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Characteristics of Qaroon, an Exploitative Capitalist |
إِنَّ قَارُونَ كَانَ مِنْ قَوْمِ مُوسَى فَبَغَى عَلَيْهِمْ وَآتَيْنَاهُ مِنَ الْكُنُوزِ مَا إِنَّ مَفَاتِحَهُ لَتَنُوءُ بِالْعُصْبَةِ أُولِي الْقُوَّةِ إِذْ قَالَ لَهُ قَوْمُهُ لا تَفْرَحْ إِنَّ اللَّهَ لا يُحِبُّ الْفَرِحِينَ
Surely Qaroon was of the people of Musa,
but he oppressed them; and We gave him so much treasure that his hoards
of wealth would certainly weigh down a company of men
possessed of great strength. When his people said to him: Do
not rejoice exultantly, surely Allah does not love the exultant.“
وَابْتَغِ فِيمَا آتَاكَ اللَّهُ الدَّارَ الآخِرَةَ وَلا تَنْسَ نَصِيبَكَ مِنَ الدُّنْيَا وَأَحْسِنْ كَمَا أَحْسَنَ اللَّهُ إِلَيْكَ وَلا تَبْغِ الْفَسَادَ فِي الأرْضِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ لا يُحِبُّ الْمُفْسِدِينَ
But seek with the wealth that Allah has bestowed upon you,
the Home of the Hereafter. And do not forget your portion in
this world. Be kind to people, as Allah has been kind to
you. Do not create corruption and disorder in the land.
Allah does not love the corrupters (Mufsideen).”
[Mufsideen
are those who do not give full measure and full weight; or
diminish to people their rights and deprive them of what
is their due (7:85, 11:85, 26:183); or hinder people
form the path of Allah or seek to make it crooked
(7:86); or they are not benevolent to others so as to
create an economic balance (28:77); or they destroy
crops and the cattle (2:205); or create divisions among
the people (28:4) and sever ties of kinship (47:22) an
so on.]
قَالَ إِنَّمَا أُوتِيتُهُ عَلَى عِلْمٍ عِنْدِي أَوَلَمْ يَعْلَمْ أَنَّ اللَّهَ قَدْ أَهْلَكَ مِنْ قَبْلِهِ مِنَ الْقُرُونِ مَنْ هُوَ أَشَدُّ مِنْهُ قُوَّةً وَأَكْثَرُ جَمْعًا وَلا يُسْأَلُ عَنْ ذُنُوبِهِمُ الْمُجْرِمُونَ
He replied, "This wealth has been given to me because of
the knowledge that is in me." Did he not know that
Allah's Law of Requital had annihilated, before him, whole
generations which were superior to him in strength and
richer in what they had amassed? But such guilty (Mujrimoon)
need no questioning since their guilt is obvious and yet,
they are not exempt from the Law of Respite.
فَخَرَجَ عَلَى قَوْمِهِ فِي زِينَتِهِ قَالَ الَّذِينَ يُرِيدُونَ الْحَيَاةَ الدُّنْيَا يَا لَيْتَ لَنَا مِثْلَ مَا أُوتِيَ قَارُونُ إِنَّهُ لَذُو حَظٍّ عَظِيمٍ
when he
(i.e. Qaroon) went forth with all his pomp and show, then
those who cared only for the life of this world would
exclaim, "Alas! If only we had the like of what Qaroon has
been given! What tremendous good fortune he has been endowed
with!"
وَقَالَ الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْعِلْمَ وَيْلَكُمْ ثَوَابُ اللَّهِ خَيْرٌ لِمَنْ آمَنَ وَعَمِلَ صَالِحًا وَلا يُلَقَّاهَا إِلا الصَّابِرُونَ
However
those who had been bestowed with knowledge of the facts from
God would tell them, "Woe unto you! (What sort of
misconception do you have?) The real and everlasting
happiness lies in the wealth that one gets in conformity
with the Divine Laws. These are the people who have explicit
faith in the truthfulness of His Laws and do righteous
deeds, and reform and set aright the disorderly society. In
this way their own selves become balanced and dignified. But
all this requires a lot of patience and steadfastness.
(Human beings can easily fill their wealth if they leave the
rules, regulations and are dishonest. But to earn wealth
legally and as per the rules requires time. This latter
results in success, and the former leads to destruction.)
فَخَسَفْنَا بِهِ وَبِدَارِهِ الأرْضَ فَمَا كَانَ لَهُ مِنْ فِئَةٍ يَنْصُرُونَهُ مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ وَمَا كَانَ مِنَ الْمُنْتَصِرِينَ
Thus
when the time came to show the end result of Qaroon’s
misdeeds, We destroyed him, along with his dwellings that
were full of goods. At that time neither did any group come
out to help him against the Divine Law, nor was he in a
position to protect himself. (When a capitalist is at peak,
it appears that a lot of people will give sacrifices on his
behalf. But if he gets into difficulty, no one comes to help
him, and his shrewdness cannot save him.)
وَأَصْبَحَ الَّذِينَ تَمَنَّوْا مَكَانَهُ بِالأمْسِ يَقُولُونَ وَيْكَأَنَّ اللَّهَ يَبْسُطُ الرِّزْقَ لِمَنْ يَشَاءُ مِنْ عِبَادِهِ وَيَقْدِرُ لَوْلا أَنْ مَنَّ اللَّهُ عَلَيْنَا لَخَسَفَ بِنَا وَيْكَأَنَّهُ لا يُفْلِحُ الْكَافِرُونَ
Qaroon
perished, and the people who just a day before were envious
of his position, exclaimed, "Verily it was our incorrect
assessment that we were envious of his wealth. The fact is
that abundance or scarcity in wealth is all as per Divine
Laws. Everyone gets the reward according to the path he
chooses. Had Allah not been gracious to us (and had we also
followed the ways of Qaroon), we too would have been
destroyed like him. Now we have seen with our own eyes that
people who keep their wealth hidden and do not open it for
the needy, can never attain to a happy state."
تِلْكَ الدَّارُ الآخِرَةُ نَجْعَلُهَا لِلَّذِينَ لا يُرِيدُونَ عُلُوًّا فِي الأرْضِ وَلا فَسَادًا وَالْعَاقِبَةُ لِلْمُتَّقِينَ
Only the
person whose future is successful, both in this life as well
as in the life hereafter, can be considered a success. And
the only people who achieve this are those who do not create
disorder and unevenness in society by amassing wealth; and
who do not try to be in such a high position in society that
they are insulated from the reach of law. Always keep in
mind that ultimate success or prosperity comes only to those
who remain conscious of the Divine Laws.
(A Brief Explanation of verses 76-83 of Sura Al-Qasas)
Some Characteristics of Qaroon
i.e. an Exploitative Capitalist
- He oppresses people and treats them
unjustly, injuriously, tyrannically or outrageously [28:76]
- He rejoices exultantly in his wealth
[28:76]; He hoards wealth and is niggardly and enjoins
others niggardliness [57:23-24]
- He does not seek with the wealth that
Allah bestows upon him, the home of the Hereafter
- He is not kind to people as Allah is
kind to him
- He is a corrupt, or causes corruption or
disruption of the economic balance or propriety
[Being a
MUFSID, he does not give
full measure and full weight; or diminish to people their
rights and deprive them of what is their due (7:85, 11:85,
26:183)]
- He thinks that
whatever wealth or property he has made it is because of his
own genius [28:78]
- He is
Mujrim (i.e. the one who steals the fruits of others'
labour)
- He goes
forth among people with such pomp and show that those
who care only for the life of this world exclaim, "Alas! If
only we had the like of what he has been given! What
tremendous good fortune he has been endowed with
17-05-05
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