Surah Al-Qasas (28) — Ayah 82

(Ayah 82) ➊ There are several statements regarding the exegesis of {وَ اَصْبَحَ الَّذِيْنَ تَمَنَّوْا مَكَانَهٗ بِالْاَمْسِ … : ’’ وَيْكَاَنَّ ‘‘}; some have said its meaning is {’’أَلَمْ تَرَ أَنَّ‘‘} (Have you not seen that). Some have said, it is a combination of {’’ وَيْ‘‘ ، ’’ كَ‘‘} and {’’أَنَّ ‘‘}. {’’وَيْ‘‘} is a word of amazement, kaf is for reasoning (therefore), and {’’أَنَّ ‘‘} is a particle of emphasis. That is, it is amazement because indeed Allah Almighty… . And some have said {’’وَيْ ‘‘} is a word of regret, meaning it is used to express remorse and sorrow, and kaf is a particle of resemblance (meaning as if). I have translated accordingly: “Alas! It seems that.”
➋ That is, those people who yesterday were wishing for the status attained by Qarun in wealth, property, and grandeur, when morning came, those same people were saying, alas! It seems that the increase or decrease of provision is not dependent on anyone’s knowledge or effort, but rather on the will and wish of Allah Almighty. He expands the provision for whomever He wills and restricts it for whomever He wills. Giving someone more provision does not mean that he has more skill in earning wealth, and someone’s provision being restricted does not mean that he lacks the skill to earn wealth, nor is having more wealth a sign of Allah’s pleasure, nor having less a sign of His displeasure. The only sign of Allah’s pleasure is that He grants someone the wealth of faith, as Abdullah bin Mas’ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said: [ إِنَّ اللّٰهَ تَعَالٰی قَسَمَ بَيْنَكُمْ أَخْلاَقَكُمْ ، كَمَا قَسَمَ بَيْنَكُمْ أَرْزَاقَكُمْ ، وَإِنَّ اللّٰهَ تَعَالٰي يُعْطِي الْمَالَ مَنْ أَحَبَّ وَمَنْ لاَ يُحِبُّ ، وَلاَ يُعْطِي الْإِيْمَانَ إِلاَّ مَنْ يُحِبُّ ] [ الأدب المفرد : ۲۷۵، قال الألباني صحیح، موقوف في حکم المرفوع، وانظر سلسلۃ الأحادیث الصحیحۃ : ۲۷۱۴ ] “Allah Almighty has distributed your character among you just as He has distributed your provision, and Allah gives wealth to the one He loves and to the one He does not love, but He gives faith to no one except the one He loves.”
➌ {لَوْ لَاۤ اَنْ مَّنَّ اللّٰهُ عَلَيْنَا لَخَسَفَ بِنَا …:} That is, it is Allah Almighty’s favor that He did not make us like Qarun, otherwise we would have been in the same condition. Due to greed, we had already become deserving of the same punishment by saying {’’ يٰلَيْتَ لَنَا مِثْلَ مَاۤ اُوْتِيَ قَارُوْنُ ‘‘} (If only we had the like of what Qarun was given). Praise be to Allah that He did not fulfill our desire, but rather showed us Qarun’s end with our own eyes and granted us the ability to repent. Now it is clear that no matter how much wealth and property disbelievers accumulate, they can never attain success.
➍ Abu Kabsha Al-Anmari (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that he heard from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). It is a long hadith, in which he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: [ إِنَّمَا الدُّنْيَا لِأَرْبَعَةِ نَفَرٍ : عَبْدٍ رَزَقَهُ اللّٰهُ مَالاً وَعِلْمًا فَهُوَ يَتَّقِيْ رَبَّهُ فِيْهِ وَيَصِلُ فِيْهِ رَحِمَهُ وَيَعْلَمُ لِلّٰهِ فِيْهِ حَقًّا فَهٰذَا بِأَفْضَلِ الْمَنَازِلِ وَعَبْدٍ رَزَقَهُ اللّٰهُ عِلْمًا وَلَمْ يَرْزُقْهُ مَالاً فَهُوَ صَادِقُ النِّيَّةِ يَقُوْلُ لَوْ أَنَّ لِيْ مَالاً لَعَمِلْتُ فِيْهِ بِعَمَلِ فُلاَنٍ فَهُوَ بِنِيَّتِهِ فَأَجْرُهُمَا سَوَاءٌ، وَعَبْدٍ رَزَقَهُ اللّٰهُ مَالاً وَلَمْ يَرْزُقْهُ عِلْمًا فَهُوَ يُخْبَطُ فِيْ مَالِهِ بِغَيْرِ عِلْمٍ لاَ يَتَّقِيْ فِيهِ رَبَّهُ وَلاَ يَصِلُ فِيْهِ رَحِمَهُ وَلاَ يَعْلَمُ لِلّٰهِ فِيْهِ حَقًّا فَهٰذَا بِأَخْبَثِ الْمَنَازِلِ وَعَبْدٍ لَمْ يَرْزُقْهُ اللّٰهُ مَالاً وَلاَ عِلْمًا فَهُوَ يَقُوْلُ لَوْ أَنَّ لِيْ مَالاً لَعَمِلْتُ فِيْهِ بِعَمَلِ فُلاَنٍ فَهُوَ بِنِيَّتِهِ فَوِزْرُهُمَا سَوَاءٌ] [ ترمذي، الزھد، باب ما جاء مثل الدنیا مثل أربعۃ نفر : ۲۳۲۵ ] “The world is only for four types of people: one is the servant whom Allah Almighty has given wealth and knowledge, so he fears his Lord regarding it, maintains family ties, and recognizes Allah’s right in it; he is in the highest rank. And one is the servant whom Allah Almighty has given knowledge but not wealth, so he is sincere in intention and says, if I had wealth, I would act like so-and-so. So this is his intention, and their reward is equal. And one is the servant whom Allah Almighty has given wealth but not knowledge, so he wanders about in it without knowledge, neither fears his Lord in it, nor maintains family ties, nor recognizes any right of Allah in it; so he is in the worst rank. And one is the servant whom Allah has given neither wealth nor knowledge, so he says, if I had wealth, I would act like so-and-so; so this is his intention, and the sin of both is equal.” Those who were wishing for Qarun’s status yesterday, according to this hadith, Qarun and they are equal in sin, so they acknowledged Allah’s favor that He did not cause us to be swallowed up in the earth like Qarun.

82-1. By "makaan" is meant the worldly rank and status that is temporarily granted in this world. Just as it was given to Qarun, the meaning is that those who desired the wealth and splendor of Qarun, when they saw the exemplary end of Qarun, said that wealth and riches are not proof that Allah Almighty is pleased with the owner of wealth. Have you not seen that Allah Almighty gives more wealth to some and less to others? This is related to His will and perfect wisdom, which no one knows except Him. Abundance of wealth is not a sign of His pleasure, nor is scarcity of wealth a sign of His displeasure, nor is it a criterion of virtue.

82-2. That is, we too would have faced the same fate that Qarun faced.

82-3. That is, Qarun, after attaining wealth, instead of being grateful, chose the path of ingratitude and disobedience, so see what his end was? Look, for one who has an eye to take a lesson.

82. And those who had wished for his position the day before began to say, "Alas! Allah enlarges the provision for whom He wills of His servants and restricts it. Had Allah not been gracious to us, He would have caused us to be swallowed up too. Alas! The disbelievers never prosper."

[111] Seeing the fate of Qarun, the eyes of those who were enamored with the world were opened, those who just yesterday thought how fortunate a man Qarun was. And the reality became clear to them that it is not necessary that the one who possesses abundance of wealth and riches is also favored by Allah. If that were the case, Qarun would never have been a victim of Allah's punishment. And they also realized that when Allah's punishment comes, no matter how much wealth and riches one has, it is of no use. Rather, often this very wealth and riches become the cause of bringing down Allah's punishment. Therefore, the standard of a person's good fortune can never be wealth and riches. The increase or decrease of sustenance is one thing, and a person's success and good fortune is another. And it is good that despite our desires, Allah did not grant us abundance of wealth and riches, otherwise our fate would have been the same as that of Qarun.