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Surah 28. Al-Qasas, Ayah 76

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إِنَّ قَـٰرُونَ كَانَ مِن قَوْمِ مُوسَىٰ فَبَغَىٰ عَلَيْهِمْ ۖ وَءَاتَيْنَـٰهُ مِنَ ٱلْكُنُوزِ مَآ إِنَّ مَفَاتِحَهُۥ لَتَنُوٓأُ بِٱلْعُصْبَةِ أُو۟لِى ٱلْقُوَّةِ إِذْ قَالَ لَهُۥ قَوْمُهُۥ لَا تَفْرَحْ ۖ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَا يُحِبُّ ٱلْفَرِحِينَ
Inna q a roona k a na min qawmi moos a fabagh a AAalayhim wa a tayn a hu mina alkunoozi m a inna maf a ti h ahu latanooo bi a lAAu s bati olee alquwwati i th q a la lahu qawmuhu l a tafra h inna All a ha l a yu h ibbu alfari h een a
[NOW,] BEHOLD, Qarun was one of the people of Moses;84 but he arrogantly exalted himself above them - simply because We had granted him such riches that his treasure-chests alone would surely have been too heavy a burden for a troop of ten men or even more.85 When [they perceived his arrogance,] his people said unto him: "Exult not [in thy wealth], for, verily, God does not love those who exult [in things vain]!
  - Mohammad Asad

The structure of the above sentence is meant to show that even a person who had been a follower of one of the greatest of God's apostles was not above the possibility of sinning under the influence of false pride and self-exaltation - a particular example of the "false imagery" referred to in the preceding passage. The conventional "identification" of Qarun with the Korah of the Old Testament (Numbers xvi) is neither relevant nor warranted by the Qur'anic text, the more so as the purport of this legend is a moral lesson and not a historical narrative. this, by the way, explains also the juxtaposition, elsewhere in the Qur'an ( 29:39 and 40:24 ), of Qarun with Pharoah, the arch-sinner.

The term 'usbah denotes a company of ten or more (up to forty) persons; since it is used here metonymically, pointing to the great weight involved, it is best rendered as above. - The noun mafatih is a plural of both miftah or miftah ("key") and muftah ("that which is under lock and key", i.e., a "hoard of wealth" or "treasure chest"), which latter meaning is obviously the one intended in the present context.

The fact is that Qarun (Korah) was one of Musa's people, but he rebelled against them. We had given him such treasures that their very keys were a heavy burden to a band of strong men. When his people said to him: "Do not exult, for Allah does not love the exultant.
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
Indeed, Korah1 was from the people of Moses, but he behaved arrogantly towards them. We had granted him such treasures that even their keys would burden a group of strong men. 'Some of' his people advised him, 'Do not be prideful! Surely Allah does not like the prideful.
  - Mustafa Khattab

 Korah was the cousin of Moses. Because of Korah’s close association with Pharaoh, he became very rich and started to behave arrogantly towards his own people. When he was asked repeatedly by Moses (ﷺ) to pay his alms-tax to help poor Israelites, Korah refused and eventually conspired with a prostitute to damage the reputation of Moses, but Moses was cleared of any wrongdoing.

Now Korah was of Moses folk, but he oppressed them and We gave him so much treasure that the stores thereof would verily have been a burden for a troop of mighty men. When his own folk said unto him: Exult not; lo! Allah loveth not the exultant;
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
Qarun was doubtless of the people of Moses; but he acted insolently towards them: such were the treasures We had bestowed on him that their very keys would have been a burden to a body of strong men: Behold his people said to him: "Exult not for Allah loveth not those who exult (in riches). 3404 3405 3406
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Qarun is identified with the Korah of the English Bible. His story is told in Num. xvi. 1-35. He and his followers, numbering 250 men, rose in rebellion against Moses and Aaron, on the ground that their position and fame in the congregation entitled them to quality in spiritual matters with the Priests,-that they were as holy as any, and they claimed to burn incense at the sacred Altar reserved for the Priests. They had an exemplary punishment: "the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up, and their houses, and all the men that appertained unto Korah, and all their goods: they, and all that appertained to them, went down alive into the pit, and the earth closed upon them: and they perished from among the congregation."

Qarun's boundless wealth is described in the Midrashim, or the Jewish compilations based on the oral teachings of the Synagogues, which however exaggerate the weight of the keys to be the equivalent of the load of 300 mules!

Usbat: a body of men, here used indefinitely. It usually implies a body of 10 to 40 men. The old-fashioned keys were big and heavy, and if there were hundreds of treasure-chests, the keys must have been a great weight. As they were travelling in the desert, the treasures were presumably left behind in Egypt, and only the keys were carried. The disloyal Qarun had left his heart in Egypt, with his treasures.

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