Page 34 - Fear of Allah

FEAR OF ALLAH
have persisted in their denial of belief have suffered the conse-
quences of Allah's response whilst still on Earth for what they have
done and have remained as prime examples for other people.
A prime example of this is the story of Qarun, who was given
great wealth by Allah. As a result of this vast wealth he became ar-
rogant and developed an exaggerated sense of his own self-impor-
tance. People were initially convinced of Qarun's great power and
were in total admiration of him, however, later on, when he met his
demise as a result of his fierce pride, they finally understood the
truth. In a totally unexpected and unprecedented manner, Qarun
was destroyed as a direct result of his rebelliousness, and made a
clear object lesson for all mankind to learn:
He went out among his people in his finery. Those who de-
sired the life of this world said, "Oh! If only we had the same
as Qarun has been given! What immense good fortune he
possesses." (Surat al-Qasas: 79)
We caused the Earth to swallow up both him and his house.
There was no group to come to his aid, besides Allah, and he
was not someone who is helped. Those who had longed to
take his place the day before woke up saying "Allah ex-
pands the provision of any of His servants He wills or re-
stricts it. If Allah had not shown great kindness to us, we
would have been swallowed up as well. Ah! Truly the unbe-
lievers are nor successful." (Surat al-Qasas: 81-82)
The story of Qarun and other accounts in the Qur'an of many a
magnificent and powerful community that have been unable to pro-
tect themselves from Allah's punishment draw particular attention
to the fact that Allah has punished them here on Earth. This reality is
explained in many Qur'anic verses:
Have they not travelled in the Earth and seen the final fate

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