Picus then came forward and said, "O my brothers and sisters, mankind are all travelers in this worldy life and every traveler is heading toward his aim and will stop at the place that pleases him. Whoever seeks Allah and the Last Day is a traveler and his aim in his travel is seeking the pleasure of Allah, and this is his aim, intention and destiny.
I often wonder whether or not there is a reason for success and failure or whether they are just according to will. The truth is that their reason is based on the level of gratefulness in the servant. For a servant to be in a suitable situation to accept a blessing he must know its value, and its potential danger, praise He who bestowed it on him, glorify Him, and know that it is a blessing from Allah without having had anything to do with it nor deserve it. The servant should acknowledge the oneness of Allah, use this blessing to praise Him, admit that it is because of His favor, and then he would know his faults and defects as he knows he could never praise Allah properly. The servant should know that if Allah continues to grant him this blessing, it is a favor, charity, and blessing from Him and if He chooses to take it away from him, he deserves that.
The more Allah grants His servant blessings, the more humility, submission, praise, and fear of Allah the servant should have and if it is taken away from him it is because he did not praise Him as He deserves. The Almighty may take His blessings away from whoever does not acknowledge or care for them as they deserve. If the servant does not praise Allah as he should and misuses this blessing, undoubtedly Allah will take it away. They are those who knew the value of those blessings, accepted, loved, and praised whoever granted them, and loved and thanked Him. The cause behind failure is unsuitability of place, inconvenience, and lacking the ability to accept the blessing; if he was granted the blessing he would say: this is mine and I got it because I deserve it.
When Prophet Sulaiman, alaihissalam, was awarded blessings and ownership he possessed, he said, "This is by the Grace of my Lord to test me whether I am grateful or ungrateful!" He did not say: this is because of my honor. Prophet Sulaiman, alaihissalam, realized that whatever he gained is from his Lord and His favor and that he is afflicted with it. On the contrary, there was a man who got the grace from Allah, but he said, "This is for me, due to my merit."
Cinnamon asked, "O my brother Picus, who was that man?" Picus said, "Do you want to listen a story about him?" Cinnamon replied, "Yes, tell us, please!"
Then Picus said, "The story of a man, who lived in the time of Moses, peace be upon him, was named Korah ibn Izhar, known as Qarun. According to Malik Ibn Dinar, Moses Ibn Amram was the paternal cousin of Korah, whom Allah had given great wealth. According to Khaytamah, it was said that the keys of his storehouses would have been a burden for a troop of mighty men. It was also said that when Korah traveled, his keys were carried on sixty mules with white blazes and white legs.. No key was greater than a finger in length, and each one was connected to a treasure. Abu Salih said that the keys of his storehouses were carried by forty mules. Allah knows best!
Qatadah said that people called him "the light" for he had a melodious voice while reciting the Torah, but he became a hypocrite. Shahr ibn Hawshab related that the enemy of Allah rebelled because of the ill luck and trial Allah desired to inflict through him on His people due to the greatness of his wealth. It was said that his oppression of them consisted of his having surpassed them in luxurious garments. The people warned Korah about his oppression, forbade him to do it, and commanded him to expend what Allah given him for His sake and to make use of it in obedience to Him, they said to [Korah], “Do not exult! Allah does not love the exultant. But seek the abode of the Hereafter with what Allah has given you. Do not neglect your portion of this world, and be generous as Allah has been generous to you. Do not seek corruption in the earth; Allah does not love corrupters.’’
Korah's response showed his ignorance and his heedlessness of Allah's forbearance toward him, where Korah said to them: 'I have been given what I have been given of this world only on account of knowledge I possess.” Someone else said that he meant, "If Allah were not pleased with me and did He not know my excellence, He would not have given me this." But Allah refuted his statement, He said, “Did he not know that Allah had already destroyed of generations before him men who were mightier than he in strength and greater in respect to gathering of wealth. If Allah gives wealth and this world only to those who please Him and possess excellence with Him, then He would not have destroyed those who possessed great wealth before him whom He did not destroy, despite the quantity of it that He had given them."
Neither the warnings of those who warned him, nor the reminders of him who reminded of God and His good counsel, turned Korah back from his ignorance and oppression of his people through the use erf his great wealth. Instead, he persisted in his wrong course and in going astray. He would go out among his people in his finery, mounted on a white work horse with a purple saddle, and dressed in yellow-dyed garments. He took along with him three hundred slave girls in similar garb on similarly adorned nags, as well as four thousand of his companions. Someone has said that his companions, whom he took along in the same garb and adornment, numbered seventy thousand.
Mujahid said that the people who had gone astray, among those before whom Korah went forth in his pomp, wanted the like of what had been given him and said: “Ah, would that we had been given the like of what has been given to Korah! Lo! He is the possessor of great good fortune !”
But people knowledgeable of Allah disapproved of them for saying this, and they responded, " Woe unto you ! O You who desire what has been given to Korah! Rely on Allah. Do what Allah has commanded you, and desist from what He has forbidden. For verily Allah's reward and recompense to those who obey Him are better for those who believe in Him and His messengers and those who perform pious deeds, according to what He has commanded. Those who are steadfast in avoiding the pomp of the life of this world and who prefer Allah's great reward for pious deeds over the pleasures of this world and its passions and who act to obtain it as that requires."
When the evildoer became arrogant and continued his wrong course, undervaluing Allah's favor, Allah tried Korah, from His precept regarding his wealth and the right He obliged from him regarding it with what his avarice brought upon him, namely, the most painful of His punishments, by which he became a warning to those who have passed away and an exhortation to those remaining behind.
It was related by Abdallah ibn al-Harith, Korah treated Moses as an enemy and harmed him, while Moses would forgive and pardon Korah because of their kinship. This relationship persisted until Korah built a house, making its door of gold and placing on the walls sheets of gold. The chiefs of the Israelites would visit him in the morning and evening, and he would offer them food, and they would converse with him and make him laugh. Allah did not send down upon Korah his distress and misfortune until he sent for an Israelite woman known for obscene speech and famous for insult. She came, and he said to her: "Would you like me to make you wealthy, to give you gifts, and to let you consort with my wives? It is on the condition that you come to me while the chiefs of the Israelites are here and say, 'O Korah! will you not keep Moses from me ? ' " She said, "Of course." So when Korah sat with the chiefs of the Israelites, he sent for the woman. She came and stood before him, but Allah turned her heart, causing her to repent. She said to her self, "I will not find today any repentance better than not harming the messenger of God and chastising the enemy of God."
Then she said, "Verily Korah said to me, 'Would you like me to make you wealthy, to give you [gifts), and to let you consort with my wives? It is on condition that you come to me while the chiefs of the Israelites are here and say, "O Korah! will you not keep Moses from me? '" But I found no repentance better than not harming the Messenger of God and chastising the enemy of God." When she spoke these words, Korah was abashed, lowered his head, and fell silent among the chiefs of the Israelites, realizing that he had fallen into his damnation. Her speech spread among the people until it reached Moses. When Moses heard the news, his anger grew strong. He cleansed himself in water, then prayed and wept, saying: "O Lord! Your enemy is causing me harm ; he seeks my disgrace and shame. O Lord! Give me power over him!" Allah inspired him: "Command the earth to do whatever you want; it will obey you." Moses went to Korah, and when he met him Korah detected evil in Moses' face toward him, and he said, "O Moses! Have mercy on me!" Moses said, "O earth! Seize them!"
The house began to move and sank with Korah and his companions up to their ankles. Korah began begging, "O Moses! Have mercy on me!" But Moses said, "O earth! Seize them!" And his house moved and sank, swallowing Korah and his companions up to their knees, while he was pleading with Moses, "O Moses! Have mercy on me!" Moses continued, "O earth! Seize them! " And his house moved and sank, and Korah and his companions were swallowed up to their navels while he was pleading with Moses, "O Moses! Have mercy on me!" Moses continued, "O earth! Seize them!" And he, his house, and his friends were all consumed by the earth. Allah said to Moses, "O Moses! How harsh you are! But — by My glory — if only he had called to Me, I would have responded to him."
According to Ibn ‘Abbas, when the duty of alsmgiving was revealed, Korah came to Moses and agreed with him on giving one dinar for every thousand dinars, and for every thousand dirhams one dirham, and one article for every thousand — or he said, "for every thousand sheep, a sheep." Then Korah returned to his house, made an account of his possessions and found that his tax would be very high. So he gathered the Israelites and said, "O Children of Israel! Moses has given you commandments about everything, and you have obeyed him. Now he wants to take your possessions." They replied, "You are our elder and master, so command us as you wish." He said, "I command you to bring so-and-so, the prostitute, and offer her an agreed price. Then let her accuse Moses of committing adultery with her." So they called her and set a price, on the condition that she accuse him of adultery with her. Then Korah went to Moses and said, "Your people have gathered together for you to give them commandments and prohibitions." So Moses went out to them while they were on a plain of the land and said, "O Children of Israel! Whoever steals, we will cut off his hand; whoever forges a lie against someone, we will flog him eighty stripes; whoever fornicates and has a wife, we will flog him until he dies or stone him until he dies."
Korah said, "Even if it were you? " He replied, "Yes." Korah said, "Verily, you have done that." Moses said, "Woe to you! With whom? " He replied, "With so-and-so." Moses called her and said, "I adjure you by Him Who revealed the Torah, did Korah tell the truth? " She said, "My God! Since you have adjured me, then I bear witness that you are innocent, that you are the messenger of God, and that God's enemy, Korah, offered me a price to accuse you of adultery with me."
Moses sprang up, then prostrated himself. Allah inspired him: "Lift up your head, for I have commanded the earth to obey you." So Moses said to the earth, "Seize them!" And it seized them until they sank to their loins. Korah called out, "O Moses!" But he said, "Seize them!” And it seized them until they sank to their chests. He called out again, "O Moses!" But he said, "Seize them!" He continued: And they disappeared. Allah said to him, "O Moses! Korah called out to you for help, and you did not help him. But, if he had called to Me for help, I would have responded and would have come to his aid."
And so, he who was swallowed by the earth was Qarun, and those whom were drowned were Pharaoh, Haman and their troops because they were sinful. Imam Ahmad, in his Musnad, reported that once the Prophet (ﷺ) remembered the prayer and said: "He who observes it regularly and properly, it will be light, evidence and salvation for him on the Day of Resurrection. And, he who does not observe it regularly and properly, there will neither be -for him-light, nor evidence, nor salvation. And, on the Day of Resurrection, he will be (gathered) with Qarun, Fir'aun (Pharaoh), Haman and Ubaiy Ibn Khalaf".
Picus then said, "O my brothers and sisters, the believer realizes that all blessings belong to Allah and His favor and that Allah grants him blessings without him deserving it. It is continual charity from Him to His servant and He has the right to deprive anyone from this as He wills. If Allah prevents people from receiving blessings, He never prevents them from what they deserve. If the servant fails to realize that, he might think that he deserves it and would become conceited thinking that he deserves this blessing and that he is better than others.
The causes of failure are based on the state of the soul and its adherence to its nature; the origin of creation. The causes of success are according to Allah, Who enables the servant to accept His blessings. The causes of success are from Him and from His favor and He created both this and that as He created all the parts of the earth; one part accepts plant life and the other does not. He created trees; one grows fruit and the other does not. He created the bee and enabled it to produce honey with different colors as well as the hornet, which cannot do that. He created good souls that are able to remember, praise, thank, glorify, and advise His servants and also created evil souls who are not able to do that. He is the All Wise and the All-Knowing. And Allah knows best."
References :"Who believe in the unseen, establish prayer, and spend out of what We have provided for them, And who believe in what has been revealed to you, [O Muhammad], and what was revealed before you, and of the Hereafter they are certain [in faith]. Those are upon [right] guidance from their Lord, and it is those who are the successful." - [QS.2:3-5]"
- Imam Ibn al-Qayyim, Al-Fawaid, Umm Al-Qura
- William M. Brinner, The History of At-Tabari : The Children of Israel, Volume III, SUNY Press
- Ibn Katheer, Stories of The Qur'an, Dar Al-Manarah
