Tafseer of The Stories · Al-Qasas · 28:76
Indeed, Qarun was from the people of Moses, but he tyrannized them. And We gave him of treasures whose keys would burden a band of strong men; thereupon his people said to him, "Do not exult. Indeed, Allah does not like the exultant.
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
The discourse on the explanation of His statement, the Exalted: إِنَّ قَارُونَ كَانَ مِنْ قَوْمِ مُوسَى فَبَغَى عَلَيْهِمْ وَآتَيْنَاهُ مِنَ الْكُنُوزِ مَا إِنَّ مَفَاتِحَهُ لَتَنُوءُ بِالْعُصْبَةِ أُولِي الْقُوَّةِ إِذْ قَالَ لَهُ قَوْمُهُ لا تَفْرَحْ إِنَّ اللَّهَ لا يُحِبُّ الْفَرِحِينَ (76)
(Indeed, Qārūn was of the people of Mūsā, but he was tyrannical toward them. And We had given him so many treasures that their keys would have been too heavy for a band of strong men. When his people said to him: "Do not exult, indeed Allah does not love those who exult.")
The Exalted, whose praise is exalted, says: إِنَّ قَارُونَ (Indeed, Qārūn) — and he is Qārūn, son of Yiṣhar, son of Qāhith, son of Lāwī, son of Yaʿqūb — كَانَ مِنْ قَوْمِ مُوسَى (was of the people of Mūsā), He says: he was of the kindred of Mūsā, son of ʿImrān, the Prophet ﷺ, and he was his paternal and maternal cousin. That is because Qārūn is the son of Yiṣhar, son of Qāhith, while Mūsā is the son of ʿImrān, son of Qāhith. Thus did Ibn Jurayj give his lineage.
Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, concerning His statement: إِنَّ قَارُونَ كَانَ مِنْ قَوْمِ مُوسَى (Indeed, Qārūn was of the people of Mūsā): he said: his cousin, the son of his father's brother. For Qārūn is the son of Yiṣfar — thus said al-Qāsim, but it is in reality Yiṣhar, son of Qāhith — and Mūsā is the son of ʿAwmar, son of Qāhith, and "ʿAwmar" in Arabic is "ʿImrān".
As for Ibn Isḥāq: Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Salama related to us on his authority, that Yiṣhar, son of Qāhith, married Samīt, daughter of Batāwīt, son of Barknā, son of Baqshān, son of Ibrāhīm, and she bore him ʿImrān, son of Yiṣhar, and Qārūn, son of Yiṣhar. ʿImrān married Bakhnat, daughter of Shamwīl, son of Barknā, son of Baqshān, son of Barknā, and she bore him Hārūn, son of ʿImrān, and Mūsā, son of ʿImrān, the chosen one of Allah and His prophet. Thus, according to what Ibn Isḥāq mentioned, Mūsā is the son of Qārūn's brother, and Qārūn is his uncle, the brother of his father, on the paternal and maternal side. Most of the people of knowledge adhere in this to what Ibn Jurayj said.
* Mention of those who said that:
Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Jābir ibn Nūḥ related to us, saying: Ismāʿīl ibn Abī Khālid informed us, on the authority of Ibrāhīm, concerning His statement: إِنَّ قَارُونَ كَانَ مِنْ قَوْمِ مُوسَى (Indeed, Qārūn was of the people of Mūsā): he said: he was the cousin of Mūsā.
Ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān related to us, saying: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of Simāk ibn Ḥarb, he said: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: إِنَّ قَارُونَ كَانَ مِنْ قَوْمِ مُوسَى (Indeed, Qārūn was of the people of Mūsā): we used to relate that he was his cousin, the son of his father's brother, and he was called "the Radiant (al-munawwar)" because of the beauty of his voice in the Tawrāh; but the enemy of Allah played the hypocrite, as al-Sāmirī played the hypocrite, and tyranny destroyed him.
Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: my father related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of Simāk, on the authority of Ibrāhīm: إِنَّ قَارُونَ كَانَ مِنْ قَوْمِ مُوسَى (Indeed, Qārūn was of the people of Mūsā): he said: he was his cousin, and he was tyrannical toward him.
He said: Yaḥyā al-Qaṭṭān related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of Simāk, on the authority of Ibrāhīm, he said: Qārūn was the cousin of Mūsā.
He said: Abū Muʿāwiya related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Khālid, on the authority of Ibrāhīm: إِنَّ قَارُونَ كَانَ مِنْ قَوْمِ مُوسَى (Indeed, Qārūn was of the people of Mūsā): he said: he was his cousin.
Bishr ibn Hilāl al-Ṣawwāf related to me, saying: Jaʿfar ibn Sulaymān al-Ḍubaʿī related to us, on the authority of Mālik ibn Dīnār, he said: it has reached me that Mūsā, son of ʿImrān, was the cousin of Qārūn.
And His statement: فَبَغَى عَلَيْهِمْ (but he was tyrannical toward them): He says: he overstepped his bound in arrogance and tyranny toward them.
Some used to say: his tyranny toward them consisted of an extra handspan that he took in the length of his garment.
* Mention of those who said that:
ʿAlī ibn Saʿīd al-Kindī and Abū al-Sāʾib and Ibn Wakīʿ related to me, they said: Ḥafṣ ibn Ghiyāth related to us, on the authority of Layth, on the authority of Shahr ibn Ḥawshab: إِنَّ قَارُونَ كَانَ مِنْ قَوْمِ مُوسَى فَبَغَى عَلَيْهِمْ (Indeed, Qārūn was of the people of Mūsā, but he was tyrannical toward them): he said: he surpassed them in clothing by a handspan.
Others said: his tyranny toward them consisted of the abundance of his wealth.
* Mention of those who said that:
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, he said: he was tyrannical toward them only because of the abundance of his wealth.
And His statement: وَآتَيْنَاهُ مِنَ الْكُنُوزِ مَا إِنَّ مَفَاتِحَهُ لَتَنُوءُ بِالْعُصْبَةِ أُولِي الْقُوَّةِ (And We had given him so many treasures that their keys would have been too heavy for a band of strong men): the Exalted, whose praise is exalted, says: and We gave Qārūn of treasures of wealth so much that its keys — and it is the plural of miftaḥ, that with which doors are opened — [were a burden].
Some said: by "the keys (al-mafātiḥ)" what is meant in this place is: the treasure-stores, so that they would weigh heavily upon the band.
And in accordance with what we have said concerning this, the exegetes have spoken.
* Mention of those who said what we have said concerning the meaning of "keys":
Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Jābir ibn Nūḥ related to us, saying: al-Aʿmash informed us, on the authority of Khaythama, he said: the keys of Qārūn were carried on sixty mules, each key of them being for a known treasure-store door, the size of a finger, of leather.
Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: my father related to us, on the authority of al-Aʿmash, on the authority of Khaythama, he said: the keys of the treasures of Qārūn were of leather, each key the size of a finger, each key for a separate treasure-store; and when he rode out, the keys were carried on sixty mules with white blazes and white fetlocks.
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Jarīr related to us, on the authority of Manṣūr, on the authority of Khaythama, concerning His statement: مَا إِنَّ مَفَاتِحَهُ لَتَنُوءُ بِالْعُصْبَةِ أُولِي الْقُوَّةِ (that their keys would have been too heavy for a band of strong men): he said: we find written in the Gospel: the keys of Qārūn were the load of sixty mules with white blazes and white fetlocks; no key of them was larger than a finger, and to each key of them a treasure was attached.
Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Ibn ʿUyayna related to us, on the authority of Ḥumayd, on the authority of Mujāhid, he said: the keys were of camel-hides.
Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, on the authority of Mujāhid: وَآتَيْنَاهُ مِنَ الْكُنُوزِ مَا إِنَّ مَفَاتِحَهُ لَتَنُوءُ بِالْعُصْبَةِ (And We had given him so many treasures that their keys would have been too heavy for a band): he said: keys of leather, like the keys of wooden staves.
A group said: by "the keys" what is meant in this place is: his treasure-stores.
* Mention of those who said that:
Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Hushaym related to us, saying: Ismāʿīl ibn Sālim informed us, on the authority of Abū Ṣāliḥ, concerning His statement: مَا إِنَّ مَفَاتِحَهُ لَتَنُوءُ بِالْعُصْبَةِ (that their keys would have been too heavy for a band): he said: his treasure-stores were carried on forty mules.
Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: my father related to us, on the authority of Abū Ḥujayr, on the authority of al-Ḍaḥḥāk: مَا إِنَّ مَفَاتِحَهُ (that their keys): he said: his repositories.
And in accordance with what we have said concerning the meaning of His statement: لَتَنُوءُ بِالْعُصْبَةِ (would have been too heavy for a band), the exegetes have spoken.
* Mention of those who said that:
Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Jābir ibn Nūḥ related to us, saying: Abū Rawq related to us, on the authority of al-Ḍaḥḥāk, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His statement: لَتَنُوءُ بِالْعُصْبَةِ (would have been too heavy for a band): he said: would weigh heavily upon the band.
ʿAlī related to me, saying: Abū Ṣāliḥ related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His statement: لَتَنُوءُ بِالْعُصْبَةِ (would have been too heavy for a band): he says: would weigh heavily. And as for the "band (al-ʿuṣba)": that is the company.
The exegetes differed concerning the number intended in this place. As for the number of the "band (al-ʿuṣba)" in the language of the Arabs, that we have already mentioned previously, with the differences of those who differ concerning it, and the transmission concerning it, and the proofs for the soundness of their statements concerning it, in a manner that absolves us from repetition in this place. Some said: his keys would weigh heavily upon a band whose number was forty men.
* Mention of those who said that:
Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Hushaym related to us, on the authority of Ismāʿīl ibn Sālim, on the authority of Abū Ṣāliḥ, concerning His statement: لَتَنُوءُ بِالْعُصْبَةِ (would have been too heavy for a band): he said: forty men.
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: لَتَنُوءُ بِالْعُصْبَةِ (would have been too heavy for a band): he said: it was mentioned to us that the band is between ten and forty.
It was related to me on the authority of al-Ḥusayn, he said: I heard Abū Muʿādh saying: ʿUbayd informed us, he said: I heard al-Ḍaḥḥāk saying concerning His statement: لَتَنُوءُ بِالْعُصْبَةِ أُولِي الْقُوَّةِ (would have been too heavy for a band of strong men): they claim that the band is forty men, who carry his keys because of their great number.
Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to me, saying: my father related to me, saying: my uncle related to me, saying: my father related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His statement: وَآتَيْنَاهُ مِنَ الْكُنُوزِ مَا إِنَّ مَفَاتِحَهُ لَتَنُوءُ بِالْعُصْبَةِ أُولِي الْقُوَّةِ (And We had given him so many treasures that their keys would have been too heavy for a band of strong men): he said: forty men.
Others said: sixty, and he said: his keys were carried on sixty mules.
Thus did Ibn Wakīʿ relate to us, saying: my father related to us, on the authority of al-Aʿmash, on the authority of Khaythama.
Others said: it was carried by between three and ten.
* Mention of those who said that:
Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Jābir ibn Nūḥ related to us, on the authority of Abū Rawq, on the authority of al-Ḍaḥḥāk, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: لَتَنُوءُ بِالْعُصْبَةِ (would have been too heavy for a band): he said: the band is three.
Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Jābir ibn Nūḥ related to us, saying: Abū Rawq related to us, on the authority of al-Ḍaḥḥāk, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: لَتَنُوءُ بِالْعُصْبَةِ (would have been too heavy for a band): he said: the band is between three and ten.
Others said: it was carried by between ten and fifteen.
* Mention of those who said that:
Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us; and al-Ḥārith related to me, saying: al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: Warqāʾ related to us — both — on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning the statement of Allah: مَا إِنَّ مَفَاتِحَهُ لَتَنُوءُ بِالْعُصْبَةِ (that their keys would have been too heavy for a band): he said: the band is between ten and fifteen.
Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, on the authority of Mujāhid: لَتَنُوءُ بِالْعُصْبَةِ (would have been too heavy for a band): he said: the band is fifteen men.
And His statement: أُولِي الْقُوَّةِ (strong men): He means: possessors of strength. And Mujāhid said concerning it what Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid: أُولِي الْقُوَّةِ (strong men): he said: fifteen.
If someone were to ask: how can it be said وَآتَيْنَاهُ مِنَ الْكُنُوزِ مَا إِنَّ مَفَاتِحَهُ لَتَنُوءُ بِالْعُصْبَةِ (And We had given him so many treasures that their keys would have been too heavy for a band), and how do the keys weigh heavily upon the band, when it is the band that goes heavy beneath them? — then the answer is: the scholars of the Arabic language differed concerning this. Some of the people of Basra said: its meaning is: that the band, the strong men, goes heavy beneath the keys of His bounty. He said: and one says in common speech: "her buttocks weigh heavily upon her (innahā la-tanūʾu bihā ʿajīzatuhā)", while in reality it is: "she goes heavy beneath her buttocks (tanūʾu bi-ʿajīzatihā)", as the camel goes heavy beneath its load. He said: and the Arabs do this kind of thing. The poet said:
"I have ransomed with his soul my soul and my wealth / and I exert myself for you only to the extent that I am able."
And the meaning is: I have ransomed with my soul and with my wealth his soul.
And another said:
"And you ride horses among which there is no reconciliation / and the spears come to ruin through the heavy, ruddy fellows."
And it is precisely the heavy fellows who come to ruin through the spears. He said: and "the horses (al-khayl)" here mean: the men.
And another of them said concerning مَا إِنَّ مَفَاتِحَهُ (that their keys): he said: this is a place where one scarcely begins with "inna", and yet He said: إِنَّ الْمَوْتَ الَّذِي تَفِرُّونَ مِنْهُ فَإِنَّهُ مُلاقِيكُمْ (Indeed, the death from which you flee — indeed, it will meet you). And His statement: لَتَنُوءُ بِالْعُصْبَةِ (would have been too heavy for a band): it is precisely the band that goes heavy beneath it. And in poetry:
"Her buttocks weigh heavily upon her and burden her."
But it is not the buttocks that weigh heavily upon her; rather, it is she who goes heavy beneath the buttocks. And al-Aʿshā said:
"You were not inexperienced in renewed war / when the heat of its fuel made its tree-stumps blaze up."
And some of the linguists of Kūfa rejected what this speaker said, namely the beginning with "inna" after "mā", and said: that is permissible with "mā" and "man", and it is with "mā" and "man" more excellent than with "alladhī", because "alladhī" does not operate in its relative clause, nor does its relative clause operate in it; therefore it is permissible, and the sentence becomes the reference back upon "mā", since "inna" does not operate in "mā", nor "mā" in it. He said: and it is good with "mā" and "man", because they can both incline toward the meaning of the indefinite if you wish, and toward the definite if you wish; so you say: "I struck a man who will surely stand (ḍarabtu rajulan la-yaqūmanna)", and "I struck a man, indeed he is a doer of good (ḍarabtu rajulan innahu la-muḥsin)". Thus are "man" and "mā" the explanation of this, while with "alladhī" it is uglier, because it cannot incline toward the meaning of the indefinite.
And another of them said concerning His statement: لَتَنُوءُ بِالْعُصْبَةِ (would have been too heavy for a band): its going-heavy beneath the band means: that it burdens them. And he said: the meaning is: his keys cause the band to lean heavily (tunīʾu), that is: they make them lean because of their weight. Then when you insert the bāʾ, you say: "it goes heavy beneath them (tanūʾu bihim)", as He said: آتُونِي أُفْرِغْ عَلَيْهِ قِطْرًا (Bring me molten copper, that I may pour it over it), the meaning of which is: bring me copper, that I may pour it over it; and when you omit the bāʾ, you add to the verb at its beginning an alif. And the like of that is: فَأَجَاءَهَا الْمَخَاضُ (and the pangs of childbirth drove her), the meaning of which is: the pangs of childbirth came with her. And he said: a man of the linguists has said: the meaning is: that the band goes heavy beneath his keys, and thus he transferred the action to the keys, as the poet said:
"Indeed, Sirāj is noble of renown / the eye exults through him when it beholds him."
It is precisely the eye that exults through him. He said: if he has heard a transmission concerning this, then it is a valid explanation; and if not, then the man has not grasped the meaning. He said: and one of the Arabs recited to me:
"Until, when his joints knit together / and his withers leaned toward the left side."
He means: the archer, when he took the bow and drew it, he leaned toward his side. He said: and we hold that the Arabic proverb "what grieved you and overwhelmed you (mā sāʾaka wa-nāʾaka)" is derived from this, and its meaning is: what grieved you and burdened you (anāʾaka), except that he omitted the alif because it follows "sāʾaka", as the Arabs said: "I ate food that was pleasant to me and agreed with me (hanaʾanī wa-maraʾanī)", the meaning of which, when it stands on its own, is: "and it agreed with me (wa-amraʾanī)"; but he omitted the alif from it, because it followed something in which there was no alif.
And this last explanation of His statement: لَتَنُوءُ بِالْعُصْبَةِ (would have been too heavy for a band) is more in accordance with the correct view than the other statements, for two reasons. The first: that it is an explanation that accords with the apparent meaning of the revelation. And the second: that the transmissions that we have mentioned from the exegetes came in this meaning. And the statement of the one who said that its meaning is: "that the band goes heavy beneath his keys", is merely a turning by them toward the meaning: "that the band rises up with his keys". And when it is taken thus, it does not contain the indication — which it does contain when taken in the meaning: "that his keys burden the band and make it lean" — of the report concerning the abundance of his treasures, because the band can rise up with both few and many keys. And the Exalted, whose praise is exalted, intended precisely the report concerning the abundance thereof; and when the report concerning the abundance thereof is what is intended by it, then there is no doubt that the statement of the one whose statement we mentioned — that the meaning is: "that the band goes heavy beneath his keys" — is a statement without meaning, besides its being contrary to the explanation of the predecessors (al-salaf) concerning it.
And His statement: إِذْ قَالَ لَهُ قَوْمُهُ لا تَفْرَحْ إِنَّ اللَّهَ لا يُحِبُّ الْفَرِحِينَ (When his people said to him: "Do not exult, indeed Allah does not love those who exult"): He says: when his people said: do not be tyrannical and do not be insolent with joy, indeed Allah does not love, among His creatures, those who are giddy with insolence.
And in accordance with what we have said concerning this, the exegetes have spoken.
* Mention of those who said that:
ʿAlī related to me, saying: Abū Ṣāliḥ related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His statement: إِنَّ اللَّهَ لا يُحِبُّ الْفَرِحِينَ (indeed Allah does not love those who exult): he says: the gleeful ones.
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Ḥakkām related to us, on the authority of ʿAnbasa, on the authority of Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān, on the authority of al-Qāsim ibn Abī Bazza, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning His statement: لا تَفْرَحْ إِنَّ اللَّهَ لا يُحِبُّ الْفَرِحِينَ (Do not exult, indeed Allah does not love those who exult): he said: the arrogant, those giddy with insolence, who do not thank Allah for what He has given them.
Muḥammad ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Jaʿfar related to us, saying: Shuʿba related to us, on the authority of Jābir, he said: I heard Mujāhid saying concerning this verse: إِنَّ اللَّهَ لا يُحِبُّ الْفَرِحِينَ (indeed Allah does not love those who exult): he said: the arrogant who are giddy with insolence.
Yaʿqūb related to me, saying: Hushaym related to us, saying: al-ʿAwwām informed us, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning His statement: لا تَفْرَحْ إِنَّ اللَّهَ لا يُحِبُّ الْفَرِحِينَ (Do not exult, indeed Allah does not love those who exult): he said: by it he means tyranny.
Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning the statement of Allah: لا تَفْرَحْ إِنَّ اللَّهَ لا يُحِبُّ الْفَرِحِينَ (Do not exult, indeed Allah does not love those who exult): he said: the arrogant, the insolent ones, who do not thank Allah for what He has given them.
Al-Ḥārith related to me, saying: al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: Warqāʾ related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, the like thereof; except that he said: the arrogant.
Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh al-Makhramī related to us, saying: Shabāba related to me, saying: Warqāʾ related to me, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid: لا تَفْرَحْ إِنَّ اللَّهَ لا يُحِبُّ الْفَرِحِينَ (Do not exult, indeed Allah does not love those who exult): he said: those giddy with insolence.
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: when his people said to him لا تَفْرَحْ (Do not exult): that is: do not be giddy إِنَّ اللَّهَ لا يُحِبُّ الْفَرِحِينَ (indeed Allah does not love those who exult): that is: indeed Allah does not love the gleeful ones.
Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, on the authority of Mujāhid: لا تَفْرَحْ إِنَّ اللَّهَ لا يُحِبُّ الْفَرِحِينَ (Do not exult, indeed Allah does not love those who exult): he said: those giddy with insolence, who do not thank Allah for what He has given them.
Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Hushaym related to us, saying: al-ʿAwwām informed us, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning His statement: إِذْ قَالَ لَهُ قَوْمُهُ لا تَفْرَحْ إِنَّ اللَّهَ لا يُحِبُّ الْفَرِحِينَ (When his people said to him: "Do not exult, indeed Allah does not love those who exult"): he said: it is the joy of tyranny.
