سُوْرَةُ المَآئِدَةِ
Surah Al-Maaida (5) — Ayah 31
فَبَعَثَ ٱللَّهُ غُرَابًا يَبْحَثُ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ لِيُرِيَهُۥ كَيْفَ يُوَٰرِى سَوْءَةَ أَخِيهِ ۚ قَالَ يَـٰوَيْلَتَىٰٓ أَعَجَزْتُ أَنْ أَكُونَ مِثْلَ هَـٰذَا ٱلْغُرَابِ فَأُوَٰرِىَ سَوْءَةَ أَخِى ۖ فَأَصْبَحَ مِنَ ٱلنَّـٰدِمِينَ ﴿31﴾
Translation by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan & Dr. Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali
Then Allâh sent a crow who scratched the ground to show him to hide the dead body of his brother. He (the murderer) said: "Woe to me! Am I not even able to be as this crow and to hide the dead body of my brother?" Then he became one of those who regretted.
Word by Word — Arabic, Transliteration & Meaning
فَبَعَثَ
fabaʿatha
Then (was) sent
ٱللَّهُ
l-lahu
(by) Allah
غُرَابًۭا
ghurāban
a crow
يَبْحَثُ
yabḥathu
it (was) scratching
فِى
fī
in
ٱلْأَرْضِ
l-arḍi
the earth
لِيُرِيَهُۥ
liyuriyahu
to show him
كَيْفَ
kayfa
how
يُوَٰرِى
yuwārī
to hide
سَوْءَةَ
sawata
(the) dead body
أَخِيهِ ۚ
akhīhi
(of) his brother
قَالَ
qāla
He said
يَـٰوَيْلَتَىٰٓ
yāwaylatā
Woe to me
أَعَجَزْتُ
aʿajaztu
Am I unable
أَنْ
an
that
أَكُونَ
akūna
I can be
مِثْلَ
mith'la
like
هَـٰذَا
hādhā
this
ٱلْغُرَابِ
l-ghurābi
[the] crow
فَأُوَٰرِىَ
fa-uwāriya
and hide
سَوْءَةَ
sawata
(the) dead body
أَخِى ۖ
akhī
(of) my brother
فَأَصْبَحَ
fa-aṣbaḥa
Then he became
مِنَ
mina
of
ٱلنَّـٰدِمِينَ
l-nādimīna
the regretful
Tafsir Taiseer ul-Quran — Maulana Abdul Rahman Kilani
Tafsir Taiseer ul-Quran (Facilitation of the Quran) is a comprehensive Quran commentary by Maulana Abdul Rahman Kilani, a renowned Salafi (Ahl al-Hadith) scholar from Pakistan. Known for his eloquent and accessible writing style, Kilani authored this tafsir with a focus on clarity — making Quranic meanings understandable to the common reader. The tafsir provides detailed historical context for verses related to battles and expeditions, and firmly refutes modernist ideologies using strong scriptural evidence. It is widely regarded as an invaluable resource for understanding the Quran and countering deviant interpretations. The tafsir is originally written in Urdu, translated to English by tohed.com.
Then Allah sent a crow, which scratched the ground to show him how to hide the corpse of his brother. Seeing this, he said, "Alas! Am I even unable to be like this crow and hide the body of my brother?" Then he became full of remorse for what he had done.
[63]
The First Murder in the World, and That Too Unjust:
When Qabil killed his righteous-natured brother, after a short while, the corpse began to emit stench and foul odor. Now he could not understand what to do with the corpse. It is a fact that this was the first murder among humankind on the face of the earth, and that too was an unjust killing. And the prevailing opinion is that until then, no human had died; otherwise, if the method of burying a human corpse had been known, Qabil would not have been perplexed. Eventually, Allah Almighty sent two crows for his guidance, who were fighting with each other. One of the crows pecked the other to death. Then, with its beak, it began to dig the ground until it made a hole big enough to hide the dead crow’s body. The crow placed the dead crow’s body in the hole and covered it with earth, thus burying it in the ground. Qabil was watching this entire scene. At that moment, he thought that he did not even have as much sense as the crow. Anyway, he also dug a hole in the ground in the same way and buried his brother’s corpse in the earth. After he had buried it, his soul began to reproach him that a righteous and compassionate brother had been separated from him forever, and he also felt remorse that by killing his brother, he had committed an extremely savage act.
[63]
The First Murder in the World, and That Too Unjust:
When Qabil killed his righteous-natured brother, after a short while, the corpse began to emit stench and foul odor. Now he could not understand what to do with the corpse. It is a fact that this was the first murder among humankind on the face of the earth, and that too was an unjust killing. And the prevailing opinion is that until then, no human had died; otherwise, if the method of burying a human corpse had been known, Qabil would not have been perplexed. Eventually, Allah Almighty sent two crows for his guidance, who were fighting with each other. One of the crows pecked the other to death. Then, with its beak, it began to dig the ground until it made a hole big enough to hide the dead crow’s body. The crow placed the dead crow’s body in the hole and covered it with earth, thus burying it in the ground. Qabil was watching this entire scene. At that moment, he thought that he did not even have as much sense as the crow. Anyway, he also dug a hole in the ground in the same way and buried his brother’s corpse in the earth. After he had buried it, his soul began to reproach him that a righteous and compassionate brother had been separated from him forever, and he also felt remorse that by killing his brother, he had committed an extremely savage act.
