And when it indicated their inability in that abode, and their knowledge that the one who has control over all matters is none other than the One, the All-Prevailing, it indicated that this also occurs in this abode with the knowledge of it by the destruction of those who are arrogant, merry, and of influence, without benefiting those whom they misled, nor being able to benefit them from the one who misled them, whether he speaks or is silent. This is in accordance with the generality of ﴿And how many a town have We destroyed that was ungrateful for its provision﴾ [Al-Qasas: 58] regarding some particulars, as a warning to those who denied the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, especially those who attributed him to magic. It also informs that the prophets, blessings and peace be upon them, sever ties with the wretched even if they are the closest of relatives. This is because He, glorified and exalted is He, punished Qarun and those with him with a punishment that no one preceded them in, and they were from the Children of Israel and among the closest of the Children of Israel to Musa, blessings and peace be upon him. Thus, it is known that whoever has been deceived by what he has been given, the truth belongs to Allah in all that His messengers called to, and that which His books spoke of, and they were misled by what they were in need of. And nothing they relied upon benefited them at all. Their object of worship in reality was what they gathered from the debris of this world, believing that they attained thereby everlasting happiness and lasting honor. Thus, it was like the example that will come in the next verse, like the spider that took a house. And all of this was in the sight of Musa, blessings and peace be upon him, when he denied him and attributed him to magic and was arrogant towards him. He did not ask Allah, the Exalted, for his exit due to his arrogance from the promise of favor upon those who were oppressed in the land. And that punishment which they were punished with was of the same kind as that with which Fir'aun was punished in form, in that it was a concealment, even if that was in a liquid, while this was solid and rigid, to make it known that He is capable of what He wills, so that caution from Him may persist regarding what has already been decreed. Musa, blessings and peace be upon him, took from every tribe of the tribes of Bani Israel a witness from their kin and said to them: 'Bring forth your proof.' And they knew by the shining of the staff of Harun, blessings and peace be upon him, over their staffs that the truth belongs to Allah in the matter of the adornment and in all of His matters. He said: ﴿Indeed, Qarun﴾, who is called in the Torah Qorah. Then he clarified the reason for the emphasis by saying: ﴿was﴾, meaning: a firmly established being ﴿from the people of Musa﴾, indicating that he is worthy of denying his being like that because he acted with them in a way that hardly anyone would act with his people. This is because he was among those who believed in him, and we have said about them ﴿And We wish to bestow favor upon those﴾ [Al-Qasas: 5] up to its end, because he is the cousin of Musa, blessings and peace be upon him, as Abu Hayyan and others narrated from Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them both. ﴿So he transgressed against them﴾, meaning: he exceeded the limit in belittling them by what We had granted him of this fleeting debris and perishable gain, so he severed what was between him and them of connection, and he connected what was between him and Fir'aun and his kind from the faction. This led him out of the realm of favor, trust, and inheritance into the circle of destruction, humiliation, and treachery, just as Fir'aun transgressed against them. The original meaning of 'transgressed' here is: intended, but since it is not appropriate for a servant to have a will, rather the will belongs to his master, as indicated by ﴿They had no choice﴾ [Al-Qasas: 68], his will was made to be an exceeding of the limit, and it was treated with 'upon' which implies elevation, indicating its departure from its original state.

And when he mentioned his tyranny, he mentioned its true cause. He said: ﴿And We granted him﴾ meaning: and while We have favored him by making him one of Our chosen ones, We granted him with Our greatness ﴿from the treasures﴾ meaning: the buried and stored wealth, in addition to the apparent wealth which he is about to spend from it for whatever important matters may arise. ﴿What﴾ meaning: that which or something much that does not fall under a limit until ﴿Indeed, its keys﴾ meaning: the keys of the locks that are buried behind its doors ﴿would burden﴾ meaning: would lean with effort and difficulty due to its heaviness ﴿a group﴾ meaning: a large gathering that strengthens some of them with each other. In the exaggeration of the expression with treasures, keys, burden, and the described group, there is an indication that he was given from that which no one among those in his count was given. All of that is something that minds find difficult to comprehend, and for that reason, the emphasis occurred. ﴿Those of strength﴾ meaning: they would be burdened by its weight upon them, and the burden is: the leaning. Al-Razi said: and the burden is the star that leans away from the eye at sunset. It is said: he leaned with the load if he lifted it heavily, and the load leaned with it if it tilted due to its weight.

And when he mentioned his tyranny, he mentioned its time. The time can be broad as we say: such and such occurred in such a year, and in it is the exposure to the cause. He said: ﴿When he said to him﴾ and he said: ﴿His people﴾ indicating the extent of his tyranny with his pride and arrogance over his relatives, who it was customary that their words would not anger him nor would he bear any resentment towards them, and he would only act with advice and compassion. The attribution of the saying to all is permissible even if the speaker is part of them, as evidenced by what follows, either by counting the silent one as a speaker due to his approval of it since it is something that no one would reject, or because the people of goodness are the ones who are favored, and whoever is other than them is nothing. ﴿Do not rejoice﴾ meaning: do not be happy with a joy that digs into your heart and penetrates it, leading you to arrogance and frivolity. For indeed, joy in the fleeting pleasures indicates leaning towards them, and that indicates forgetting the Hereafter, which is the ultimate ignorance and recklessness and lack of contemplation on the consequences. It leads to frivolity and leads to destruction. Al-Razi said: and whoever rejoices in something that should not be rejoiced in brings upon himself a sadness that has no end. They justified their prohibition to him with what implies the utmost compassion and love, saying, confirming the improbability of one who sees the continuous delightful blessings upon someone being anything but beloved: ﴿Indeed, Allah﴾ meaning: the One who has the attributes of perfection, so there is nothing greater than Him, with Him it is appropriate to rejoice. ﴿Does not love﴾ meaning: does not treat as beloved ﴿the rejoicers﴾ meaning: those who are firmly established in joy for that which perishes. For indeed, their joy indicates the lowliness of their aspirations.