Why Qarun's Knowledge Couldn't Save Him

Why was a dream as we heard in our son a very well-known story probably most of us know this story the story of Ku is The man from he was one of the followers of was actually related to Musa. He was his cousin, direct cousin. Some say on his father's side, others say on his mother's. However, the scholars of Tia are unanimous on the fact that was related to Lusa as his direct cousin. is considered to be an analogy, a cautionary tale that a person not believe his own hype. Now many of us know the basic premise of this story. What is the basic premise? The basic premise is anything that you have, you are not to be a braggard. You are not to ascribe it to yourself. Rather, you are to ascribe that blessing to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. However, we need to examine this story a little bit deeper. Allah was blessed with a huge amount of money. We don't know how much. We don't know what kind of wealth. We don't know where he got this wealth from. story is different. He's mentioned in the Tawa and he's mentioned again as a cautionary tale, but the ins and outs of exactly how he acquired his wealth. Allah doesn't go into that and it's irrelevant honestly. What's important is that Paul had so much wealth that the keys of the safes for his wealth could not be lifted or transported. That's how much he had. He had this all locked up in his home. and his people they reminded him. Now something interesting we should know about before we continue is that wasn't just a reluctant follower of Musa was considered the most recited of the almost all the followers of Mus time all of them. all of them. He was the most memorized, most well-versed and the most beautiful recitation of the Torah and all of the followers of Musa. He was given all this wealth and of course his people being that they were believers. The common the common saying amongst them or the common theme of their advice to him was use that wealth that Allah has given you to obtain Allah's pleasure and sure enjoy some of it yourself but as Allah has been good to you beans what would every Muslim reply to worship Allah Right? That's that's the answer. If you were to say where did you get your health and your wealth from to anyone any would they say from Allah. There's a difference between saying the right things and believing them. Because most people say I have been created for the worship of Allah with their lifestyle. Does their lifestyle say that about them? Do most people's words articulate when we read between the lines articulate that they really believe that they have received all good from Allah? The answer is no. Because there's a difference between what we say and what we believe and what will be judged. Our words were our actions. Our actions will not your image raentions, your hearts and your actions. This is what we are judged by. When we are placed in our brain, when we are asked what will be, we don't answer with that part of our mind that says that reads the room and says whatever should be said, whatever is appropriate, whatever is popular. Rather, we answer that with what? With our actions, with how we live, that's what will answer those questions. No amount of intelligence will help a person during that test. And so he said a very interesting thing. Now remember what do we know about? First of all, he comes from Moses family. His father and M's father were brothers. Okay, number one. Number two, he was considered the most recited, most knowledgeable of the Tal in his time. And number three, he was given an incredible amount of wealth. We have to think about this for a second. The Quran is truly a miracle. When Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala quotes people to us in the Quran, does he tell us from them exactly what they said with their words? Exactly. Exactly. Exactly. Well, no, of course not. We know that for a fact because most of the words that are are told to us and most of the quotes weren't even in Arabic to begin with. They were in other languages. The words of the words of the words of the people of the world and the words of the government, they weren't in. If Allah was quoting, that would mean that Pharaoh was as eloquent as the Quran in his speech. Of course not. But does Allah tell us in so many words what they said? Or does he tell us what they really said? This is the point here. He tells us what they really said. And that's why some of their arguments sound absurd because Allah is not quoting to us the roundabout way that they go arguing on behalf of falsehood. He tells us the gist of their arguments and the gist of their argument is absurd. For instance, the people of they try to drive out of their land, right? Why did they say that in Nazareth? They said drive you and his family out from amongst you. They seek to be pure. Did they say they seek to be pure through those words? No. They seek to they said they are they are xenophobic. They don't care about love. They have hatred. They're hateful people. That's how they said it. But really, what were they saying in the Old Testament? When the people were persecuting the prophets and messengers, they weren't persecuting them saying they need to be killed because they say that. No, they have a many different ways of articulating that. They are trying to ruin your forefather's image. They just want to say that they're prophets. They're not really prophets. They're liars. They want to just worship their own god. They want to introduce a new god propaganda. But when Allah quotes them to us, he's quoting what they really said, not the arguments and the dust that people like to bring up in order to throw people off of their sense. The same thing here with our equivalent of a Muslim today. And just every single Muslim, no matter how arrogant they may be, no matter how much they feel that they are whatever Allah gives them, they wouldn't say in a listening environment I am a success. Allah didn't give me anything. They wouldn't say that because that's shameful in that environment. Instead, they'll say that in a way, right? let me ask you a question. If I said to you right now, I am so knowledgeable. I am very knowledgeable. I memorize this and that. You know what? I am so knowledgeable. I have this and that and I go on for 20 30 minutes about just how knowledgeable I am and just how much you should view me as such. But then at the end of that half hour rant about all of my merits I say that's all for me. Is that what I really said? Is that what I really believe or is that just cheap service and I want a rant for half an hour talking about how smart I am, how skilled I am. People didn't know they didn't trust me, but I knew I had a good feeling. Ever since I was a kid, my dad said I was so smart. My parents knew. Everybody would marvel at my intelligence. Everyone would marvel at this and that. And I got so much money and I did this and I did that and I did this and that and that and I and I and I and me and me and me. Allah. When does that when did I really say and this is what really said when said he said I have been given this because I'm special. Did he really say that in those words? Probably not. But that's what he really meant. And if you read between the lines and look to what his real conviction was, that's what he believed. And that's why Allah says judges him a career at the end of the story. He said, "I have been given this because of the knowledge I possess. And it can also be understood as Allah has given me this because he knows that I am rightful. I am owed this. What's interesting about the words is that the exact words in Arabic could be understood to be either of these two things. It can be in the mountain.

[Silence]

So the verse can be understood that I have been given this because of the knowledge I possess meaning I'm really smart or he has been given this because Allah knows him to be worthy of it that he is rightful to it. Which one is it? It's both. Allah intended that ambiguity because this is what he said on occasion if he ascribes it to Allah. Yeah, Allah gave it to me, but he knows I'm special. That's why he gave it to me. I deserve it. Or he doesn't mention Allah at all and refers it to his own abilities. That is the attitude. And so even though he recited the Torah beautifully, he worked hard to memorize the Torah, right? Why would he do that? because he was obsessed with vanity and the pleasure of wealth and the pleasure of knowledge. They run in the same vein in the human being. The prophets body two types of people will never be satisfied. The seeker of knowledge and the seeker of wealth. they'll never be satisfied. And that's why the greatest insult to any human being is to call that is to insult their what? Their intelligence. Because that's the hallmark of humanity. Would you rather be referred to or thought of as poor or thought of as stupid, right? Or thought of as as foolish. Every one of us would choose what poor anything but don't even if a person knows he's foolish they still wouldn't want to be referred to as such because that is the greatest insult to any human being. So the vanity of knowledge and the vanity of wealth, they run in the exact same vein. And we can even argue that the people of knowledge, not the people of the knowledge of the Quran and the people of worldly knowledge or those who seek knowledge of the Quran and Sunnah for worldly gain, they are arguably more prone to arrogance than people of wealth. knowledge is of anything. And so he said, I have been given this because of a knowledge I possess. I have been given this because Allah knows that I deserve it. And that is the critical mistake here. And that is thinking that having a good or being given what you desire in the dunya is somehow a sign that Allah is pleased with you. critical mistake. Every disbeliever in history made that same mistake. And so all we know, even though he recited the Torah out of one of his faces, from the other we know that all of this was for the sake of vanity because he came out in a huge procession showing off all of his wealth. And so Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala tells us will be dead. Allah says that we cause the earth to swallow him and his wealth. Now why does Allah tell us that the wealth was swallowed as wealth? Couldn't the people have used that wealth? Wouldn't that have been beneficial? like we caused the earth to swallow but then the wealth we needed right I mean this took place while they were lost in the desert fat so why didn't Allah keep the wealth for people to use because this will emphasize the importance of we don't need you and we don't need your wealth people of wealth that do not ascribe their wealth to a love truly think that the world cannot go on without them. All this wealth, all these workers, all these people, they get their livelihood from me. If my business goes belly up, the world will fall apart. No, take your wealth with you. Allah will do. And that's why we see often that people that are braggards about their wealth, Allah destroys them and their wealth with them. Because the knowledge that Allah does not need a person's wealth is arguably more important than the knowledge the institutional knowledge the law the legend that Allah didn't need this person's wealth is arguably more important for people to see than the person himself the prophet tells us in we will end with this inshallah Your prophet sallall.aii said, "A man left his home walking with pride and arrogance, viewing himself as, you know, with arrogance, dragging his clothing behind him, meaning his clothes were very long, very long, out of arrogance and vanity." And this is and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala caused the earth to swallow him. And he is continuing to be swallowed until the day of judgment. So all right now, wherever he is, he is currently being swallowed by the earth. That is his punishment in the grave. That he will continue to be swallowed and devoured by the earth, never ending until the day of judgment. Why? Because the person who is arrogant and this truly reaches the depths of his heart, this person needs to be taught and reminded in a constant way that they are low, that they are nothing. The prophet tells us the people of arrogance on the day of judgment will be brought forth be before Allah amongst the people the size of tiny ants and people will be trampling all over them. Why is that? Because when they were alive they thought people were little ants. They were nothing. So Allah will bring them forth in their true form on the day of judgment. And that is that they are tiny. They are nothing. They are minuscule. They are bugs underneath people's feet.

[Silence]

The dynamite is never going to work. I turned it up. You never.

[Arabic recitation]

What is this for you to so that nobody.