81فَخَسَفنا بِهِ وَبِدارِهِ الأَرضَ فَما كانَ لَهُ مِن فِئَةٍ يَنصُرونَهُ مِن دونِ اللَّهِ وَما كانَ مِنَ المُنتَصِرينَMuhammad AsadAnd thereupon We caused the earth to swallow him and his dwelling; and he had none and nothing to succour him against God, nor was he of those who could succour themselves.1Lit., "he had no host whatever to succour him ... , etc. Qarun's being "swallowed by the earth" may possibly be a metaphor of a catastrophic, unforeseen loss - from whatever cause - of all his worldly goods and, thus, of his erstwhile grandeur.