The Prophets, Their Lives and Their Stories: Moses: Qârun (Korah) and What He Was Given and His End

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Qârun (Korah) and What He Was Given and His End Korah did have pride with himself over the Israelites for his wealth, and he used to go out with his full ornaments to the public to show his pride to the people and most people feared him for they needed him. As attributed to Mujâhid and he reported from someone telling the story that he said that Korah one day went out one day with all his servants and his men on white horses with purple paddles and they counted as much as seventy thousand men, and they said: he used to go out with four thousand knights and with him three thousand white bondmaids that wore jewels and reddish garments..etc, and it is mentioned in the gospel: the keys for Korah's stores are to be carried with sixty mules and every key is in the size of a finger and every key opens up to a treasure.
In general what some people said about Korah is that he was a man of the Israelites that God gave him wealth so much that even his keys were carried hardly by powerful men, so he was a famous man among his people and everyone wished to be like him and they saw it was such a great thing, and the wisemen of Korah's people used to advise him and warn him against the end of such pride and pointed out that he should leave the denial of God's favours and must thank God for His favours upon him and must not corrupt in the land and must seek what God prepared for him in the after-life and he must show his knowledgement of God's favours by giving to the poor people and must limit his joys to what is allowed for him, and must not spend his joys on corrupting in the land for that brings the wrath of God and facing God's favours with such corruption is a reason for God to change these favours..etc, but he did not listen to any of that and turned a deaf ear towards it and used to say about what he had of wealth: I was given all of that because of my wisdom and he did not look at the previous nations, if he was a wiseman without that pride in his soul that orders him with the wrong-doing, he did not see how God destroyed them while they were of more power and number than him and all of that was not useful for them, and those who followed the ornaments of life were jealous of what Korah had of ornaments and they said: Ah, would that we had the like of what hath been given unto Korah! Lo! he is lord of rare good fortune(Al-Qasas:79), and the people of mind and wisdom of the believers answered them: Woe unto you! The reward of Allah for him who believeth and doeth right is better, and only the steadfast will obtain it(Al-Qasas:80), and his end, for ignoring God's favours and never been thankful to God, was that God destroyed him with all what he had and made him taste bitterly the results of his deeds and so the eath swallowed him with his dwelling-place and he could not find someone to help him, and those who wished his place before said: like if God gives wealth to anyone He likes, and also God did say: Now Korah was of Moses' folk, but he oppressed them(Al-Qasas:76), and as attributed to Ibn-`Abbâs he said: Korah was made a king over the Israelites by the pharaoh in Egypt and he used to wrong them, and they say: he was a cousin of Moses, for Korah was the son of Yas'hur ben Qâhiþ (Kohath) and Moses is the sonf of Amram ben Kohath, and so Kohath was their grandfather, and it is said also that he was his maternal cousin, and there is no big difference between the two and only God knows. They say also: what is meant by Korah saying that was told by Quran: I have been given it only on account of knowledge I possess(Al-Qasas:78), meaning that I was raised in level upon people by my wisdom, and it was the wisdom of religion and regulations and it is said that it was the wisdom of chemistry (or alchemy) and the wisdom of trading, and some say that he knew about the treasures of Joseph (PUH), and all are probable, and there is no doubt that he was a smart man and for this he was made a prince over the Israelites by the pharaoh.
It is mentioned about the reasons for his destruction is that when Moses got out of Egypt with the Israelites and lived with them in the desert after the destruction of the pharaoh and his folks, he (Moses) ordered them to fight the giants in the lands of Shem (Canaan) and they did not obey him and said to him: So go thou and thy Lord and fight! We will sit here(Al-Mâ'idah:24), and God commanded them to enter the land but when they denied so, He forbid it for them for forty years and they shall wander on earth, and Korah was one of them and with them and used to read the Torah and no one had a voice better than his and he was called Al-Manun [the word seems to mean in Arabic "one of good voice"] for his good way in reading and he worked with chemistry (or alchemy), so when it got so long for the Israelites they got into the repentance but Korah denied to be with them, and Moses used to love him so he (Moses) said to him: O Korah, your folks are into the repentance and you are sitting here? Go with them or the punishment will reach you, but Korah mocked at his saying and did not answer his calls, and then Moses went out from him with sadness and sat in the yard of his (Korah's) castle and he wore a headcover made of hair and two shoes of the skin of an ass, so then Korah ordered to throw at him some ash mixed with water, and when he did so Moses got so mad, and he used to have some hair strings in his shoulder that would come out with blood whenever he is angry, so then Moses then said: O Lord, if You did not get angry for me then what shall I be? Then God inspired to him: I ordered the heavens and earth to be with you so command them with whatever you want. Korah ordered to close the castle's gates so Moses came and pointed to the gates and they went open and he got inside, so when Korah looked at him he knew that he came with the punishment so he said to him: O Moses I shall ask you by the rights of the relationship between you and me to leave me, then Moses said to him: O son of Levi your talk would not take me back, then Moses said: O earth, take him, so he went inside with his caslte into the ground and Korah went into the ground to his knees level, so he cried and swore to him by the rights of their relationship, so then Moses said: O son of Levi, your talk would not take away what was revealed upon you, and then the earth swallowed him with his dwelling-castle and he was destroyed. But this previous tale is suspecious and has somethings that are not applicable for the level of prophecy and its kindness.
There is another reason for the destruction of Korah and that is Moses appointed Aaron to take care of the altar and the Israelites used to bring the gifts and offerings to Aaron and there were no one above Aaron except of Moses, the religious leadership was for Moses and the priesthood was for Aaron, and Korah had nothing of that while he was one of the highest people among the Israelites so he opposed this and said to Moses: you have the prophecy and Aaron had the priesthood and I had nothing although I read Torah more than you both and I cannot bear this, so Moses answered him in a long speech that means in general that Aaron was given that not by me (Moses) by it is from God, so then Korah said: by God I shall not believe this except by an obvious clue.
Here, Moses gathered the chieftains of the Israelites and Aaron with them and then Moses asked God to show the virtues of Aaron and his rights to be in his position so that no one would have greed for his position, and then lot of miracles occured by him so much that no one ever had to think of having his place instead and no one of doubt would still has his doubts about Aaron, then Korah said: this is not so wonderous as much as you do with magic, and then he went out in madness and stayed away from Moses with his followers and they were a lot and Moses started to have some sympathy for him because of their relationships while he (Korah) used to hurt him from time to time and everyday his pride would increase and his hate for Moses is increased as well.
Then Korah built a dwelling-place and made its gates of gold and hanged on its walls sheets of gold, and the folks of the Israelites used to sit with him and meet him for he was the richest among them and had lot of men as well and they needed him and he was like a king among them for his wealth, and then God revealed the regulations of poor-giving (Zakat) for people's money so Moses asked him for it but he denied and Moses made an agreement with him to pay for every one thousand coins that he has just one coin, and for every one thousand sheeps just one sheep and for every one thousand things one thing, so he thought of it and noticed his riches but his soul did not allow him to accept that.
Then Korah gathered the Israelites and said to them: Moses commanded you with everything and you followed him and now he is trying to take your money from you, then they said to him: you are our master so command us with what you like, so he had nothing to do but because of his tyranny he asked for a harlot and made a reward for her composed of one thousand coins, and some said a golden basin and he promised her to be one of his women and do everything she wants just to charge Moses and tell people that he (Moses) had an intercourse with her and she must say that in front of the Israelites.
Then Korah gathered the Israelites and Moses came and started his sermons and said with his sermons: whoever stole his hand shall be cut, and whoever said lies about others he shall be wipped eighty times, and who commited adultery and he has no wife he shall be wipped for one hundred times and whoever did it and he has a wife then he shall be thrown with stones until death, and then one said: even if it was you? He answered: yes, then Korah said: the Israelites claim that you had an intercourse with that woman and she claimed that and she admitted that in front of all, and then he brought her, and then when Moses looked at her he shouted and made her swear heavily and warned her and said to her: what are you saying with that disbeliever? do you claim adultery with me? She could not bear it then and admitted the truth and said: Korah asked for me and rewarded me and promised me with gifts just to claim that and God forbid that and you are the purest of all, and then Korah bent his head down and knew that he is doomed, and Moses fell down prostrating and crying and saying: O Lord, Your enemy hurt me and wanted to defame me, O Lord if I was Your prophet then has Your wrath upon him and make him in my hands, then God inspired to him: raise your head up and command the earth with whatever you want and it shall obey, so then Moses said: O Israelites, God sent me to Korah as He sent me to the pharaoh so whoever was with him let him be away and whoever is with me let him be with me, so then all the people left Korah alone except of two men and then Moses said: O earth take them, and it then swallowed them to their knees, then he said again: O earth, take them, and it swallowed them to the waists, and then he called again and it swallowed them to their necks.
It is mentioned that Korah with his folks asked Moses for mercy when they were under the punishment, and Korah asked him by God and by the relationship that were between both of them, and he asked him as much as seventy times but Moses never looked at him for his extreme anger, and then Moses said: O earth take them away, so the earth swallowed them as well as his dwelling place and his riches as a sign of the innocence of Moses against the charges of the Israelites if they said that he (Moses) was greedy for Korah's fortunes, and all of that is pointed out by the holy phrase in God's saying: O ye who believe! Be not as those who slandered Moses, but Allah proved his innocence of that which they alleged, and he was well esteemed in Allah's sight(Al-Ahzâb:69), and also in God's saying: And (remember) when Moses said unto his people: O my people! Why persecute ye me, when ye well know that I am Allah's messenger unto you? So when they went astray Allah sent their hearts astray. And Allah guideth not the evil-living folk(Al-Saf:5).

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