سورة القصص

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): In the book al-Khisal it is narrated from Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): The Imam (peace be upon him) was seated in the mosque of Kufa when a man stood up and said: "O Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him), inform me why Wednesday is regarded as an ill omen and considered a heavy day, and which Wednesday is meant?" He said: "It is the last Wednesday of the month, which is al-mihaq (when the moon is not visible at night); on such a day Qabil killed his brother Habil (peace be upon him), and on a Wednesday Ibrahim (peace be upon him) was cast into the fire. On a Wednesday Allah the Exalted caused Qarun to be swallowed into the earth."

Ibn Abbas (may Allah have mercy on him): Qarun was the cousin of Musa (peace be upon him). In the time of Musa (peace be upon him) there was a beautiful, immoral woman. Qarun said to her: "I will give you one hundred thousand dirhams. Tomorrow go to Musa (peace be upon him) while he is sitting among the Children of Israel reciting the Torah to them, and say: 'O people of the Children of Israel! Musa (peace be upon him) has called me to himself [and propositioned me for adultery].'" The woman took one hundred thousand dirhams from him. In the morning the immoral woman came and stood over their heads, and Qarun too was present there in his finery. That woman said: "O Musa (peace be upon him)! Qarun has given me one hundred thousand dirhams so that I would say among the Children of Israel, in front of everyone, that you called me to yourself — and I seek refuge in Allah from your having called me to yourself. By Allah! Allah has kept you far above committing such a great sin!" Musa (peace be upon him) said to the earth: "Seize him (Qarun)," and the earth seized him and swallowed him, and he sank into the ground.

Ibn Abbas (may Allah have mercy on him): When Allah revealed the ruling of zakat upon Musa (peace be upon him), Qarun, knowing the ruling of zakat, agreed that for every thousand dinars he would give one dinar, for every thousand sheep one sheep, and for every thousand items of his wealth and property one of them as zakat. But when he returned home and calculated their amount, it seemed too much to him, so in his heart he became displeased. Then he gathered the Children of Israel and said to them: "O Children of Israel, until now whatever Musa has asked of you, you have carried out; now he wants to take your wealth from you." The Children of Israel said: "You are our chief and elder; command whatever you wish, and we will carry it out." Qarun said: "I say that you should go to a certain immoral woman and give her some wealth so that she may testify that Musa has committed fornication with her; then we can drive Musa (peace be upon him) out from among ourselves and expel him and be rid of him." Then he brought a thousand dirhams to give to that woman — some have said it was a thousand dinars, and some have said he gave that woman a basin of gold — and said to her: "I will give you shelter and include you among my own women so that you may associate with them, on condition that tomorrow, in the presence of the people, you testify that Musa (peace be upon him) has committed fornication with you." When the next day came, Qarun gathered the Children of Israel and summoned Musa (peace be upon him), and said to Musa (peace be upon him): "The people have gathered and are awaiting you so that you may enjoin and forbid them and explain to them the rulings and commandments of the religion." Musa (peace be upon him) also went towards them; they had gathered in the town square. Musa (peace be upon him) began the sermon and admonished the people and delivered a discourse and said: "Whoever steals, his hand must be cut off; whoever slanders must receive eighty lashes; whoever commits fornication, if he has no spouse, must receive a hundred lashes, and if he has a spouse, he must be stoned until he is killed." Qarun said: "Even if that person be you?!" Musa (peace be upon him) said: "Even if that sinner be me." Qarun said: "The Children of Israel suppose that you have committed fornication with a certain woman!" Musa (peace be upon him) said: "I?!" Qarun said: "Yes!" Musa (peace be upon him) said: "Bring that woman so we may seek her testimony, and whatever she says is correct." When that woman came, Musa (peace be upon him) asked her: "O woman! Have I committed the act that this people say?" Answering this question was hard for her [and she gave no answer]. Musa (peace be upon him) put her under oath by the Allah who parted the sea for the Children of Israel and who sent down the Tawrat upon Musa (peace be upon him), that she should tell the truth. When that woman heard this, Allah granted her the tawfiq (divine enablement) to repent, and she said to herself: "Repenting and confessing is easier than harming the Messenger of Allah." She said: "No! Never! They are lying; Qarun has given me a sum so that I would accuse you of fornication." When that woman uttered these words, Qarun lowered his head and the people fell silent, and he realized he was on the brink of destruction. Musa (peace be upon him) fell into prostration and wept and submitted: "O Lord! Your enemy intended to harm and disgrace me. O Allah! If I am Your prophet, then be angry for my sake and give me power over him!" Allah the Glorified revealed to him: "Raise your head; issue any command you wish, for My earth will obey you." Musa (peace be upon him) said: "O Children of Israel, Allah has sent me to warn Qarun just as He sent me to warn Firawn. Now whoever is a follower of his, let him be with him, and whoever is a follower of mine, let him keep away from him!" All of them distanced themselves from Qarun, and no one remained beside him except two men. Musa (peace be upon him) commanded: "O earth! Swallow them up!" They sank into the earth up to their heels. Again he said: "O earth! Swallow them up!" This time they sank into the earth up to their knees. Musa (peace be upon him) commanded: "O earth! Swallow them up!" And this time they sank up to their bellies. Musa (peace be upon him) said: "O earth, swallow them up!" And they sank up to their necks. Throughout this time, Qarun and those two men entreated Musa (peace be upon him) in helplessness and begged him for mercy and compassion, and they cried out to him for help seventy times and put him under oath by Allah to have mercy on them; but Musa (peace be upon him), due to the intensity of his anger and displeasure, paid them no attention. Finally he commanded: "O earth, swallow them up!" And the earth swallowed them completely. At that very moment, Allah the Glorified revealed to Musa (peace be upon him): "I never saw you like this — that they cry out to you for help seventy times and you do not have mercy on them nor pay them any attention. But by My might and majesty, if they had cried out for help at My court even once, they would surely have found Me near and responsive, and I would have saved them."

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): When the people of Yunus (peace be upon him) harmed him [he asked Allah to send punishment upon them, and when the signs of punishment appeared he left the city and boarded a ship. Suddenly the ship began to shake, and it was decided that by lot one of the passengers should be thrown into the sea] — the Imam (peace be upon him) related a long hadith, in which it is said: "[Yunus (peace be upon him)] threw himself into the sea and the whale swallowed him and carried him through the seven seas until it reached al-Bahr al-Masjur (the swelling sea), where Qarun was being punished. Qarun heard a sound like thunder and lightning and asked the angel about it. He was told that it was Yunus (peace be upon him) and that Allah had confined him in the belly of the whale. Qarun said to him: 'Will you allow me to speak with him?' He gave him permission. Qarun asked Yunus about Musa (peace be upon him), and he told him that he had passed away. Qarun wept. Then he asked him about Harun (peace be upon him). He told him that he had passed away. Qarun wept and grieved intensely. Then he asked him about his sister Kulthum, who was betrothed to Qarun, and he told him that she had passed away. He wept and grieved greatly. Allah revealed to the angel who was in charge of punishing him that, because of his tenderness toward his relatives, the punishment should be lifted from him for the remaining days of the world."

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): One of the Jews asked Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him): "Which prison is it that travelled the corners of the earth with its prisoner?" Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him) said: "O Jew! That prison was the whale that carried Yunus (peace be upon him). It entered with him into the Sea of Qulzum, then went out to the Sea of Egypt, then entered the Sea of Tabaristan, and from there went into the Tigris of al-Ghawra, and then went beneath the earth until it reached Qarun. Qarun in the time of Musa (peace be upon him) had sunk beneath the earth, and Allah had appointed an angel over him to sink him into the earth every day by the measure of a man's height. Yunus (peace be upon him), meanwhile, was in the belly of the whale glorifying Allah and seeking His forgiveness. Qarun heard his voice and said to the angel appointed over him: 'Give me a little respite, for I hear the voice of one of the humans.' Then Allah commanded that angel to grant him respite, and the angel granted Qarun respite. Qarun asked: 'Who are you?' Yunus (peace be upon him) said: 'I am the sinful, erring Yunus (peace be upon him), son of Matta.' Qarun said: 'What did Allah, the severe in wrath, do with Musa ibn Imran?' Yunus (peace be upon him) said: 'Alas, he has passed away.' Qarun said: 'What became of Harun (peace be upon him), who was so kind and compassionate toward his people?' Yunus (peace be upon him) said: 'Alas, he has perished.' Qarun said: 'What became of Kulthum, the daughter of Imran, who was betrothed to me?' Yunus (peace be upon him) said: 'Not one of the family of Imran remains alive.' Qarun said: 'Alas for the family of Imran!' After that, Allah commanded the angel appointed over him to lift the punishment from him during the days of the world, and thereafter his worldly punishment was removed."

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family): Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) narrated from his fathers, from Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him): [The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family)] forbade a person from walking arrogantly and said: "Whoever wears a garment and takes pride in himself in it, Allah will cast him down into the pit of Hell, and he will be the companion of Qarun, for he was the first who took pride in himself, so Allah caused the earth to swallow him and his house. And whoever boasts over others has, as it were, contended with Allah in His might."

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family): In the book of Ja'far ibn Muhammad al-Duraysti, with his chain from the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family), a long hadith is mentioned concerning the Mubahala. In it comes: When the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) returned from the Mubahala and entered his mosque, Jibra'il (peace be upon him) descended and said: "O Muhammad! Allah conveys His greetings to you and says: 'My servant Musa (peace be upon him), together with his brother Harun (peace be upon him) and his son, performed Mubahala against his enemy Qarun, as a result of which Qarun, his family, his wealth, and everyone from his people who had assisted him were caused to sink into the earth. I swear by My might and My majesty, O Ahmad! If the people of the earth and all creatures had performed Mubahala with you and those who are under that cloak, I would have shattered the sky into pieces, torn the mountains into fragments, and the earth would have sunk and swallowed everything within itself, except at the moment I willed.'"