Qarun
qaa-ROON
The man of treasures who forgot their source — and was swallowed by the earth.
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Root Analysis
Qarun is the Arabic form of the biblical Korah — a name from the same Semitic root as the Hebrew meaning bald, or possibly linking. The Quran presents him as a figure from the time of Musa, consistent with the biblical Korah who led a rebellion against Moses and was swallowed by the earth (Numbers 16). The name has become in Arabic culture a synonym for extreme wealth — kurun means Qarun, implying almost fabulous riches.
Quranic Occurrence
Qarun appears 4 times in the Quran, all in the context of his wealth, his arrogance, and his destruction. His story is most fully told in Surah Al-Qasas (28:76-82), where the crowd's envy, the wise man's correction, the earth's swallowing, and the crowd's subsequent reflection are narrated in sequence.