His saying, exalted and majestic is He:

﴿He said, 'Indeed, I have been given it only because of knowledge I possess.' Did he not know that Allah had destroyed before him from among the generations those who were stronger than him in might and greater in accumulation? And the criminals will not be asked about their sins.﴾

﴿Then he came out to his people in his adornment. Those who desired the worldly life said, 'Oh, would that we had like what was given to Qarun. Indeed, he is one of great fortune.'﴾

The speaker is Qarun. When his people advised him and urged him to fear Allah regarding the wealth that He had given him as a favor, pride in sin took hold of him, and he admired himself. He said to them in response to them and to evade what they had obligated him with: ﴿Indeed, I have been given it only because of knowledge I possess.﴾ His words carry two meanings, and regarding each one of them, a group of the interpreters said: The majority of them said: He claimed that he had knowledge that warranted that this blessing be for him, as well as the wealth. Then they disagreed about the knowledge he referred to; what is it? Some of them said: The knowledge of the Torah and its memorization. They said: This was a form of deception and hypocrisy. Abu Sulayman al-Darani said: He meant the knowledge of trade and the ways of distinguishing wealth. It is as if he said: I have been given it by my understanding and my effort. Ibn al-Musayyib said: He meant the knowledge of alchemy.

Ibn Zayd and others said: He meant: I have been given it by knowledge from Allah, exalted and majestic is He, and a specification from Him that He intended for me, so nothing of what you said is obligatory upon me. Then his saying, 'I possess' was made like saying, 'In my belief and according to what I see.'

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

And on both possibilities together, the Quran has alerted to his error in being deceived, and opposed his claim by stating that among the knowledge of people that is certain to them is that Allah, exalted and majestic is He, has destroyed from among the nations, generations, and kings those who were stronger than Qarun in might and greater in accumulation, whether in wealth or in followers. And His saying, exalted and majestic is He: ﴿Did he not know﴾ indicates that Qarun was filled with self-knowledge according to his claim.

And His saying, exalted and majestic is He: ﴿And the criminals will not be asked about their sins.﴾ Muhammad ibn Kab said: This is a statement connected in meaning to what preceded it, and the pronoun in 'their sins' refers back to those who were destroyed from among the generations, meaning: They were destroyed and no one was asked about their sins after them, meaning: Each one is only asked and punished according to what pertains to him. A group said: This is a new statement about their condition on the Day of Resurrection, meaning that the criminals will not be asked about their sins, that is, the angels do not ask about their sins; for they recognize them by their marks of darkness and disfigurement and such, as His saying, blessed and exalted is He: ﴿The criminals will be known by their marks.﴾ [Ar-Rahman: 41].

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

And in the verses of Allah, there is what necessitates that people on the Day of Resurrection will be questioned, as His saying, glorified and exalted is He: "And stop them; indeed, they are to be questioned" [As-Saffat: 24], and others. And in it, there are verses that necessitate that no one will be questioned, as His saying, exalted is He: "So on that Day, no person will be asked about his sin, neither human nor jinn" [Ar-Rahman: 39], and others. It may be that the verses which impose questioning are intended for the questions of reproach and accountability, while those that negate it are meant for questions of inquiry regarding the need to know that from the questioned ones. That is, this does not occur; because the knowledge of them is encompassing, and the question of reproach is not taken into account.

Then, He informed, exalted is He, that Qarun went out to his people, displaying his power through clothing, mounts, and the adornments of this world. Jabir and Mujahid said: He went out in red garments. Ibn Zayd said: He went out with his entourage in embroidered garments. It was said: in garments of purple, and other than this. Most of the interpreters have elaborated on specifying the adornment of Qarun, which is not authentic, so it has been summarized. And the remainder of the verse regarding the deception of the ignorant and the naive among the people is clear.