Question

In the story of the two sons of Adam (pbuh), Abel and Cain, why did Abel surrender and not defend himself against his brother, which was his fundamental right?

Answer

Salaam

Thank you for writing to us.

The Qur’an does not make any reference to Abel (Arabic Hābīl) “surrendering” to his brother Cain (Arabic Qābīl) or refraining from defending himself. Rather, the Qur’an indicates that Abel was not willing to initiate an attack against his brother. It is possible, and the text supports this possibility, that Habil attempted to defend himself when Qabil attacked him with the intention of murder but was ultimately unsuccessful in doing so.

In his commentary on Qur’an 5:29, Javed Ahmad Ghamidi explains that the verse contains the words “اَنْ تَبُوْٓاَ بِاِثْمِيْ وَاِثْمِكَ,” which involve the suppression of a governing noun (muḍāf) before both nouns. Ghamidi argues that this suppression implies that Qabil would be responsible for any harm caused to himself as he was the initiator of the attack.

Regards,

Mushfiq Sultan
Assistant Fellow
Al-Mawrid