Surah Al Qasas Tafseer

وَأَصْبَحَ الَّذِينَ تَمَنَّوْا مَكَانَهُ بِالاْأَمْسِ

And those who had desired his position the day before,

means, those witnessed him with his finery and had said:.

(Those who were desirous of the life of the world, said:"Ah, would that we had the like of what Qarun has been given! Verily, he is the owner of a great fortune.") When he was swallowed up in the earth, they:

يَقُولُونَ وَيْكَأَنَّ اللَّهَ يَبْسُطُ الرِّزْقَ لِمَن يَشَاء مِنْ عِبَادِهِ وَيَقْدِرُ

began to say "Know you not that it is Allah Who expands the provision or restricts it to whomsoever He pleases of His servants.

Wealth does not indicate that Allah is pleased with its owner, for Allah gives and withholds, allows times of difficulty and times of ease, raises and lowers, His is the most complete wisdom and most convincing proof.

According to a Hadith narrated by Ibn Mas`ud,

إِنَّ اللهَ قَسَمَ بَيْنَكُمْ أَخْلَقَكُمْ كَمَا قَسَمَ أَرْزَاقَكُمْ وَإِنَّ اللهَ يُعْطِي الْمَالَ مَنْ يُحِبُّ وَمَنْ لَا يُحِبُّ وَلَا يُعْطِي الاِْيمَانَ إِلاَّ مَنْ يُحِب

Allah has allotted character among you just as He has allotted your provision. Allah gives wealth to those whom He loves and those whom He does not love, but He gives Faith only to those whom He loves.

لَوْلَا أَن مَّنَّ اللَّهُ عَلَيْنَا لَخَسَفَ بِنَا

Had it not been that Allah was Gracious to us, He could have caused the earth to swallow us up!

meaning, `were it not for the kindness and grace of Allah towards us, we could have been swallowed up by the earth just as he was swallowed up, because we wanted to be like him.'

وَيْكَأَنَّهُ لَا يُفْلِحُ الْكَافِرُونَ

Know you not that the disbelievers will never be successful.

He was a disbeliever, and the disbelievers will never be successful before Allah in this world or in the Hereafter