Qarun Was from the People of Moses and He Oppressed Them — The Lesson of Wealth and Arrogance
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Level: intermediate
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إِنَّ قَٰرُونَ كَانَ مِن قَوۡمِ مُوسَىٰ فَبَغَىٰ عَلَيۡهِمۡ
— القصص 76
Verse: "Indeed Qarun was from the people of Moses and he oppressed them." (28:76)
The story: Qarun was given tremendous treasures — their keys were a burden for strong men. When told to spend and do good — he said: "I was given it only because of knowledge I possess." Allah caused the earth to swallow him and his dwelling.
Lesson: Wealth in a grateful person's hands is a blessing — in an arrogant person's hands it is a cause of destruction.
Source: Ibn Kathir (6/236); Al-Sadi; Al-Qurtubi (13/302)
Question: What was the fundamental cause of Qarun's destruction according to the Quran?
Answer: "I was given it only because of knowledge I possess" — attributing the blessing to himself and denying it was from Allah. Arrogance and forgetting the Benefactor is the root of destruction.