وَأَصْبَحَ ٱلَّذِينَ تَمَنَّوْا۟ مَكَانَهُۥ بِٱلْأَمْسِ يَقُولُونَ وَيْكَأَنَّ ٱللَّهَ يَبْسُطُ ٱلرِّزْقَ لِمَن يَشَآءُ مِنْ عِبَادِهِۦ وَيَقْدِرُ ۖ لَوْلَآ أَن مَّنَّ ٱللَّهُ عَلَيْنَا لَخَسَفَ بِنَا ۖ وَيْكَأَنَّهُۥ لَا يُفْلِحُ ٱلْكَـٰفِرُونَ 82
Translations
And those who had wished for his position the previous day began to say, "Oh, how Allāh extends provision to whom He wills of His servants and restricts it! If not that Allāh had conferred favor on us, He would have caused it to swallow us. Oh, how the disbelievers do not succeed!"
Transliteration
Wa-asbaha alladhina tamannaw makānahu bil-amsi yaqūlūna wa-yakaanna allāha yabsutu ar-rizqa liman yashā'u min 'ibādihi wa-yaqdiru. Law-lā an manna allāhu 'alaynā la-khasafa binā. Wa-yakaannahu lā yuflihu al-kāfirūn.
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah describes the dramatic reversal of fortune of Qārūn (Korah), whose wealth caused his people to envy him the previous day, but after his destruction by the earth swallowing him, they recognized Allah's absolute sovereignty over wealth and provision. According to Ibn Kathir and Al-Qurtubi, the people's sudden acknowledgment reflects their realization that neither wealth nor status guarantees success; rather, it is Allah's favor and guidance that determine one's ultimate fate. The ayah concludes with the truth that disbelievers will never attain true success, despite their worldly possessions.
Revelation Context
This ayah is part of the lengthy narrative of Qārūn in Surah Al-Qasas (ayaat 76-82), which tells of a wealthy man from the people of Mūsā who became arrogant due to his riches and was ultimately destroyed. The surah's Meccan context addresses the early Muslim community regarding the trials of wealth and the consequences of arrogance, themes relevant to the pagan Quraysh's reliance on their material prosperity.
Related Hadiths
The Prophet (ﷺ) said: 'Wealth and children are adornments of life, but the everlasting good deeds are better with Allah' (Surah Al-Kahf 18:46, referenced by At-Tirmidhi). Additionally, the hadith in Sahih Bukhari states: 'The best of you are those who are best to their families, and I am the best among you to my family,' emphasizing that true success lies in character and obedience, not wealth.
Themes
Key Lesson
Worldly wealth and status are temporary blessings from Allah that can be withdrawn swiftly, and true success is not measured by material abundance but by faith, obedience, and humility before the Divine. We should guard against envy of others' possessions and remember that only righteous deeds have lasting value in Allah's sight.
Related Ayahs
وَلَمَّا وَرَدَ مَآءَ مَدْيَنَ وَجَدَ عَلَيْهِ أُمَّةً مِّنَ ٱلنَّاسِ يَسْقُونَ وَوَجَدَ مِن دُونِهِمُ ٱمْرَأَتَيْنِ تَذُودَانِ ۖ قَالَ مَا خَطْبُكُمَا ۖ قَالَتَا لَا نَسْقِى حَتَّىٰ يُصْدِرَ ٱلرِّعَآءُ ۖ وَأَبُونَا شَيْخٌ كَبِيرٌ
And when he came to the water [i.e., well] of Madyan, he found there a crowd of people watering [their flocks], and he found aside from them two women holding back [their flocks]. He said, "What is your circumstance?" They said, "We do not water until the shepherds dispatch [their flocks]; and our father is an old man."
فَلَمَّآ أَنْ أَرَادَ أَن يَبْطِشَ بِٱلَّذِى هُوَ عَدُوٌّ لَّهُمَا قَالَ يَـٰمُوسَىٰٓ أَتُرِيدُ أَن تَقْتُلَنِى كَمَا قَتَلْتَ نَفْسًۢا بِٱلْأَمْسِ ۖ إِن تُرِيدُ إِلَّآ أَن تَكُونَ جَبَّارًا فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ وَمَا تُرِيدُ أَن تَكُونَ مِنَ ٱلْمُصْلِحِينَ
And when he wanted to strike the one who was an enemy to both of them, he said, "O Moses, do you intend to kill me as you killed someone yesterday? You only want to be a tyrant in the land and do not want to be of the amenders."
قُلْ أَرَءَيْتُمْ إِن جَعَلَ ٱللَّهُ عَلَيْكُمُ ٱلنَّهَارَ سَرْمَدًا إِلَىٰ يَوْمِ ٱلْقِيَـٰمَةِ مَنْ إِلَـٰهٌ غَيْرُ ٱللَّهِ يَأْتِيكُم بِلَيْلٍ تَسْكُنُونَ فِيهِ ۖ أَفَلَا تُبْصِرُونَ
Say, "Have you considered: if Allāh should make for you the day continuous until the Day of Resurrection, what deity other than Allāh could bring you a night in which you may rest? Then will you not see?"
وَأَخِى هَـٰرُونُ هُوَ أَفْصَحُ مِنِّى لِسَانًا فَأَرْسِلْهُ مَعِىَ رِدْءًا يُصَدِّقُنِىٓ ۖ إِنِّىٓ أَخَافُ أَن يُكَذِّبُونِ
And my brother Aaron is more fluent than me in tongue, so send him with me as support, verifying me. Indeed, I fear that they will deny me."