Korah, Not Qarun!

Sura al-Qasas 28:76, 81

We read in Sura al-Qasas 28:76, 81:

Now Korah was of Moses’ folk, but he oppressed them; and We gave him so much treasure that the stores thereof would verily have been a burden for a troop of mighty men. When his own folk said unto him: Exult not; lo! Allah loveth not the exultant; … So We caused the earth to swallow him and his dwelling-place. Then he had no host to help him against Allah, nor was he of those who can save themselves. al-Qasas 28:76, 81. Pickthal?s translation.

This of the Arabic Qur’an is none other then King Croesus of Lydia (ca. 560-547 B.C.) who symbolizes wealth among Arabs as well as among other people. This fact is evidenced by the elaborate, yet concise, description of his riches, and the mention of the word host (army ) which only a king can assemble in the face of disaster. He should not to be confused with Korah of the Bible. In fact, the Qur’an confused these two men. Thus, it mistakenly claims that King Croesus was swallowed up by the earth. The truth is that Korah, Dathan, and Abiram (all of whom were Israelites) rebelled against Moses and nearly succeeded in over throwing him.

Korah son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, and certain Reubenites– Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab, and On son of Peleth– became insolent. Numbers 16:1 (NIV)

But the earth opened up and swallowed them (Numbers 16).

As soon as he finished saying all this, the ground under them split apart
and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them, with their households and all Korah’s men and all their possessions.
They went down alive into the grave, with everything they owned; the earth closed over them, and they perished and were gone from the community. Numbers 16:31-33 (NIV)

Last edited 07-21-2001