Korah
_-_The_Earth_Swallows_Korah_001.jpg) Another of the episodes during the wandering is the story
of Korah. Korah, named
Qaroon in the Quran, was one of the Levites, as was Moses, and shared a
grandfather, Kohaith. This meant he was one of Moses’ cousins. He was a
leader among the rebellious Levites, according to the Bible, because of his
immense wealth. He was so wealthy that even the keys of his treasury needed
several men to carry them. He was also an arrogant person given to spreading
mischief and corruption among the people. According to the Bible, he went as
far as to incite his followers to question Moses’ authority, claiming that he usurped
the priestly right to transmit God’s message to the people. According to the
Quran and Prophetic narrations, he assumed he had been blessed with wealth
because of his intrinsic worthiness as a man of knowledge.
When the more God-fearing among the people came
advising him not to gloat over his wealth or display it arrogantly abroad, but
to use it wisely, he refused to listen. They used to say:
“Seek, with that (wealth) which God has bestowed on
you, the home of the Hereafter….” (Quran 28:77)
They did not mean he should forgo legal
enjoyment, such as a nice home, wives and children, and the provision of
adequate clothing and food for them. They meant that to spend beyond
necessities in vainglory, boastfully spreading lies about his self importance,
would simply stir others to envy and create dissention and mischief. Rather,
he should generously spread his wealth for the sake of God by spending in
charity, helping relatives and strangers, and providing funds for military and
civic campaigns. This would only be just, as God had been generous to him in
giving him his wealth in the first place.
He would say:
“This has been given to me only because of knowledge I
possess….” (Quran 28:78)
In other words, he felt he was deserving of his
possessions, believing he had obtained them by virtue of the knowledge he had
been gifted with. He came out with all his retinue, showing off in front of
the people. Many people
whose desires were orientated towards fulfillment in this world were swayed by
the display, considering him lucky and envying him. They said:
“…Ah, would that we had the like of what Korah has
been given? Verily! He is the owner of a great fortune.” (Quran 28:79)
According to one narration, Korah had challenged
Moses’ prophethood with his own wealth, and suggested that they invoke curses
upon each other before God to see which of them would be answered. Moses
offered Korah the chance to curse first, which he did, but God did not accept
the invocation. Then Moses spoke, saying:
‘O God! Command the earth that it will
obey me today!’
Then he told the earth to swallow Korah, his
treasures and the Levites with him. God said:
“So We caused the earth to swallow him and his
dwelling place. Then he had no group or party to help him against God, nor was
he one of those who could save themselves.” (Quran 28:81)
The people whose hearts had been swayed looked
on in horror, reflecting on what they had narrowly missed. Indeed they learnt
a lesson from this, saying:
“Know you not that it is God Who enlarges the
provision or restricts it to whomsoever He pleases of His slaves. Had it not
been that God was Gracious to us, He could have caused the earth to swallow us
up (also)!”
(Quran 28:82)
God says that disbelievers will never enter
heaven. It is only those who have faith that will get there.
“He allots wealth on those he loves (the
believer) and does not love (the disbeliever) alike, but true faith is allotted
only upon those whom he loves.”
“We shall assign a home of the Hereafter to those who do
not want to exalt themselves in the land nor cause corruption. And the good
end is for the God-fearing.” (Quran 28:83)
This story gives a very telling lesson.
Believing that one individually has the blessing of God because of some outward
sign in the mundane everyday world is a mistake. Even believing that one has
God’s guidance by some inner voice is a mistake, for one never knows what makes
suggestions to your soul. The only true guidance is truly submitting to the One
God, not mixing Him with others. If one does not, one risks the end that Korah
had, who foolishly challenged a favorite of God because he felt his knowledge
and wealth gave him the stature to do so.
The Death of Moses
The story of Moses’ death shows his strength and
tenacity, even in the face of the inevitable. It also shows his ultimate
submission to God and his keenness for God’s ultimate reward.
When the angel of death came to Moses to take
his soul, he resisted. Instead of submitting to death, Moses beat the angel,
knocking his eye out. The angel of death went back to his Lord and complained
about the man, a slave of God, who refused to die. God does not like to refuse
His slaves’ wishes, and Moses, being a Prophet, was one of His most beloved.
Thus He told the angel to go back to Moses and inform him that God would grant
him one more year of life for every hair he could cover by placing his hand on
the back of an ox.
Now Moses had expected to carry out many more
tasks before his death, including finally settling the Israelites in the Holy Land
after the punishment God had ordained for them had run its course. But the
visit from the angel of death had clearly signaled that God’s decree was other
than that. So when the angel of death came back with God’s offer, he asked:
‘Oh Lord! Then what will happen?’
He was told, ‘You will die.’
So Moses knew death was inevitable; he said,
‘Then why not now.’
Still, in choosing to die immediately instead of
uselessly hanging on, he had one last request to make. He said, ‘O Lord!
Bring me nearer to the Holy Land, as near as a stone’s throw away.’
And so he died, in sight of the land he had led
his people to and admonished them to enter. The Bible says that nobody knows
where the grave of Moses is, but
Muhammad, may God praise them both, told us he would be able to show his
companions the site of the grave below a red sand hill on the side of the road
if he happened to be there with them. He said:
“When I was taken on the Night Journey, I
passed by Moses, and he was standing, praying in his grave, beside the sand
hill.” (Saheeh Muslim)
One of the Characteristics of Moses was his strong
will and tenacity to complete whatever he started. But coupled to this was his
obedience and submission to the Will of God. Whenever he was confronted with a
choice, he would always choose to obey God rather than pander to his own
wishes. He provides for us a human model of rectitude and fortitude, a trait
echoed by the prophets down the ages, and culminating in Muhammad, the
Messenger of God who brought Islam to the world.
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