Tazkirul Quran, Qur’an 29:39–40
The Spider (Al-‘Ankabut)
By Maulana Wahiduddin Khan
English text; the translator is not named in the archive’s data.
Translation
(39) Korah, Pharaoh, and Haman: Moses came to them with clear signs but they were arrogant in the land. They could not escape Us. (40) So We seized each one for his sins; some We struck with a violent storm; some of them were overcome by a sudden blast, some were swallowed up by the earth and some We drowned. God did not wrong them: they wronged themselves.
Commentary
(a) Whenever the addressee communities rejected the prophets sent to them, they were destroyed by calamities which burst upon them either from the heavens or from the earth. Lot’s community was subjected to the curse of high-velocity winds that bore stones. The ‘Ad, the Thamud and the people of Midian were punished by thunder and lightning sent down upon them. Korah, at God’s behest, was swallowed by the earth. Pharaoh and Haman were drowned in the sea.
The common reason for all these punishments was the false pride of the concerned persons, i.e. their rejecting the call of Truth for the reason that it would put an end to their high status.