interpretations which do not correlate well with the context of this verse.
فَخَرَجَ عَلَىٰ قَوْمِهِ فِي زِينَتِهِ ۖ قَالَ الَّذِينَ يُرِيدُونَ الْحَيَاةَ الدُّنْيَا يَا لَيْتَ لَنَا مِثْلَ مَا أُوتِيَ قَارُونُ إِنَّهُ لَذُو حَظٍّ عَظِيمٍ ٧٩
(28:79) So he went forth to his people in his finery. Those who desire this world’s life said: O would that we had the like of what Korah is given; most surely, he is possessed of mighty good fortune.
The word al-ḥaẓẓu that occurs in the latter part of this verse—innahu ladhū ḥaẓẓin ʿaẓīm—means “share or portion of happiness,” “joy,” “luck,” and “fortune.”
Those who desire this world’s life: This means those who make this world’s life their desired and sought-after goal or purpose, in their lives and in their efforts and endeavors such that they do not have any other goal and aim save it. Consequently, they are woefully ignorant of the life hereafter and of what God has prepared for His slaves in it of rewards. God says: Therefore turn aside from him who turns his back upon Our reminder and does not desire anything but this world’s life. That is their goal of knowledge ().
As a result, such people considered what Korah had been granted of wealth as a mighty good fortune for him and which they considered good in an absolute and unconditional sense, not subject to any reservation!
وَقَالَ الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْعِلْمَ وَيْلَكُمْ ثَوَابُ اللَّهِ خَيْرٌ لِمَنْ آمَنَ وَعَمِلَ صَالِحًا وَلَا يُلَقَّاهَا إِلَّا الصَّابِرُونَ ٨٠
(28:80) And those who were given the knowledge said: Woe to you! Allah’s reward is better for him who believes and does good, and none is made to receive this except the patient.
The word al-wayl that occurs in this verse means “ruin,” “perdition,” “destruction.” It tends to be used as an invocation for destruction and ruin and as a way to discourage, restrain, and prevent a person from what is unsatisfactory, unacceptable, disagreeable and unpleasant. In this verse, it has the second meaning which is that of discouragement and restraint from the wish and desire voiced by the ignorant believers mentioned in the previous verse. And none is made to receive this except the patient () refers to those who uttered the words of restraint and discouragement to the ignorant believers. The latter were the believers possessing knowledge of God. They addressed these words to those ignorant people who had wished that they were given similar to what Korah had been given and which they considered a mighty good fortune in an absolute sense. The intent of the believers was that the reward of God was better for whoever believed and did good deeds in comparison to what Korah had been given. Thus if they were true believers in God and virtuous then they would wish for God’s reward [rather than the wealth of Korah].
And none is made to receive this (yulaqqāhā, from al-talqiyah) except the patient: The verbal noun al-talqiyah means “to give someone something to understand,” “to make someone understand or see something” while the verbal noun al-talaqqī means “understanding and taking or receiving something.” As for the feminine pronominal suffix -hā that is appended to the verb yulaqqā, it is suggested to refer to al-kalimah al-mafhūma, meaning “the understood speech.” This interpretation is made on the basis of the context. Hence the meaning obtained is: “And none understands this speech which is Allah’s reward is better for him who believes and does good save the patient ones.” It is also suggested that the feminine pronominal suffix refers to al-sīrah or al-ṭarīqah [both of which are feminine nouns]. They mean “the line or mode of conduct,” “the way and the path,” in which case the meaning of this part of the verse is: “None understands this mode of conduct and way, or achieves success in acting according to it save the patient ones.”
The patient ones are those who have donned the attire of patience during adversity and in the course of obeying God and when struggling against disobeying God. As for these patient ones being those who have received or have been given to understand this speech or mode of conduct and path—which is the affirmation that the rewards of the hereafter are better than the portion of worldly good fortune whereby the rewards of the hereafter are inseparable from faith and virtuous deeds, which in turn aid in abandoning many whims and fancies as well as aid in abstaining from many desires and cravings—this is only actualized in a person who has the quality of patience in the face of the bitterness of opposing human nature and opposing the rebelliousness of the tempting aspect of the human soul.
فَخَسَفْنَا بِهِ وَبِدَارِهِ الْأَرْضَ فَمَا كَانَ لَهُ مِنْ فِئَةٍ يَنْصُرُونَهُ مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ وَمَا كَانَ مِنَ الْمُنْتَصِرِينَ ٨١
(28:81) Thus We made the earth swallow him up and his abode, so he had no body of helpers to assist him against Allah, nor was he of those who could defend themselves.
The masculine third person singular pronominal suffix -hi which occurs twice in the initial part of this verse refer to Korah while this sentence occurs in the form of describing the ramification or concomitant effect of Korah’s rebelliousness and intransigence. As for so he had no body of helpers to assist him (yanṣurūnahu, from al-naṣr) against Allah, nor was he of those who could defend themselves (al-muntaṣirīn, from al-intiṣār), the word al-fiʾatu that occurs in this verse refers to a group whose members incline and side with each other while the verbal nouns al-naṣr and al-intiṣār have, in the repertoire of their meanings, the meaning of “to help repel,” “to help prevent,” “to help defend.” Hence the meaning obtained is that: “Korah did not have a body of helpers who could help prevent the divine punishment afflicting him nor was he able to prevent the occurrence of that which was contrary to what he used to think and suppose, which was the contention that the factor which would bring him goodness and thwart evil was his power and his accumulated wealth which he had amassed by means of his knowledge. Thus neither did his accumulated wealth protect and safeguard him nor did his power benefit him against God; rather, it became manifestly clear that it was God who was the One who had granted him what He had granted him.”
The meaning intended to be conveyed is that the falsity of what Korah used to claim for himself would become apparent and manifest by Our making the earth swallow him up along with his abode. This refers to his claim that he had wealth because he merited it, and that he could do without God ; that the thing that would bring him good and thwart evil was his power and his accumulated wealth; and that he had earned and achieved it all by means of his intellectual genius and knowledge.
وَأَصْبَحَ الَّذِينَ تَمَنَّوْا مَكَانَهُ بِالْأَمْسِ يَقُولُونَ وَيْكَأَنَّ اللَّهَ يَبْسُطُ الرِّزْقَ لِمَنْ يَشَاءُ مِنْ عِبَادِهِ وَيَقْدِرُ ۖ لَوْلَا أَنْ مَنَّ اللَّهُ عَلَيْنَا لَخَسَفَ بِنَا ۖ وَيْكَأَنَّهُ لَا يُفْلِحُ الْكَافِرُونَ ٨٢
(28:82) And those who yearned for his place only the day before began to say: Ah! [Know] that Allah amplifies and straitens the means of subsistence for whom He pleases of His servants; had not Allah been gracious to us, He would most surely have abased us. Ah! [Know] that the ungrateful are never successful.
Qur’anic commentators have suggested that the particle way denotes remorse, regret, and repentance. Perhaps it is also used to denote wonder as in “what an amazing thing!” Both meanings can be said to conform to the verses’ circumstance although the former meaning occurs more spontaneously to the mind.
Ah! [Know] that Allah amplifies and straitens the means of subsistence for whom He pleases of His servants: This serves as an acknowledgment and an admission on the part of the ignorant believers of the falsity and invalidity of what Korah used to claim, a claim which they used to endorse and confirm. This was the claim that power and accumulation of wealth in the world is due to the intellectual genius of the human being, due to his knowledge and skill at management and planning and not due to the grace of God ; however, the ample sustenance and its paucity occurs by the will and intent of God.
The position of this verse denotes the sense of realization and understanding beyond obscurity and ambiguity which are better suited to doubt, hesitance, and indecision; however, they have used the particle waykaʾanna in their speech to indicate the inception of doubt on their part with respect to Korah’s claim which they had previously accepted and endorsed. Such style is widespread in use.
The evidence in favor of this interpretation is their speech which follows—had not Allah been gracious to us, He would most surely have abased us—which occurs by way of assertion and realization on their part. As for the speech of God—Ah! [Know] that the ungrateful are never successful—it occurs in the sense of regret and remorse for the second time and as an attempt at extricating themselves from the necessary consequence of wishing and desiring to be in the place and position of Korah.
تِلْكَ الدَّارُ الْآخِرَةُ نَجْعَلُهَا لِلَّذِينَ لَا يُرِيدُونَ عُلُوًّا فِي الْأَرْضِ وَلَا فَسَادًاۚ وَالْعَاقِبَةُ لِلْمُتَّقِينَ ٨٣
(28:83) [As for] that future abode, We assign it to those who have no desire to exalt themselves in the earth nor to make mischief, and the good end is for those who guard [against evil].
This verse and the next occur in the sense of the outcome derived from this story. As for the phrase which reads [As for] that (tilka) future abode…, its use of the feminine singular demonstrative pronoun tilka (“that”) which implies distance and remoteness is in order to indicate the future abode’s honor, dignity, majesty, and superior status which in turn testifies that what is meant is the fortunate, blissful abode of the hereafter, which is the reason scholars have explained it to mean “paradise.”
We assign it to those who have no desire to exalt themselves in the earth or to make mischief: This means: “We have specifically reserved paradise for them,” while the meaning of the phrase “desire to exalt” is “the desire to be superior and to seek to behave haughtily and arrogantly towards the slaves of God.” This is while the meaning of the phrase “to make mischief” means “to seek to disobey God.” This is because God has established His path and His teachings which are a responsibility on mankind and are founded on the basis of the needs and requirements of their nature and their creation while the nature of the human being does not require anything other than what agrees with and is in line with the best system applicable to the earthly life of humanity. Consequently, every act of disobedience causes corruption in the land either indirectly or directly. God says: Corruption has appeared in the land and the sea on account of what the hands of men have wrought, that He may make them taste a part of that which they have done, so that they may return ().
From here it becomes clear that the intention to seek superiority is one of the instances of intending to make mischief and cause corruption in the land while this particular feature has been singled out for mention here in order to draw attention to it. Hence the meaning obtained is “that blissful abode of the future is specifically reserved for those who do not intend to make mischief or to spread corruption in the land by means of arrogance and haughtiness towards the slaves of God. Nor do they intend to make mischief or cause corruption by means of any other act of disobedience.” This verse under discussion is general in meaning; however, the following verse specifies its meaning: If you shun the great sins which you are forbidden, We will do away with your small sins and cause you to enter an honorable place of entering ().
The part of this verse that reads and the good end is for those who guard [against evil] refers to the beautiful praiseworthy end which is the blissful abode of the hereafter or it refers to the blissful end in the world and the hereafter altogether; however the context of the two verses advocates in favor of the first interpretation.
مَنْ جَاءَ بِالْحَسَنَةِ فَلَهُ خَيْرٌ مِنْهَا ۖ وَمَنْ جَاءَ بِالسَّيِّئَةِ فَلَا يُجْزَى الَّذِينَ عَمِلُوا السَّيِّئَاتِ إِلَّا مَا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ ٨٤
(28:84) Whoever brings good, he shall have better than it, and whoever brings evil, those who do [much] evil shall not be rewarded [for] aught except what they were doing.
The part of this verse that reads Whoever brings good, he shall have better than it means that the good done shall be multiplied for the person by the grace of God. God says Whoever brings a good deed, he shall have ten like it (). As for the speech of God that reads and whoever brings evil, those who do evil shall not be rewarded [for] aught except what they were doing. It means they shall not be subjected to additional or incremental punishment to what they had done. This is the most perfect of justice just as the reward for the good done is specified to be better than it, which is the most perfect of grace.
The apparent reading of the part of this verse that reads and whoever brings evil, those who do [much] evil shall not be rewarded [for] aught except what they were doing suggests ambiguity, and perhaps the placing of the relative plural pronoun alladhīna (“those who”) in place of the relative singular pronoun [which is man, translated as “whoever,” which is what this part of the verse begins with] suggests that this requital is for one who is an excessive perpetrator of evil such that sins encompass him. This perspective appears corroborated by the occurrence of the plural noun al-sayyiʾāt (“much evil or sins”) in this part of the verse. The terminal part of this verse which reads what they were doing () suggests persistence and continuity. As for the person who brings evil and good (rather than much evil), it is hoped and anticipated that God shall forgive him just as God says in: And others have confessed their faults, they have mingled a good deed and an evil one; may be Allah will turn to them [mercifully]; Allah is Forgiving, Merciful ().
Let it be known with respect to good and evil that their fundamental criterion rests on the effect they have on a human being, and it is on this basis that deeds are considered or judged good and evil, and it is on this basis and not on the constituent of the act in the external world that a person is rewarded or requited. This is because the constituent of the act in the external world is only a type of movement. God says: And whether you manifest what is in your minds or hide it, Allah will call you to account according to it; then He will forgive whom He pleases and chastise whom He pleases, and Allah has power over all things ().
With this, the response to the problem raised with regards to the application of this verse to monotheism becomes apparent. The problem is that monotheism is a good deed and goodness better or superior to it cannot be conceived. The answer to that is that this verse is either specific to non-creedal matters or it is specific to monotheism. This is because the outcome that obtains from belief in monotheism is one for which we can conceive something better, even if this cannot be accepted for monotheism itself per se, because monotheism has different levels and can either be strong or weak, greater or lesser. If it is weak [and deficient] then so will be its reward, as we have seen earlier; hence, its multiple will be greater than it.
Examining Narrations
- It is narrated from Ibn ʿAbbās:
Korah was from Moses’ people. He was the son of Moses’ paternal uncle. He used to seek knowledge till he had acquired abundant knowledge. He continued in this fashion till he became envious of Moses and rebelled against him. Moses said to him: “God has instructed me to collect the zakāt dues”; however, Korah declined to give them, and provoked the people saying: “Moses intends to appropriate your wealth. He came with the rituals of worship as well as with other teachings and you bore them all, but will you bear to give up your wealth to him?”
They replied: “We shall not, so what do you suggest?”
He said: “I suggest that I send for a prostitute from among the prostitutes of the Children of Israel and then we should send her to him so that she may accuse him of desiring her for himself.”
Consequently, they did as planned. They told her: “We wish to give you an instruction, which is that you should testify against Moses that he committed adultery with you.” She agreed.
Subsequently, Korah went to Moses and said: “Gather the Children of Israel together and inform them of what your God has instructed you.” Moses agreed and gathered them together.
They asked him: “What has your Lord instructed you?”
Moses replied: “He has instructed me to inform you that you should worship Him alone and that you should not associate anything with Him; that you should maintain ties of kinship… and He has instructed me with respect to an adulterer that if he commits adultery and is married, then he should be stoned.”
They asked him: “Even if that person is you?”
He replied in the affirmative, whereupon they accused him: “You have committed adultery!”
He said [in shock and disbelief]: “I?!”
So they sent for the woman, who came, and they asked her: “What is it that you wish to testify against Moses?”
Moses interjected and said to her: “I adjure you by God to speak the truth.”
So she said: “If you are adjuring me by God, they called me and bribed me in return for my slandering you with the accusation of having had unlawfully copulated with me; however, I testify that you are innocent and that you are the messenger of God.”
At this, Moses fell down prostrate, weeping, whereupon God revealed to him: “What makes you weep? We have given you control over the earth, so command it and it shall do your bidding.”
Moses raised his head and ordered the earth: “Seize them.”
So it seized them up to their heels at which they began to beg and call Moses, crying out: “Moses! Moses!”
He said to the earth again: “Seize them!” and the earth seized them up to their throats and they cried out: “Moses! Moses!” He said to the earth: “Seize them” and the earth devoured them, upon which God revealed to Moses: “Moses, my slaves beseeched you and humbled themselves to you, but you did not respond positively and you refused to relent; however, I swear by My might and dignity if they had called out to Me, I would have answered them positively.”
That is the meaning of Thus We made the earth swallow him up and his abode (): the earth swallowed him up, relegating him to its lowest depths.
Author’s comment: A similar report has also been transmitted from ʿAbd al-Razzāq and Ibn Abī Ḥātim from Ibn Nawfal al-Hāshimi; however, in this variant the woman arrived at the gathering called by Korah so that she could testify against Moses of adultery in front of the Children of Israel and so that she could complain against him. However, when she came to him, she instead admitted to the truth to the Children of Israel. This news subsequently reached Moses, and he complained to his Lord who granted him power and authority over him.
- Another variant of this anecdote is reported by al-Qummī in his Tafsīr where the report says that Moses came to Korah and conveyed to him the commandment to pay the zakāt dues; however, Korah mocked and ridiculed him and threw him out of the house, whereupon Moses complained to God against him, and consequently God granted him power and authority over Korah. As a result, the earth swallowed him up and his abode.
This latter report is however graded as mawqūf. Furthermore, this report comprises of details that are rejected, and that is the reason we have left out transmitting it here [and have instead merely related it in paraphrase]. Similarly, the two reports from Ibn ʿAbbās and Ibn Nawfal al-Hāshimī, respectively, are also graded as mawqūf, in addition to which the report of Ibn ʿAbbās relates that Korah rebelled and transgressed against Moses while the verses of the Qur’an say that Korah’s transgression was against the Children of Israel. Moreover, the report indicates that the knowledge which was with Korah was what he had acquired by study and learning while the apparent significance of the verse, as discussed previously, is that his knowledge pertained to the means and methods of acquiring riches and fortunes and the like.
This account of Korah and Moses occurs in the present version of the Old Testament in a different manner, which is as follows:
Now Korah, the son of Baṣhār, the son of Nohāt, the son of Levi, and Dāthān and Abirām, the sons of Ilyāb, and Own, the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, gathered men and rose up before Moses, with certain of the children of Israel. These were two hundred and fifty princes of the assembly, famous in the congregation, and men of renown. They gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron and said to them: “You take too much upon yourselves, when the entire congregation is holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them. Why then do you raise yourselves above the congregation of the Lord?”
When Moses heard this, he fell upon his face and addressed Korah and all his company: “Tomorrow the Lord will show who are His, and who is holy, and will draw the chosen person near Him: him whom He has chosen will He cause to draw near him. So do the following: take your incense burners and put fire therein, and put incense in them before the Lord tomorrow, and it shall be that the person whom the Lord chooses, he shall be holy. You take too much upon yourselves, you sons of Levi.”
It continues to tell of how they came the next day with their incense burners containing fire and incense and gathered at the entrance of the tent designated for the meeting. Thereafter it is narrated:
The earth split open under them, opening wide and engulfed them and their houses—all who were with Korah with all their wealth—and they all descended into the pit along with what was theirs, alive, to hell. Then the earth closed on them and they perished before the congregation. And all the Children of Israel that were round about them fled at the cry of them, for they said “lest the earth swallow us up also!” And there came out a fire from the Lord and consumed the two hundred and fifty men that offered incense.
- It is narrated from Ibn ʿAbbās with respect to the Surely Korah was of the people of Moses ():
He was the son of Moses’ maternal aunt.
This same identification of Korah’s relationship with Moses is narrated from Imam al-Ṣādiq.
- ʿAlī b. Ibrāhīm al-Qummī said the following with respect to and We had given him treasures so much so that their keys would certainly weigh down a company of men possessed of great strength ():
A band of strong people used to carry the keys to his treasures.
- Imam ʿAlī with respect to and do not neglect your portion of this world ():
Do not neglect your health, your strength, your spare time, your youth, and your vitality to seek the hereafter by their means.
- ʿAlī b. Ibrāhīm al-Qummī said the following with respect to So he went forth to his people in his finery ():
Korah went forth to his people attired in colored [or dyed] clothes letting them trail on the ground.
- Zādān relates the following regarding Amīr al-Muʾminīn:
He used to walk in the markets when he was the ruler, guiding the straying people. He would help the weak and he would pass by the sellers and the grocers where the Qur’an would be opened up for him and he would recite: [As for] that future abode, We assign it to those who have no desire to exalt themselves in the earth nor to make mischief… (), and he would say: “This verse was revealed for those who are just and humble from among the rulers and from among those possessing power and influence from the entirety of mankind.”
He also relates from Amīr al-Muʾminīn:
It will happen that the shoestring of a person’s footwear will please and delight him and consequently he shall fall foul of this verse: [As for] that future abode, We assign it to those who have no desire to exalt themselves in the earth nor to make mischief ().
Author’s comment: Sayyid Ibn Ṭāwūs relates the same report in Saʿd al-Suʿūd from al-Ṭabrisī as follows:
Amīr al-Muʾminīn [said]: “It shall surely please and delight a person to have the shoestring of his footwear be superior to the shoestring of his companion or friend whereupon he shall fall foul of this verse!”
- It is narrated from the Prophet with respect to [As for] that future abode, We assign it to those who have no desire to exalt themselves in the earth nor to make mischief, and the good end is for those who guard [against evil] ():
It means to behave in a proud and haughty manner in the land and to appropriate (the property of others) unjustly.
In the Qur’an commentary al-Durr al-Manthūr, however, he is reported to have suggested the figure seventy. (Auth.) ↩︎
The letter fāʾ that is prefixed to the negative particle mā—in famā kāna lahu min fiʾatin…—is in order to indicate that the sentence following it serves as a concomitant to the previous sentence which was Thus We made the earth swallow him up and his abode (). (Auth.)
2 The conjunctive particle fāʾ implies a close connection between the sentences before and after it. This connection may be either a definite cause and effect one or that of a natural sequence of events. Here, it is most probably the first connection that applies. (Trans.) ↩︎
Al-Durr al-Manthūr, on the authority of Ibn Abī Shaybah in al-Muṣannaf and on the authority of Ibn al-Mundhir and Ibn Abī Ḥātim and al-Ḥākim who authenticated it, and on the authority of Ibn Mardawayh. ↩︎
Mawqūf literally means “stopped.” A report of this kind transmits a statement or an act on the authority of a companion of an infallible rather than on the authority of the infallible him or herself and is therefore rendered unauthoritative. (Trans.) ↩︎
Numbers 16. ↩︎
Majmaʿ al-Bayān. ↩︎
Tafsīr al-Qummī. ↩︎
Maʿānī al-Akhbār via its chain of narration on the authority of Mūsa ibn Ismāʿīl ibn Mūsa ibn Jaʿfar, from his father, from his grandfather, from his forefathers. ↩︎
Tafsīr al-Qummī. ↩︎
Majmaʿ al-Bayān. ↩︎
Al-Durr al-Manthūr, on the authority of al-Muḥāmulī and al-Daylamī from Abū Hurayra. ↩︎