Where the story is told

The story is in Surah al-Ma'idah, in Quran 5:27-32. Allah tells the Prophet ﷺ to recite to the people the story of the two sons of Adam "in truth", which means as it really happened, without exaggeration.

The Quran does not give the names of the two sons. The names Habil (Abel) and Qabil (Cain) are well known from tradition and commentaries, but they are not in the Quran or in the authentic hadith used here. This page therefore says "the two sons of Adam" and uses the names only for easy recognition.

The offering and the threat

In the meaning of Quran 5:27, both brothers offered a sacrifice to Allah. It was accepted from one of them and not accepted from the other. The one whose offering was not accepted said to his brother, "I will surely kill you."

The brother whose offering was accepted answered calmly that Allah only accepts from those who fear Him. He did not boast. He explained that acceptance depends on the heart and on piety (taqwa), not on a person's wish.

The answer of the believing brother

He then said, in the meaning of Quran 5:28-29, that if his brother raised his hand to kill him, he would not raise his hand to kill his brother, because he feared Allah, Lord of the worlds. He added that he wanted his brother to bear his sin and his own sin and so be among the companions of the Fire, which is the recompense of wrongdoers.

Scholars commonly explain the words "my sin and your sin" as meaning that the killer would carry the sin of killing his brother in addition to his own earlier sins. The passage shows a man who answered anger with restraint and kept the fear of Allah in his heart even while threatened.

The killing, the crow and the regret

Quran 5:30 says that his soul made the killing of his brother seem permissible to him, so he killed him and became among the losers. This is the first killing mentioned in the Quran.

Then Allah sent a crow scratching in the ground, to show him how to hide the body of his brother. The killer said, "Woe to me! Have I failed to be like this crow and hide the body of my brother?" and he became one of the regretful (Quran 5:31). The Quran describes his regret, but it does not tell us more about what happened to him afterwards.

The value of a life

Right after the story, Allah says that because of this, He decreed upon the Children of Israel that whoever kills a soul, other than for a soul or for corruption in the land, it is as if he killed all of mankind, and whoever saves one life, it is as if he saved all of mankind (Quran 5:32).

The Prophet ﷺ said that no soul is killed unjustly except that a share of its blood is on the first son of Adam, because he was the first to set the example of killing (Sahih al-Bukhari 3335, Sahih Muslim 1677). The first killer carries a share of the sin of those who later follow his example.

What the Quran does not tell us

The Quran does not say what each brother offered, how Allah showed that one offering was accepted, why they quarrelled, where this happened, how old they were or how the killing took place. It also does not give their names.

Some books of commentary give long accounts of these details, but they do not come from the Quran or from an authentic hadith, so we leave them out and keep to what is certain.

Lessons from this story

  • Allah accepts deeds from those who fear Him. Sincerity and taqwa matter more than the outward act.
  • Envy can lead a person from a hurtful thought to a terrible act. The cure is to be content with what Allah decides and to keep the fear of Allah in the heart.
  • The believing brother answered a threat with restraint and the fear of Allah. Calm speech and patience are signs of a strong faith.
  • Human life is sacred. Killing one person unjustly is described as being like killing all of mankind, and saving one is like saving all of mankind.
  • A bad example has a long reach. The one who starts a harmful act carries a share of the sin of those who follow him in it.

General information for learning, not a fatwa. For your own situation, ask a qualified scholar.

Sources