up to their knees. Then he said, “O earth (1), seize them!” and it seized them up to their waists. Then he said, “O earth (1), seize them!” and it seized them up to their necks. Throughout all of this, Qarun and his companions were pleading with Moses (2), while Qarun appealed to him by Allah and by their ties of kinship. It is reported that he appealed to him seventy times, yet Moses, peace be upon him, did not turn toward him on any of those occasions, owing to the intensity of his anger. Then he said, “O earth, seize them!” and the earth closed over them.

Allah revealed to Moses, “How hard-hearted you are! He sought your help seventy times, yet you did not help him. By My might and majesty, had he sought My help even once, I would have helped him.” Some reports state: “After you, I shall not make the earth subject to anyone (3).”

Qatadah said: “The earth swallowed him, and each day he continues to sink through it by the height of a man, without reaching its bottom until the Day of Resurrection.”

He said: The Children of Israel began whispering among themselves that Moses had invoked against Qarun only in order to take exclusive possession of his house, treasures, and wealth. So Moses invoked Allah Most High, and He caused the earth to swallow Qarun’s house, treasures, and wealth. This is the meaning of His words:

“So We caused the earth to swallow him and his home; and he had no company to protect him from Allah, nor was he able to defend himself.”

“And those who had wished for his position only the day before began to say, ‘Ah, indeed Allah extends provision to whom He wills of His servants and restricts it. Had Allah not been gracious to us, He could have caused the earth to swallow us. Ah, indeed the disbelievers do not prosper.’” (82)

“And those who had wished for his position only the day before”: that is, those who had wished for the wealth and adornment Allah had granted him came to regret that wish. The Arabs use verbs literally denoting morning, forenoon, and evening to express the sense of becoming. Thus, they say, “So-and-so became a scholar (4),” “he became destitute,” and “he became sorrowful.”

“They began to say, ‘Ah, indeed Allah...’” The scholars differed over the meaning of this expression. Mujahid said: “Do you not know?” Qatadah said: “Do you not see?” Al-Farra said: It is a word of affirmation ⦗66/A⦘, like a man saying, “Do you not see Allah’s workmanship and His beneficence?” He mentioned that someone told him that he had heard a Bedouin woman ask her husband, “Where is your son?” He replied, “Why, he is behind the house,” meaning, “Do you not see him behind the house?”

Al-Hasan said: It is an introductory expression, its sense being: “Indeed, Allah extends provision.” It was also said that it is an attention-drawing expression, similar to “Lo!” Qutrub said: “Wayka” means “waylaka” (“woe to you”); the lām has been omitted, as Antarah said:

“Indeed, the horsemen’s cry,
‘Wayka, Antarah—charge!’
has healed and cured her ailment.” (5)