________________
116
THE QUR'ÂN.
XXVIII, 75-82.
the truth is God's;' and that which they had devised shall stray away from them.
Verily, Korah was of the people of Moses, and he was outrageous against them; and we gave him treasuries of which the keys would bear down a band of men endowed with strength. When his people said to him, 'Exult not; verily, God loves not those who exult! but crave, through what God has given thee, the future abode; and forget not thy portion in this world, and do good, as God has done good to thee; and seek not evil doing in the earth ; verily, God loves not the evildoers !'
Said he, 'I have only been given it for knowledge which I have!' did he not know that God had destroyed before him many generations of those who were stronger than he, and had amassed more? But the sinners need not to be asked concerning their crimes.
And he went out amongst the people in his ornaments; those who desired the life of this world said,
O would that we had the like of what Korah has been given ! verily, he is endowed with mighty fortune!'
[80] But those who had been given knowledge said, 'Woe to you! the reward of God is better for him who believes and does right; but none shall meet with it except the patient. And we clave the earth with him and with his house; and he had no troop to help him against God, nor was he of those who were helped !'
And on the morrow those who had yearned for
1 In Arabic Qârûn. The legend based upon Talmudic tradition of Korah's immense wealth appears to be also confused with that of Crcesus.
Digitized by Google
