Qur'an verses on Cain and Abel

Ala-Maududi

(5:27) Narrate to them in all truth the story of the two sons of Adam. When they made an offering and it was accepted from one of them and was not accepted from the other, the latter said: ‘I will surely kill you.’ Thereupon the former said: ‘Allah accepts offerings only from the God-fearing.^[48]

48. God’s refusal to accept the sacrifice of one of the two brothers was not due to any wrong the other brother might have committed but to his own lack of piety. Hence, rather than attempt to kill his brother he should be concerned with cultivating piety.

Ala-Maududi

(5:28) Even if you stretch forth your hand against me to kill, I will not stretch forth my hand to kill you.^[49] Surely, I fear Allah, the Lord of the entire universe.

49. This does not mean, that his brother assured him that when the latter stepped forward to kill him he would keep his hands tied and stretch out his own neck to be cut down rather than defend himself. What this statement amounts to is an assurance on the part of the first brother that, even though the other was intent on killing him, he himself had no such intention. In other words, he assured his brother that even though the latter was busy planning his murder he would not take the initiative in killing him despite his knowledge of the latter’s intent.

Righteousness does not demand at all that when a man is subjected to wrongful aggression he should surrender to the aggressor rather than defend himself. Righteousness, however, demands that a man should not take the initiative and try to kill someone even though he knows him to be bent on killing him. He should rather wait for the act of aggression to be initiated by the other person. And this is exactly what was intended by the statement of the righteous son of Adam.

Ala-Maududi

(5:29) I would desire that you be laden with my sin and with your sin,^[50] and thus become among the inmates of the Fire. That indeed is the right recompense of the wrong-doers.’

50. The righteous son of Adam told his brother that rather than both of them becoming sinners by trying to kill each other, he would prefer to see the entire sin fall on the lot of the one who was intent on the murder – the sin of the aggressor’s attempt to murder, as well as the sin of any injury that might be inflicted on him in self-defence.

Ala-Maududi

(5:30) At last his evil soul drove him to the murder of his brother, and he killed him, whereby he himself became one of the losers.

There is no commentary by Abul Maududi available for this verse.

Ala-Maududi

(5:31) Thereupon Allah sent forth a raven who began to scratch the earth to show him how he might cover the corpse of his brother. So seeing he cried: Woe unto me! Was I unable even to be like this raven and find a way to cover the corpse of my brother?^[51] Then he became full of remorse at his doing.^[52]

51. In this way God made this errant son of Adam realize his ignorance and folly. Once his attention turned to self-appraisal, his regret was not confined to realizing that in his effort to hide his brother’s corpse he proved to be even less efficient than the raven. He also began to feel how foolish he was to have killed his own brother. The later part of the sentence indicates this remorse.

52.The purpose of mentioning this particular incident is to reproach the Jews subtly for the plot they had hatched to assassinate the Prophet (peace be on him) and some of his illustrious Companions see (Surah Al-Maidah, ayat 11) note 30 above. The resemblance between the two incidents is evident. God honoured some of the illiterate people of Arabia and disregarded the ancient People of the Book because the former were pious while the latter were not. But rather than reflect upon the causes of their rejection by God, and do something to overcome the failings which had led to that rejection, the Israelites were seized by the same fit of arrogant ignorance and folly which had once seized the criminal son of Adam, and resolved to kill those whose good deeds had been accepted by God. It was obvious that such acts would contribute nothing towards their acceptance by God. They would rather earn them an even greater degree of God’s disapproval.