Surah Al-Maaida (5) — Ayah 27

(Ayah 27) ➊ {وَ اتْلُ عَلَيْهِمْ نَبَاَ ابْنَيْ اٰدَمَ بِالْحَقِّ :} The names of these two sons of Adam (peace be upon him) are commonly known as Habil and Qabil, although these names are not mentioned in the Quran or Hadith.
➋ {وَ اتْلُ عَلَيْهِمْ نَبَاَ ابْنَيْ اٰدَمَ بِالْحَقِّ…… :} There is no authentic narration regarding the reason for this vow or sacrifice, but it is commonly said that in the beginning, from the union of Adam and Hawwa (peace be upon them), a boy and a girl were born at the same time, and in the next pregnancy, again a boy and a girl were born. The brother and sister from one pregnancy would be married to the brother and sister from the other pregnancy. The sister born with Habil was unattractive, while the sister born with Qabil was beautiful. According to the rules of that time, Habil was to marry Qabil's sister, and Qabil was to marry Habil's sister, but Qabil wanted to marry his own sister, who was beautiful, instead of Habil's sister. Adam (peace be upon him) tried to explain to him, but he did not understand. Eventually, Adam (peace be upon him) ordered both of them to present sacrifices before Allah, and said that the one whose sacrifice is accepted would marry Qabil's sister. Habil's sacrifice was accepted, meaning a fire came from the sky and consumed it, which was a sign of its acceptance, but as mentioned, this is not established.
➌ In the previous verses, it was stated that the opponents want to bring all kinds of hardships and difficulties upon the Muslims, as it is said «اِذْ هَمَّ قَوْمٌ اَنْ يَّبْسُطُوْۤا اِلَيْكُمْ اَيْدِيَهُمْ» [ المائدۃ : ۱۱ ] "when some people intended to stretch their hands towards you." But Allah, by His grace and mercy, is protecting the Muslims. After this, to console the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), some incidents were mentioned, from which it is intended to prove that whoever Allah has blessed with religious and worldly blessings, people have always treated him with envy and malice. Thus, the opposition of the Jews and Christians is also based on their rebellion and envy, so do not grieve or be saddened by them. Now here, the story of the two sons of Adam (peace be upon him) is mentioned, which is a link in this chain, because one brother killed the other out of envy. In short, the purpose of all these incidents is to console you (peace and blessings be upon him), and it may be intended to show that the Jews, in their assumption, claim to be beloved by Allah, saying: «نَحْنُ اَبْنٰٓؤُا اللّٰهِ وَ اَحِبَّآؤُهٗ » [ المائدۃ : ۱۸ ] and they are proud of being the descendants of the Prophets, but with disbelief, envy, and enmity, this ancestral honor cannot benefit them; the story of the two sons of Adam (peace be upon him) is evidence of this. (Kabir, Qurtubi) The purpose is to emphasize the avoidance of envy. Hasan Basri (may Allah have mercy on him) says that both men were from the Children of Israel. To describe the envy of the Jews, Allah has presented this incident as an example. The evidence for this is the verse that comes at the end of this story: «مِنْ اَجْلِ ذٰلِكَ كَتَبْنَا عَلٰى بَنِيْۤ اِسْرَآءِيْلَ » [ المائدۃ : ۳۲ ] meaning, because of this very story, We decreed upon the Children of Israel... (Kabir, Qurtubi)
But due to a hadith in Sahih Bukhari and Muslim, this does not seem correct. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever is killed unjustly, the burden of his blood (along with the killer) is also upon the first son of Adam (peace be upon him), because he was the first person who started the act of killing." [ بخاری، أحادیث الأنبیا، باب خلق آدم صلوات اﷲ علیہ و ذریتہ: ۳۳۳۵۔ مسلم: ۱۶۷۷ ]
➍ {اِنَّمَا يَتَقَبَّلُ اللّٰهُ مِنَ الْمُتَّقِيْنَ :} That is, if you too had avoided disobedience to Allah and feared Allah, your sacrifice would also have been accepted.

27. 1 The names of these two sons of Adam ؑ were Habil and Qabil. 27. 2 For what purpose was this offering or sacrifice presented? There is no Sahih narration regarding this. However, it is well-known that in the beginning, from the union of Adam and Hawwa, a boy and a girl would be born at the same time. In the next pregnancy, again a boy and a girl would be born, and the brother and sister from one pregnancy would be married to the brother and sister from the other pregnancy. The sister born with Habil was unattractive, while the sister born with Qabil was beautiful. According to the rules of that time, Habil was to marry Qabil's sister, and Qabil was to marry Habil's sister. But Qabil wanted to marry his own sister, who was beautiful, instead of Habil's sister. Adam ؑ tried to make him understand, but he did not listen. Eventually, Adam ؑ ordered both of them to present sacrifices in the presence of Allah, and said that the one whose sacrifice would be accepted would marry Qabil's sister. Habil's sacrifice was accepted, meaning that a fire came down from the sky and consumed it, which was the sign of its acceptance. Some commentators believe that both brothers, on their own, presented offerings to Allah; Habil offered a fine ram as a sacrifice, and Qabil offered an ear of wheat. Upon Habil's sacrifice being accepted, Qabil became a victim of jealousy.

And relate to them in truth the story of the two sons of Adam, when both offered a sacrifice to Allah; it was accepted from one of them [58] but not from the other. The latter [59] said to the former, "I will surely kill you." The former replied, "(Why should you blame me?) Allah only accepts the sacrifice of the righteous."

[58] After narrating the story of the Israelites' evasion from jihad, now the story of the two sons of Adam is being mentioned. These two sons were Habil and Qabil. Among them, Qabil was the elder in age. He was a farmer, physically strong, and of a harsh temperament. His younger brother Habil used to herd and graze sheep and goats. He was of good nature, obedient, and humble. A dispute arose between the two over some matter, and eventually, Qabil, choosing the path of oppression and violence, killed his oppressed brother. The connection of this story with the previous verses appears to be that the Jews were also very bold in killing the oppressed, to the extent that they unjustly killed the prophets. That is, the Jews were very bold in plotting murders and killing the oppressed, but when the time for jihad came, they showed such cowardice that they did not even move from their place, from which it can be concluded that those who raise their hands against the oppressed through deceitful schemes prove to be impotent in the battlefield. In the Prophetic era as well, the Jews of Madinah were in exactly the same condition.

The Story of Habil and Qabil:

What was the dispute between Habil and Qabil about? The Quran remains silent in answering this question, but from the commentaries it is known that the girl whom Adamؑ wanted to marry to Habil, Qabil wanted that this girl should be married to him. Since this demand of his was based on injustice, it was not accepted. This made Qabil even more enraged. The solution that Sayyiduna Adam presented was that both should offer a sacrifice in the presence of Allah. Whose sacrifice is consumed by fire, that is, whose sacrifice is accepted by Allah, he will be married to that girl, and thus the dispute will be resolved.
[59] Accordingly, both offered a sacrifice. Habil was already a righteous person and he also had the right to marry that girl. Moreover, the things he offered in sacrifice were all of good quality and were presented purely for the sake of Allah's pleasure, therefore his sacrifice was accepted by Allah. In contrast, Qabil was unjust and not of good character, and in his sacrifice he placed inferior and worthless things. Therefore, his sacrificial items remained as they were, as if this test of sacrifice also decided in favor of Habil.