“…Lord of all the worlds.
I want you to bear the burden of my sin as well as your own, and thus become one of the people of the Fire—such is the recompense of the wrong-doers.’
But his soul prompted him to kill his brother; so he killed him and became one of the losers.
Then Allah sent a crow scratching in the earth to show him how to conceal his brother’s corpse. He cried, ‘Alas for me! Am I incapable of being like this crow and hiding my brother’s corpse?’ and he became one of the remorseful.”
(Al-Māʾidah 5:28–31)

We have already dealt with this story in our commentary on Sūrat al-Māʾidah (1) with sufficient detail—praise be to Allah. Here we shall give a concise account of what the leading scholars of the early generations have related.

Al-Suddī narrated—through Abū Mālik and Abū Ṣāliḥ from Ibn ʿAbbās, through Murrah from Ibn Masʿūd, and from a number of the Companions—that Adam used to marry the male of each set of twins to the female of another. Abel wanted to marry Cain’s sister; Cain was older than Abel, and Abel’s own sister was the more beautiful. Abel therefore wished to reserve her for himself instead of his brother, but Adam, peace be upon him, ordered Cain to marry her to Abel. Cain refused, so Adam told them both to present an offering. Adam then left for Mecca to perform the pilgrimage. He sought a guardian for his children: he asked the heavens, but they refused; the earth and the mountains, but they too refused; so Cain undertook that responsibility.

When Adam had gone, the two brothers presented their offerings. Abel, who was a shepherd, offered a fat year-old ewe, while Cain offered a bundle of grain from the worst of his produce. A fire descended and consumed Abel’s offering, leaving Cain’s untouched. Enraged, Cain said, ‘I will surely kill you so that you cannot marry my sister.’ Abel replied, ‘Allah accepts only from the God-fearing.’ (2)

This account is also reported from Ibn ʿAbbās through other chains, and from ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAmr. ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAmr said, ‘By Allah, the murdered man was the stronger of the two, but piety kept him from raising his hand against his brother.’ (3)

Abū Jaʿfar al-Bāqir related that Adam personally supervised their sacrifices and that acceptance was shown for Abel’s offering but not for Cain’s. Cain said to Adam, ‘It was accepted from him only because you prayed for him and did not pray for me,’ and he threatened his brother in private. One night Abel was late in returning from the pasture, so Adam sent Cain to see what had delayed him. When Cain found him he said, ‘It was accepted from you but not from me.’ Abel replied, ‘Allah accepts only from the God-fearing.’ Cain flew into a rage, struck him with an iron tool he had with him, and killed him.

It is also said that he killed him with a stone which he hurled at his head while he was asleep, crushing it. (4) Others say he strangled him violently and bit him, as beasts do, until he died. (5) Allah knows best.

His words to his brother when threatened with death—‘If you stretch out your hand toward me to kill me, I will not stretch out my hand toward you to kill you; indeed, I fear Allah, Lord of all the worlds’ (Al-Māʾidah 5:28)—show noble character, fear and awe of Allah, and a scrupulous refusal to confront his brother