Surah Al-Qasas (The Stories — القصص) (Ayah 76)

Korah or Qarun was one of the Children of Israel, but he cut off his relations with his community and shifted his loyalties towards Pharaoh, as a result of which he became Pharaoh’s courtier. On account of his worldly wisdom, he accumulated great wealth, so much so that he became the richest man in Egypt. Having acquired wealth, he should have been duly grateful, but, instead he allowed his wealth to give him a sense of false pride. With the help of his resources, he should have earned the reward of goodness, but he did not do so. What is meant by creating ‘evil in the land?’ According to verse 77, one of the ways of creating a disturbance on earth is for a man acquiring a lot of wealth, to spend it only on himself. Water from various parts of land gathers in a sea. The sea again scatters the water back over the whole land after turning it into vapour. This is an example of peaceful activity (islah) which is the opposite of creating discord (fasad) in this world of God. The very same approach is required of man. If, for any reason, wealth is accumulated by someone, he should by different methods, return it to those less favoured in the distribution of wealth. In other words, circulating accumulated wealth promotes islah, while hoarding accumulated wealth brings about fasad.