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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.
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.
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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I.e., by spending in charity and on good causes.
Lit., "and do not forget . . .", etc.: a call to generosity and, at the same time, to moderation (cf. 2:143 -"We have willed you to be a community of the middle way").
That is, 'spend your wealth in charity and good works. It is Allah Who has given it to you, and you should spend it in Allah's cause. Nor should you forget the legitimate needs of this life, as misers do, and most people become misers who think too exclusively of their wealth'. If wealth is not used properly, there are three evils that follow: (1) its possessor may be a miser and forget all claims due to himself and those about him; (2) he may forget the higher needs of the poor and needy, or the good causes which require support; and (3) he may even misspend on occasions and cause a great deal of harm and mischief. Apparently Qarun had all three vices.
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I.e., "as a result of my own experience, shrewdness and ability" (cf. 39:49 and the corresponding note [55]).
Obviously implying that "such as are lost in sin" (al-mujrimun) are, as a rule, blind to their own failings and, therefore, not responsive to admonition.
Or: “I have been granted all this because I know that Allah knows I deserve it.”
Since their sins are already known to Allah and written in perfect records, they will only be interrogated as a form of punishment.
He was so blind and arrogant that he thought that his own merit, knowledge, and skill or cleverness had earned him his wealth, and that now, on account of it, he was superior to everybody else and was entitied to ride rough-shod over them. Fool!-he was soon pulled up by Allah.
Even Qarun was given a long run of enjoyment with his fabulous wealth before he had to be removed for the mischief he was doing.
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When he was in the hey-day of his glory, worldly people envied him and thought how happy they would be if they were in his place. Not so the people of wisdom and discernment. They knew a more precious and lasting wealth, which is described in the next verse.
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Lit., "God's reward", se., "of spiritual merit".
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Lit., "he had no host whatever to succour him ...", etc. Qarun's being "swallowed by the earth" may possibly be a metaphor of a catastrophic, unforeseen loss - from whatever cause - of all his worldy goods and, thus, of erstwhile grandeur.
See n. 3404 above. Cf. also xvi. 45 and n. 2071. Besides the obvious moral in the literal interpretation of the story, that material wealth is fleeting and may be a temptation and a cause of fall, there are some metaphorical implications that occur to me. (1) Material wealth has no value in itself, but only a relative and local value. (2) In body he was with Israel in the wilderness, but his heart was in Egypt with its fertility and its slavery. Such is the case of many hypocrites, who like to be seen in righteous company but whose thoughts, longings, and doing are inconsistent with such company. (3) There is no good in this life but comes from Allah. To think otherwise is to set up a false god besides Allah, Our own merits are so small that they should never be the object of our idolatry. (4) If Qarun on account of his wealth was setting himself up in rivalry with Moses and Aaron, he was blind to the fact that spiritual knowledge is far above any little cleverness in worldly affairs. Mob-leaders have no position before spiritual guides.
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Provision or Sustenance, both literally and figuratively: wealth and material things in life as well as the things that sustain our higher and spiritual faculties. The rabble, that admired Qarun's wealth when he was in worldly prosperity, now sees the other side of the question and understands that there are other gifts more precious and desirable, and that these may actually be withheld from men who enjoy wealth and worldly prosperity. In fact it is false prosperity, or no prosperity in the real sense of the word, which is without spiritual well-being.
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This last clause makes it clear that, in order to have spiritual value, man's "not seeking" worldly grandeur or self-indulgence in things depraved must be an outcome, not of indifference or of a lack of opportunity, but solely of a conscious moral choice.
High-handedness or arrogance, as opposed to submission to the Will of Allah, Islam. Mischief, as opposed to doing good, bringing forth fruits of righteousness. It is the righteous who will win in the end.
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See note [79] on the identical phrase in 27:89 .
Cf. 6:160 and the corresponding note [162].
A good deed has its sure reward, and that reward will be better than the merits of the doer. An evil deed may be forgiven by repentance, but in any case will not be punished with a severer penalty than justice demands.
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According to Mujahid (as quoted by Tabari), the phrase farada 'alayka is almost synonymous with a'taka, "He gave [it] to thee". This, however, elucidates only one part of the above complex expression, which, I believe, has here a meaning similar to that of faradnaha ("We laid it down in plain terms") occurring én the first verse of surah {24} (An-Nur) and explained in the corresponding note [1]. In the present context, the particle 'alayka ("upon thee"), with its pronominal suffix, gives to the above clause the additional meaning of a moral obligation on the part of the recipient of the Qur'anic message to conform his or her way of life to its teachings; hence my compound rendering of the phrase.
The term ma'ad denotes, literally, "a place [or "a state"] to which one returns", and, tropically, one's "ultimate destination" or "ultimate condition", in the present context, it is obviously synonymous with "life in the hereafter". This is how most of the classical authorities interpret the above phrase. But on the vague assumption that this passage is addressed exclusively to the Prophet, some commentators incline to the view that the noun has here a specific, purely physical connotation-"a place of return"-allegedly referring to God's promise to His Apostle (given during or after the latter's exodus from Mecca to Medina) that one day he would return victoriously to the city of his birth. To my mind, however, the passage has a much deeper meaning, unconnected with any place or specific point in history: it is addressed to every believer, and promises not only a continuation of life after bodily death but also a spiritual rebirth, in this world, to anyone who opens his heart to the message of the Qur'an and comes to regard it as binding on himself.
Lit., "as to who comes with guidance".
This verse was revealed while the Prophet (ﷺ) was on the way to Medina, emigrating from Mecca after years of persecution. Eventually the Prophet (ﷺ) returned to Mecca and the majority of its people accepted Islam.
That is: order in His wisdom and mercy that the Qur-an should be revealed, containing guidance for conduct in this life and the next, and further ordered that it should be read out and taught and its principles observed in practice. It is because of this teaching and preaching that the holy Prophet was persecuted, but as Allah sent the Qur-an, He will see that those who follow it will not eventually suffer, but be restored to happiness in the Place of Return, for which see next note.
Place of Return: (1) a title of Makkah; (2) the occasion when we shall be restored to the Presence of our Lord. It is said that this verse was revealed at Juhfa, on the road from Makkah to Madinah, a short distance from Makkah on the Hijrat journey. The Prophet was sad at heart, and this was given as consolation to him. If this was the particular occasion, the general meaning would refer the Place of Return to the occasion of the Resurrection, when all true values will be restored, however they may be disturbed by the temporary interference of evil in this life.
Allah's greatness and infinitude are such that He can create and cherish not only a whole mass, but each individual soul, and He can follow its history and doings until the final Judgment. This shows not only Allah's glory and Omniscience and Omnipotence: it also shows the value of each individual soul in His eyes, and lifts individual responsibility right up into relations with Him.
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Lit., "hope" or "expect".
Revelation and the preaching of Truth may in the beginning bring persecution, conflict, and sorrow in its train; but in reality it is the truest mercy from Allah, which comes even without our expecting it, as it came to the Prophets without their consciously asking for it. This is proved in the history of Moses related in this Sura, and the history of the holy Prophet which it is meant to illustrate.
If Allah's Message is unpalatable to evil and is rejected by it, those who accept it may (in their natural human feelings) sometimes wonder that such should be the case, and whether it is really Allah's Will that the conflict which ensues should be pursued. Any such hesitation would lend unconscious support to the aggressions of evil and should be discarded. The servant of Allah stands forth boldly as His Mujahid (fighter of the good fight), daring all, and knowing that Allah is behind him.
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Lit., "and".
The soldier of Allah, having taken up the fight against evil, and knowing that he is in touch with the true Light, never yields an inch of ground. He is always to the fore in inviting others to his own ranks, but he himself refuses to be with those who worship anything else but Allah.
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See {55:26-27} and the corresponding note [11].
lit., except His Face.
This sums up the lesson of the whole Sura. The only Eternal Reality is Allah. The whole phenomenal world is subject to flux and change and will pass away, but He will endure for ever.
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