Qarun's Story: A Timeless Lesson On Wealth And Arrogance

Opening

السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَةُ اللَّهِ وَبَرَكَاتُهُ

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ، الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ، وَأُصَلِّي وَأُسَلِّمُ عَلَى الْمَبْعُوثِ رَحْمَةً لِلْعَالَمِينَ، سَيِّدِنَا مُحَمَّدٍ وَعَلَى آلِهِ وَأَصْحَابِهِ أَجْمَعِينَ

The Opening Verse: Qarun's Story Begins

Allah says in the Glorious Qur'an — I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Shaytan, in the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful:

Allah has spoken the truth. And the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ said:

(Love of the dunya is the root of every sin — attributed to the Prophet, reported in various narrations including al-Bayhaqi, Shu'ab al-Iman)

Respected Brothers, Elders, Mothers and Sisters, Dear Listeners —

The Purpose of Stories in the Qur'an

Allah scattered various different types of stories inside of the Qur'an — stories that we may gain benefit from, stories that we may heed lessons from, stories that we could change our lives from. Allah mentions specific stories, specific incidents, specific anecdotes in the Qur'an so that we can ponder upon them. And He did not do so in vain — He did not do so for no reason at all.

We know very well that only a handful of prophets عَلَيْهِمُ الصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ were mentioned in the Qur'an, but in reality there are many more that have not been mentioned. Allah even says in the Qur'an that He mentioned some and has not mentioned some. And even those stories that He has mentioned — He didn't mention the story of their full lives, rather only snippets, specific scenes and events scattered throughout the Qur'an, not even in a chronological order. Only a couple of stories are mentioned in a chronological order.

Allah mentions these stories not so that we may have some type of information about what happened in the past — like a history lesson. Allah did not set the Qur'an as a history lesson. Allah sent the Qur'an as a guide. Allah says that this Qur'an has no doubt in it, there is no ambiguity in this Qur'an — He has sent it as a guidance for those who are God-fearing, for those who have taqwa.

On a similar note, Allah also mentioned stories of those who have transgressed in the past as well — and again, only a select few, and for the same exact reason: that there is something in their stories, something in the mistakes that they made, that we can learn from and perhaps avoid making in our own lives.

Who Was Qarun?

From amongst those stories is the story of an individual from the nation of Bani Israel — from the nation of Musa عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ — by the name of Qarun. Allah mentioned his story and also took his name, meaning that there must be something in this story which is really important, something that can really benefit us. There are lots of stories of people that Allah only gives إِشَارَةً — He only points it out without specifically mentioning their name. But in this one, He also mentioned the name of this man.

This individual by the name of Qarun was from the nation of Musa عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ — meaning he was an Israelite, he was from Bani Israel. In some narrations, they also say that he was a cousin of Musa عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ. So he was very close to Musa عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ, very close to the people of Bani Israel. كَانَ مِنْ قَوْمِ مُوسَىٰ — Allah said that this is someone that everyone knew. Not some random person from outside of Egypt, not some Coptic, not anyone else — but this was a Bani Israelite. This was someone that everyone knew.

His Transgression: فَبَغَىٰ عَلَيْهِمْ

But what was his mistake? فَبَغَىٰ عَلَيْهِمْ — something that he was given, that Allah gave him, it went to his head. So he became arrogant. فَبَغَىٰ عَلَيْهِمْ — he transgressed against his own nation.

His Wealth: Keys Too Heavy for Strong Men

What did Allah give this individual? وَآتَيْنَاهُ مِنَ الْكُنُوزِ — Allah opened the doors of wealth to him. Now there's one thing to say that a person is wealthy, but when you use the phrase that the doors of wealth have been opened for that person, this is a different type of prestige. We know that this person has money that is unfathomable. But then Allah didn't even stop there — He didn't just say that he was given treasures. Allah now tries to give a parable. He describes the type of wealth.

Allah didn't even describe the treasures — He described the keys to open those treasures. He said the keys to open these treasures were so weighty, so heavy and so big, that strong men weren't even able to carry the keys to the treasures — not the money, not the treasure itself, but the keys to open the treasure. لَتَنُوءُ — نَاءَ يَنُوءُ means for someone to become bent from heavy weight, like their back arcs forward because of the amount of weight they are carrying. So these men, بِالْعُصْبَةِ أُولِي الْقُوَّةِ — a group of men who are very strong — أُولِي الْقُوَّةِ means people of strength — even they were being tired from carrying the keys that would open the wealth of Qarun.

His Nation's Warning: لَا تَفْرَحْ

His nation said to him: إِذْ قَالَ لَهُ قَوْمُهُ لَا تَفْرَحْ ۖ إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يُحِبُّ الْفَرِحِينَ — "Do not become haughty because of this wealth. Do not let this wealth get to your head." Becoming happy is a good thing, but Allah negates it here — Allah says regarding the نِعَم and blessings that you have been given that you may be happy — be happy with your parents, your family. But here Allah says the nation is telling him: do not become happy. Meaning this is not happiness in the colloquial sense that we know — this is a happiness that comes where you become full of yourself, that what I've been given is a lot and this is mine. Allah says do not become that type of happy.

The First Mistake: Attributing Everything to Oneself

Continuing on in the story — and something that we can really relate to: not everyone has been given this type of wealth, but what was the mistake that Qarun made? He said this very phrase which, unfortunately, is the reality of our times today. He said that whatever he had, whatever he was given, was because of his own doing.

In the Arabic language we call this أَنَا — أَنَا in the Arabic language means "I." Sheikh Dameen from California once came and used a very nice phrase. He said: "Nowadays our problem is not the Christian holy trinity — but the ego holy trinity — which is me, myself and I." Me, myself and I. This holy trinity is what has been bogging down our hearts in today's time. The feeling inside of my heart that whatever I have is because of my own work, whatever I have accomplished is because of what I did — my own efforts, my own ambitions. It is because of me, me and me. No one else has helped me. This is the mistake that Qarun made.

So we need to ensure that whatever we have, we do not attribute it back to ourselves. Whatever favors that Allah has given us, whatever favors that we are enjoying, whatever bounties that we spend everyday — it is not because of our own ambition, it is not because of what we can do, but it is because of what Allah has instilled — the ability inside of us to be able to do. We always attribute it back to Allah.

The True Meaning of الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ

And this is very much the meaning of the phrase Alhamdulillah. Nowadays when the time of Thanksgiving comes, everyone has this feeling inside of their hearts: "Oh yeah, I should be thankful for this, I should say Alhamdulillah." But just confining the very meaning of thankfulness and gratefulness to a specific time — that's not the attitude of a Muslim. The attitude of a Muslim is to have thankfulness year-round. It's called an attitude of gratitude — having that gratefulness inside of your heart throughout your whole life. We should never confine ourselves to a specific time to be thankful for what we have.

So again — Alhamdulillah. What does it mean? When we say Alhamdulillah, we say that whatever we do, whatever we see, whatever we are enjoying, is not because of our own doing — rather it is because of Allah. This is what we call humbling ourselves in front of Allah.

A Warning from History

Allah says: Does Qarun not know that people have come in the past who have also been wiped out — who were stronger than him, had more than him, enjoyed more blessings than him — but Allah has wiped them out? Don't even begin to start about what types of transgressions they did.

Qarun Parades His Wealth

And this is the last point — this is the last ayah I will end the khutbah with. Allah says that one day Qarun went in front of his nation with everything — parading all of his wealth. فَخَرَجَ عَلَىٰ قَوْمِهِ فِي زِينَتِهِ — everything that he had. The most beautiful of cars — they didn't have cars back then, but just to equate it to our time today — came out with all the most beautiful cars, all his wealth, all those chests and treasures, parading it on camels and everything.

Two Responses to Seeing Qarun's Wealth

There were two responses. One response is that when we see that, we say that Allah has blessed him and we attribute it back to Allah. But another is to want and desire that wealth as well. And this is the second thing from Qarun's story that we can learn.

Number one — whatever we have, we always attribute it back to Allah. And number two — when you see those people who do have that wealth, when you see those people who have been favoured a little bit more than you may have, you don't immediately jump to becoming jealous, and further than that, also wanting it for yourself. You never know what type of punishment is hidden in that.

Those who desired only this life said: "If only I had been given what he was given!" Meaning, يَا لَيْتَ لَنَا — "I wish, I wish with all my heart, that I was given exactly what Qarun was given" — because Qarun looks like a man who has been given a lot, who has been favoured, and I want to be favoured like that.

When we see people of dunya, the first thing that our mind should never go to is immediately wanting it. Be happy with them, that's fine — be happy with them that Allah has blessed them. But at the same time, just as He has given you two eyes to see this world, Allah has also given you two eyes to view spirituality. Meaning that we use one eye when we make a sin — we say "I want to become better" and we look at those people who are better in terms of the deen. But when it comes to the dunya, we look at those people who have not been favoured as much as us. Look to the poor. Spend time with the poor. Spend time with the needy. And we will slowly gain the true meaning of this world and we will also gain the true meaning of the akhirah.

The Response of Those Given True Knowledge

And then the second group of people — the ones who have been given true knowledge, and this knowledge refers to the knowledge of the akhirah, having taqwa inside of their hearts — said: وَيْلَكُمْ — "What's wrong with you?" — meaning they are talking to the people who said, "I wish I was given exactly what Qarun was given." These people say: ثَوَابُ اللَّهِ خَيْرٌ — the reward of Allah is much better than what you think, than what you perceive this to be — لِمَنْ آمَنَ وَعَمِلَ صَالِحًا — for those people who believe and do righteous actions, whatever Allah has given is much better than whatever you may think is better for you in this life. وَلَا يُلَقَّاهَا إِلَّا الصَّابِرُونَ — but you have to be patient.

Two Lessons from Qarun's Story

We learn from Qarun's story — a man who was from the nation of Musa عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ and who was also employed by Fir'aun as a sort of secret agent — that he made two mistakes, and because of that he faced the punishment of being swallowed whole into the earth, as Allah mentions in the ayat that follow.

He did two things: one — he attributed everything to himself. That was his first demise. And two — he never shared that wealth with other people. Never, ever — he kept it to himself.

So we learn from this: never attribute anything back to ourselves — we always attribute everything back to Allah. This is the innate meaning of Alhamdulillah. Alhamdulillah is not something that should be on the tip of our tongue when someone says, "Oh how are you doing?" and we reply, "Alhamdulillah." That's not what Alhamdulillah is. Alhamdulillah is something that comes from the heart — meaning that whatever situation I'm going through, whether difficulty or ease, it's from Allah, it belongs to Allah, and it is because of Allah.

And the second thing we learn from Qarun's story: when you see people who have been — quote on quote — "favoured," or who have been given more wealth than you, the first conclusion that you should never reach in your mind is "I wish I had it as well." Because you never know what type of punishment may be affiliated with that wealth. The first thing we say is that all of this is from Allah, and the next thing we say is that whatever Allah has to give me is going to be much better — meaning that whatever is to come in the akhirah, if I have to struggle a little bit, if I have to be patient a little bit, that's fine. But whatever Allah has saved for me in the hereafter is an infinite amount of times better.

Much better than whatever may be in this life.

Du'a and Closing

We ask Allah to give us the reality of these ayat. We ask Allah to give us the reality of these lessons. We ask Allah to change our lives, to allow حُبُّ الدُّنْيَا to never come into our hearts — rather let the dunya be like the water that our boats float on. We cannot live without the dunya, but at the same time we should never let the dunya enter inside of our hearts. We ask Allah to never let the dunya enter inside of our hearts. We ask Allah to allow us to utilize the means of the dunya, but to never let the dunya utilize us, in whatever forms it may be.

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A couple of weekly programs as a reminder: Saturday we always have Team Fajr — Fajr iqamah is at 6:15am on Saturdays. We have a Bukhari Dars which will resume on December 5th, inshallah. Tuesday's Tafsir will be after Isha — this Tuesday we will be continuing with the story of Yunus عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ in Surah al-Anbiya with Mufti Azimuddin. And Weekly Salawat is every Thursday after Isha.

JazakAllahu khayran.