Surah Al-Ma'idah 5:27-34 - Quran Translation Commentary

27. And recite to them truthfully the story of the two sons¹⁰² of Adam¹⁰³ When they both offered sacrifice, it was accepted from one and not from the other.¹⁰⁴ The latter said: “I will surely kill you ¹⁰⁵.” He answered: Allah accepts only from the God-fearing¹⁰⁶.

28. Even if you stretch out your hand against me to kill me, I shall not stretch out my hand against you to kill you ¹⁰⁷. Verily, I fear Allah, the Lord of the worlds.

29. “Surely, I like you to collect my sin as well as your sin¹⁰⁸ and be among the companions of the Hell-fire. And that is the recompense of the evil-doers.”

30. But his mind instigated him for the murder of his brother¹⁰⁹; so he murdered him¹¹⁰ and became one of the losers¹¹¹.

31. Then Allah sent a raven, scratching up the ground to show him how to hide the corpse of his brother¹¹². He said: “Woe to me! I was not even able to be like this raven so that I could hide the corpse of my brother!” Then he became very remorseful¹¹³.

32. On that account¹¹⁴, We had decreed for Bani Israil that whosoever kills a human being except as punishment for manslaughter or for spreading mischief in the earth, it shall be as if he killed all mankind, and whosoever saves the life of one, it shall be as if he saved the life of all mankind¹¹⁵. And truly our messengers came to them with clear teachings, yet, even after that many of them continued to commit excesses in the land¹¹⁶.

33. The punishment for those who wage war against Allah and His messenger, and go about to spread mischief in the land is only that they should be killed or crucified, or have their hands and feet on the opposite sides cut off, or they may be exiled out of the land¹¹⁷. That is their disgrace in this world¹¹⁸, and a heavy punishment is theirs in the Hereafter;

34. Except for those who repent before you overpower them; then know that Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful ¹¹⁹.

Commentary

102. In the Torah their names are given as Cain and Abel.

103. This is an important event of the earliest period of the human race.This event is described in the Torah also, but the parts which impart moral lessons are missing. Here Quran has not only recounted it accurately but has also clearly expressed its moral purpose.

104. The sacrifice offered by Habeel (Abel) was accepted because he was God-fearing, and Cain’s was not accepted because he was impious. Some sign to give the indication that the sacrifice has been accepted or not must have been made to appear by God. What was this sign has not been explained by Quran. However many commentators opine that in those days the sign of acceptance of the sacrifice was that a fire used to descend down from the sky to eat up the sacrifice. -(Tafseer Kabeer Vol. II page 205). It is possible that in the conditions of those days when the human population consisted of only a few individuals, this extraordinary event of the fire eating up the sacrifice might have occurred. (For the explanation of the burning sacrifice, note No.213, Surah Al-i-Imaran may be seen).

Along with this, the importance of sacrifice in the most ancient times as an important part of worship becomes clear. Another reality that impresses us is that the earliest civilization witnessed by man was the civilization of pure Godworship.

105. Cain became jealous because his brother Abel’s. sacrifice was accepted, whereas his own was rejected. This resulted in his decision to murder his own brother.

It is thus obvious that jealousy is a vice that can even lead to the murder of one’s own brother even.

106. For the acceptance of the sacrifice, the condition of piety at this place is like the instances occurring at other places:

“Neither the flesh nor the blood of these sacrifices reach God, but only your piety (Taqwa) reaches Him. “ -( Hajj - 37). In other words, from the very first day this reality of religion was made clear to man that the rituals of worship without the fear of God (piety) carry no weight with Allah.

BANI ISRAIL’S WANDERING IN DESERT Jericho :- (Ariha ) The first city of Palestine which was canquered by Bani Israil under the leadership of Yusha. (Joshua). Canaan :- The promised Land. (Palestine). Jarusalem :- Modern name :- Alquds. Paran Desert and Zin Desert :- In this region Bani Israil were wandering helplessly. MEDITERRANEAN SEA WILDERNESS OF ZIN Sinai :- This is a vast desert between the Gulf of Aqaba and the Gulf of Suez. Mount Sinai (Tur):- Its other name is Tur-i-Sineen. It is situated in the south of Sinai. In the Torah its name is given as Horeb. After coming out of Egypt Bani Israil hadcamped near its base. and here prophet Moosa was blessed with the Sharia. Mount Hoor : Prophet Haroon died here. Mount Nebo : Prophet Moosa died here. Dead Sea : Its other name is Sea of Lot. The River Jordan falls in the Sea. Gaza Yafa PALESTINE Jerusalem CANAAN Jericho RIVER JORDON Mt. Nebo Dead Sea Marej MOAB Edom Mt. Hoor K a des h Aqaba Ailah Gulf of Aqaba Wilderness of Paran SINAI Suez EGYPT Gulf of Suez Mt. Tur

107. That is: If you intend to commit murder, do so, I am not going to take the initiative. It may be noted that taking steps to commit murder is one thing and to defend oneself is another. Here the negation is for initiating and not for defending.

108. That is: If under provocation from you to murder me, I try to kill you then I will also become sinful. But since I am not doing anything against you, the sin of murder which would have been committed by me is being transferred to you. Now by murdering me, you will be doubly guilty, one for the actual murder and the other for murdering a person who inspite of a threat of murder from you did not try to kill you.

In a hadith it is written:

“When two Muslims are facing one another with their swords intent on combat, then the killer and the killed both will go to Hell.” Some one asked: O Messenger of Allah ! This one deserved Hell for being the killer, but why the murdered man?’ He answered: “Because he had also intended to kill his companion.” -(Muslim -Kitabul Fitan).

That is: If both the combatants had the intention of killing one another and if they fight, then the murderer and the murdered person both will deserve to go to Hell.

It should be noted that the case of self-defence is quite different. The Shariah has granted every person the right to defend his/her life, property and if the defender has to draw the blood of the aggressor, then the sin is on the aggressor, and in the Islamic law there is no qisas (retaliation) or compensation in money for such a killing.

109. When a man wants to commit a sin, his conscience checks him. But when he continually goes on suppressing his conscience then his self (mind) eventually prepares him to commit that sin.

110. The Torah states: Cain said to Abel his brother, ‘Let us go out to the field’, and when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him. (Genesis 4: 8) It appears that this murder was committed in a state of unawareness.

111. This was the first murder that was committed on the earth.

A hadith says:

“Whoever is killed unjustly, in that killing Adam’s first son is involved, because he is the first person who introduced the system of killing.”- (Muslim -Kitabul Qasamah)

112 . Cain had left the corpse of his dead brother unattended to, leaving the corpse in the field so that it may wither and decay is a disrespect to the corpse. To avoid this disrespect, Allah showed Cain the way to bury the corpse, through the demonstration by a raven. That was the earliest era of the human race on this earth and it was the first dead body that had fallen on it, Cain could think of burying the corpse into the ground only after seeing the crow scratch the ground and bury something into it. This action of the raven led Cain to bury the dead body of his brother into a grave.

It shows that to bury the human dead body into ground is according to the guidance given by nature and this matter is being followed from eras.

113. And the consequence of the crime is remorse. By indulging in aggression and tyranny man cannot find peace of mind and satisfaction of heart. As against this, by adopting a policy of justice and truth he can achieve the wealth of satisfaction and peace.

114. That is: This criminal tendency may not develop in men and the human blood may not become cheap, and for this purpose Allah had explained to Bani Israil the severity of the unjust killing in an effective way.

115. It shows what a big crime is unjust killing in the light of Islam, and what a great virtue is the act of saving a life. A person who unjustly kills another person does not commit a single crime but also acts against humanity, for the main thing is the respect for life, and a man becomes guilty of murder only when he has no respect for human life. And when a person has no respect for human life, then such a person becomes a danger for the whole society.Nothing can be said as to what he would do next. As against this, a man who saves the life of a person who is in danger of losing his life, he not only performs a virtuous act, but also gives proof of the fact that in his heart there is a great respect for the human life, and that he is a sympathiser and well-wisher of humanity. Such a person is the protector of the human society.

116. That is: After showing the severity of and seriousness of murder to Bani Israil, Allah had also sent His messengers, who had been explaining to them the commands of Allah, and who had been warning them against disobeying God. But inspite of this many people had continued to indulge into excess and mischief, and even today there are many who are indulging in the same practices.

When these verses were being revealed, the Jews were busy conspiring against Muslims. Behind the battles that the polytheists, of Macca waged against Muslims there was the hidden hand of the Jews of Madina. They had also schemed to kill the Prophet and his companions in which they were unsuccessful. Here taking into consideration that very background, the Jews have been warned by explaining to them the severity and seriousness of crimes like murder and killing.

117. Here the commands are given concerning those who may rebel against Allah and His messenger and by their defying and rebellious attitude may challenge the laws and the system of Islam, whether such persons may be Muslims or non-Muslims.This command also applies to the group which may rebel in order to overthrow the Islamic system of Justice and Truth, and also to that gang and band of people which, by indulging into crimes like murder, robbery, loot, destruction; kidnapping of women or hijacking of planes, etc, create’ the ‘problem of law’ and order for the government. The general punitive laws of Islam may not be sufficient to deal with such criminals, therefore, the Shariah has framed special law for keeping them under check, and Islamic government is authorized to give whatever punishment it deems proper to the perpetrators of these crimes, in accordance with the conditions and the needs of the time. In the commands for ‘exile’ imprisonment is also included.

118. That is: When they raised the banner of rebellion against Allah and His messenger, and when they did not respect His laws, how can they deserve to be respected? To subject them to severe punishment, which would be an eye opener for others, and to disgrace them is the open demand of justice.

119. That is: Before they are captured by the Islamic government, if they repent and reform their attitude and conduct, it would not be proper to punish them under this law, because Allah forgives those who repent.

Then whosoever repented after his wrong doing and amended his conduct, verily Allah will accept his repentance. Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful. Do you not know that to Allah belongs the Sovereignty of the heavens and the earth? He punishes whom He pleases and He forgives whom He pleases. And Allah has power over all things. (Al-Quran)