Tafseer of The Table · Al-Maaida · 5:27
And recite to them the story of Adam's two sons, in truth, when they both offered a sacrifice [to Allah], and it was accepted from one of them but was not accepted from the other. Said [the latter], "I will surely kill you." Said [the former], "Indeed, Allah only accepts from the righteous [who fear Him].
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
The discourse on the explanation of His statement, mighty and exalted is He: وَاتْلُ عَلَيْهِمْ نَبَأَ ابْنَيْ آدَمَ بِالْحَقِّ إِذْ قَرَّبَا قُرْبَانًا فَتُقُبِّلَ مِنْ أَحَدِهِمَا وَلَمْ يُتَقَبَّلْ مِنَ الآخَرِ قَالَ لأَقْتُلَنَّكَ قَالَ إِنَّمَا يَتَقَبَّلُ اللَّهُ مِنَ الْمُتَّقِينَ (5:27)
(And recite to them the tidings of the two sons of Adam in truth, when they both offered a sacrifice, and it was accepted from one of them but was not accepted from the other. He said: "I will surely kill you." He said: "Allah accepts only from the God-fearing.") (5:27)
Abū Jaʿfar said: The Exalted, whose remembrance is lofty, says to His prophet Muḥammad ﷺ: Recite to these Jews who intended to stretch out their hands against you, and to your companions who are with you — and make known to them how detestable is the end of injustice and treachery, and how evil is the outcome of perfidy and the breaking of the covenant, and what is the recompense of the one who breaks his word and the reward of the one who keeps his word — the tidings of the two sons of Adam, Hābīl (Abel) and Qābīl (Cain), and to what the matter led for the one of them who obeyed his Lord and faithfully fulfilled his covenant, and to what the matter led for the one of them who disobeyed his Lord, the treacherous one who broke his covenant. So that the Jews may thereby learn the evil consequence of their treachery and of their breaking of the covenant that existed between you and them, and of their intent by which they purposed to stretch out their hands against you and your companions. For you have — and they have — in the beauty of My reward and the immensity of My recompense for the fulfillment of the covenant, by which I rewarded the slain one who faithfully fulfilled his covenant among the two sons of Adam, and by which I punished the murderer who broke his covenant — a fair consolation.
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The people of knowledge differed concerning the reason why the two sons of Adam offered the sacrifice, and concerning the reason why Allah, mighty and exalted, accepted what was accepted from one of them, and concerning who the two were who offered the sacrifice.
Some of them said: That occurred by the command of Allah, great and mighty, that He commanded them to offer it. And the reason for the acceptance was that the one from whom it was accepted offered the best of his property, while the other offered the worst of his property. And the two who offered were the sons of Adam from his own loins: one was Hābīl and the other Qābīl.
Mention of who said that:
11704 – Al-Muthannā ibn Ibrāhīm related to me, saying: Isḥāq related to us, saying: ʿAbd Allāh ibn Abī Jaʿfar related to us, on the authority of Hishām ibn Saʿd, on the authority of Ismāʿīl ibn Rāfiʿ, who said: It reached me that when the two sons of Adam were commanded to offer a sacrifice, one of them was a shepherd, and a lamb had been cast for him in his flock. He loved the lamb so much that he would set it above himself by night, and would carry it upon his back out of love, until he had no property dearer to him than it. When he was commanded to offer a sacrifice, he offered it to Allah, and Allah accepted it from him. And it remained grazing in Paradise until the son of Ibrāhīm — peace be upon them both — was ransomed by it.
11705 – Ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Jaʿfar related to us, saying: ʿAwf related to us, on the authority of Abū l-Mughīra, on the authority of ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAmr, who said: The two sons of Adam who offered a sacrifice, of whom it was accepted from one and not accepted from the other — one of them was a farmer and the other a shepherd. Both were commanded to offer a sacrifice. The shepherd offered the noblest, fattest, and most beautiful of his flock, with a willing soul; and the farmer offered the worst of his field — [illegible: the koll-grain type] and the darnel (zuwān), without his soul being willing therewith. And Allah accepted the sacrifice of the shepherd and did not accept the sacrifice of the farmer. And their story proceeded as Allah has related in His Book. And he said: By Allah, indeed the slain one was the stronger of the two men, but God-fearingness restrained him from stretching out his hand against his brother.
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Others said: That which they did was not by the command of Allah to them therein.
Mention of who said that:
11706 – Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to me, saying: my father related to me, saying: my uncle related to me, saying: my father related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, who said: Their story was as follows: there was no needy person to whom charity was given, but rather the man himself brought the sacrifice. While the two sons of Adam were sitting, they said: "Let us offer a sacrifice!" When a man offered a sacrifice and Allah, great and mighty, was pleased with it, He would send upon it a fire that consumed it. And if Allah was not pleased with it, the fire would die out. So they offered a sacrifice. One of them was a herdsman and the other a farmer. The shepherd offered the best and fattest of his flock, and the other offered some of his crop. Then the fire came and descended between them, and it consumed the sheep and left the crop. And the son of Adam said to his brother: "Will you walk about among the people while they know that you have offered a sacrifice that was accepted from you, and mine was returned to me? No, by Allah, the people shall not look at me and at you while you are better than I!" Then he said: "I will surely kill you!" His brother said to him: "What is my fault? Allah accepts only from the God-fearing."
11707 – Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us, saying: Ibn Abī Najīḥ related to us, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning the statement of Allah "when they both offered a sacrifice," he said: The two sons of Adam, Hābīl and Qābīl, from the loins of Adam. One offered a sheep and the other offered vegetables, and it was accepted from the owner of the sheep, and his brother killed him.
11708 – Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Abū Ḥudhayfa related to us, saying: Shibl related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, the like of it.
11709 – Al-Ḥārith related to me, saying: ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz related to us, saying: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of Manṣūr, on the authority of Mujāhid concerning His statement "And recite to them the tidings of the two sons of Adam in truth, when they both offered a sacrifice," he said: Hābīl and Qābīl. Hābīl offered a young goat from the most beautiful of his flock, and Qābīl offered a crop from his field. He said: The fire consumed the young goat and did not consume the crop, so he said: "I will surely kill you!" He said: "Allah accepts only from the God-fearing."
11710 – Al-Ḥārith related to me, saying: ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz related to us, saying: a man who heard Mujāhid related to us, concerning His statement "And recite to them the tidings of the two sons of Adam in truth, when they both offered a sacrifice," he said: They are Hābīl and Qābīl from the loins of Adam. They offered a sacrifice; one offered a sheep from his flock, and the other offered vegetables. It was accepted from the owner of the sheep, so he said to his companion: "I will surely kill you!" And he killed him. Then Allah shackled one of his legs — from his shin to his thigh — until the Day of Resurrection, and turned his face toward the sun wherever it turns. In winter there is an enclosure of snow over him, and in summer there is over him an enclosure of fire, and with him are seven angels; whenever one angel goes, the other comes.
11711 – Sufyān related to us, saying: my father related to us, on the authority of Sufyān — h, and Hannād related to us, saying: Wakīʿ related to us, on the authority of Sufyān — on the authority of ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿUthmān ibn Khuthaym, on the authority of Mujāhid, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: "And recite to them the tidings of the two sons of Adam in truth, when they both offered a sacrifice, and it was accepted from one of them but was not accepted from the other," he said: This one offered a ram, and that one offered heaps of food, and it was accepted from one of them. He said: it was accepted from the owner of the sheep, and it was not accepted from the other.
11712 – Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: ʿAbd Allāh related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: "And recite to them the tidings of the two sons of Adam in truth, when they both offered a sacrifice, and it was accepted from one of them but was not accepted from the other," there were two men from the children of Adam, and it was accepted from one of them and not accepted from the other.
11713 – Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: ʿUbayd Allāh related to us, on the authority of Fuḍayl ibn Marzūq, on the authority of ʿAṭiyya: "And recite to them the tidings of the two sons of Adam in truth," he said: The name of one of them was Qābīl, and the other Hābīl; one was a shepherd and the other a farmer. This one offered from the best of his flock a lamb, and that one offered from the worst of his crop. He said: Then the fire descended and consumed the lamb, so he said to his brother: "I will surely kill you!"
11714 – Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Salama related to us, on the authority of Ibn Isḥāq, on the authority of some people of knowledge of the first Book: that Adam commanded his son Qābīl to marry his twin sister born with Hābīl, and commanded Hābīl to marry the twin sister born with Qābīl. Hābīl complied with that and consented, but Qābīl refused that and detested it, out of contempt for the sister of Hābīl, and he desired his own sister over Hābīl, and said: "We are of the birth of Paradise, and they both are of the birth of the earth, and I have more right to my sister!" — And some people of knowledge of the first Book say: The sister of Qābīl was of the most beautiful of people, so he withheld her greedily from his brother and desired her for himself. Allah knows best what was true of it. — Then his father said to him: "O my son, indeed she is not lawful for you!" But Qābīl refused to accept that from the words of his father, so his father said to him: "O my son, then offer a sacrifice, and your brother Hābīl will offer a sacrifice; from whichever of you two Allah accepts the sacrifice, he has more right to her." Qābīl was charged with sowing the earth, and Hābīl with tending the cattle. Qābīl offered wheat, and Hābīl offered firstlings of the firstlings of his flock — and some say: he offered a cow. Then Allah, great and mighty, sent a white fire that consumed the sacrifice of Hābīl and left the sacrifice of Qābīl, and in that manner the sacrifice was accepted when it was accepted.
11715 – Mūsā ibn Hārūn related to me, saying: ʿAmr ibn Ḥammād related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī, in what he mentioned, on the authority of Abū Mālik and on the authority of Abū Ṣāliḥ, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās — and on the authority of Murra, on the authority of Ibn Masʿūd — and on the authority of some people of the companions of the Prophet ﷺ: No child was born to Adam but that a girl was born with him. He used to marry the boy of this pregnancy to the girl of that other pregnancy, and the girl of this pregnancy to the boy of that other pregnancy. Until two sons were born to him who were called Qābīl and Hābīl. Qābīl was a farmer and Hābīl was a cattle-keeper. Qābīl was the elder of the two, and he had a sister who was more beautiful than the sister of Hābīl. Hābīl wished to marry the sister of Qābīl, but he refused it to him and said: "She is my sister, born with me, and she is more beautiful than your sister, and I have more right to marry her!" His father commanded him to marry her to Hābīl, but he refused. And they both offered a sacrifice to Allah to see which of the two had more right to the girl. Adam had departed from them that day to Mecca to behold it, for Allah — exalted is His remembrance — had said to Adam: "O Adam, do you know that I have a House on the earth?" He said: "O Allah, no!" He said: "Indeed I have a House in Mecca, so go to it." Then Adam said to the heaven: "Guard my children in faithfulness," but it refused. And he said it to the earth, but it refused. And he said it to the mountains, but they refused. And he said it to Qābīl, and he said: "Yes, go and return, and you will find your family as it pleases you." When Adam departed, they offered a sacrifice. Qābīl used to boast over him, and said: "I have more right to her than you, she is my sister, and I am older than you, and I am the deputy of my father!" When they offered, Hābīl offered a fat yearling, and Qābīl offered a bundle of ears of grain, and he found among it a large ear, which he rubbed off and ate. Then the fire descended and consumed the sacrifice of Hābīl and left the sacrifice of Qābīl. Thereupon he became wrathful and said: "I will surely kill you, so that you do not marry my sister!" Then Hābīl said: "Allah accepts only from the God-fearing."
11716 – Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, his statement: "And recite to them the tidings of the two sons of Adam in truth," it has been mentioned to us that they were Hābīl and Qābīl. As for Hābīl, he was a cattle-keeper; he turned to the best of his cattle and offered it, and a fire descended upon it that consumed it. When the sacrifice was accepted from them, a fire descended upon it that consumed it; and when it was returned to them, the birds and the beasts of prey ate it. As for Qābīl, he was a farmer; he turned to the worst of his crop and offered it, but the fire did not descend upon it. Thereupon he envied his brother and said: "I will surely kill you!" He said: "Allah accepts only from the God-fearing."
11717 – Al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, saying: Maʿmar informed us, on the authority of Qatāda concerning His statement: "And recite to them the tidings of the two sons of Adam in truth," he said: They are Hābīl and Qābīl. He said: One of them was a farmer and the other a cattle-keeper. One brought the best of his property, and the other brought the worst of his property. Then the fire came and consumed the sacrifice of one of them, namely Hābīl, and left the sacrifice of the other. Thereupon he envied him and said: "I will surely kill you!"
11718 – Sufyān related to us, saying: Yaḥyā ibn Ādam related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of Manṣūr, on the authority of Mujāhid: "when they both offered a sacrifice," he said: This one offered a crop, and that one a young goat, and the fire left the crop and consumed the young goat.
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Others said: The two who offered a sacrifice, and whose story Allah — exalted is His remembrance — related in this verse, were two men of the children of Israel, not of the children of Adam from his own loins.
Mention of who said that:
11719 – Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Sahl ibn Yūsuf related to us, on the authority of ʿAmr, on the authority of al-Ḥasan, who said: The two men in the Qurʾān about whom Allah said: "And recite to them the tidings of the two sons of Adam in truth," were of the children of Israel, and they were not the sons of Adam from his own loins. For sacrifice existed only among the children of Israel, and Adam was the first to die.
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Abū Jaʿfar said: The correct of the two statements concerning that is, in my judgment, that the two who offered the sacrifice were the sons of Adam from his own loins, not of his descendants among the children of Israel. For Allah, mighty and exalted, is far too exalted above addressing His servants with something that brings them no benefit. And those who were addressed with this verse knew that the offering of a sacrifice to Allah occurred only among the children of Adam, and not among the angels, the devils, and the rest of created beings besides them. And since that was known to them, it is reasonable that — if by the "two sons of Adam" whom Allah mentioned in His Book, He did not mean his two sons from his own loins — He, mighty is His majesty, would by mentioning it have brought them no benefit that they did not already possess. And since it is not permissible that He would address them with an address by which He brings them no meaning, it is known that by the "two sons of Adam" He meant [the two sons of Adam from his own loins], not the sons of his sons whose lineage is far removed from him — alongside the agreement of the people of the reports, the biographies, and the knowledge of exegesis, that they were both the sons of Adam from his own loins, in the time and the era of Adam. And that suffices as a witness.
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And we have mentioned many of those from whom this statement is transmitted, and we shall mention many who have not been mentioned, if Allah wills.
11720 – Mujāhid ibn Mūsā related to us, saying: Yazīd ibn Hārūn related to us, saying: Ḥusām ibn al-Miṣakk related to us, on the authority of ʿAmmār al-Duhnī, on the authority of Sālim ibn Abī l-Jaʿd, who said: When the son of Adam killed his brother, Adam remained grieving for a hundred years without laughing. Then it was come to him and said: "May Allah give you life and gladden you (ḥayyāka Llāh wa-bayyāka)!" — and "bayyāka" means: made you laugh.
11721 – Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Salama related to us, on the authority of Ghiyāth ibn Ibrāhīm, on the authority of Abū Isḥāq al-Hamdānī, who said: ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib — may Allah be pleased with him — said: When the son of Adam killed his brother, Adam wept and said:
The lands changed and whoever is upon them, so that the color of the earth became dusty and ugly. Changed is all that has color and taste, and the joy of the fair countenance has diminished.
Then Adam — peace be upon him — was answered:
O father of Hābīl, they are both slain, and the living has become like the slaughtered dead. And he came with a malice that was within him out of fear, and he came with it, screaming.
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Abū Jaʿfar said: As for the ruling concerning their offering of what they offered, the correct concerning that is to say: Allah — exalted is His remembrance — informed His servants about them both that they had offered a sacrifice, but He did not inform that their offering of what they offered was by the command of Allah to them therein, nor without His command. It is possible that it was by the command of Allah to them therein, and it is possible that it was without His command. Yet however it may be, they offered that only out of seeking nearness to Allah, if Allah wills.
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As for the explanation of His statement: "He said: I will surely kill you," its meaning is: the one whose sacrifice was not accepted said to the one whose sacrifice was accepted: "I will surely kill you." He omitted the mention of "the one whose sacrifice was accepted" and "the one to whom the sacrifice was returned," because the mention of them both already given made the repetition unnecessary. Likewise He omitted the mention of "the one whose sacrifice was accepted" at His statement "He said: Allah accepts only from the God-fearing."
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And in accordance with what we said concerning that, the report is transmitted on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās.
11722 – Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to us, saying: my father related to me, saying: my uncle related to me, saying: my father related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: "He said: I will surely kill you," then his brother said to him: "What is my fault? Allah accepts only from the God-fearing."
11723 – Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said concerning His statement: "Allah accepts only from the God-fearing," he said: He says: Had you feared Allah in your sacrifice, it would have been accepted from you. You came with a falsified sacrifice, with the worst of what you have, while I came with a pure sacrifice, with the best of what I have. He said: And he had said: Allah accepts from you and does not accept from me!
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And by His statement "from the God-fearing" He means: from those who feared Allah and were wary of Him, by fulfilling the obligations He imposed upon them, and abstaining from the acts of disobedience against Him that He forbade them.
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And a group of the people of exegesis have said: "the God-fearing" in this place are those who feared shirk (the ascribing of partners to Allah).
Mention of who said that:
11724 – Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Yaḥyā ibn Wāḍiḥ related to us, saying: ʿUbayd ibn Sulaymān related to us, on the authority of al-Ḍaḥḥāk, his statement: "Allah accepts only from the God-fearing," those who fear shirk.
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And we have already explained earlier the meaning of "the sacrifice" (al-qurbān) — namely that it is the fuʿlān form of the speaker's statement "qarraba" (he brought near), just as "al-furqān" is the fuʿlān form of "faraqa," and "al-ʿudwān" of "ʿadā."
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And the sacrifices of the past communities before our community were like the alms and the obligatory alms (zakāh) among us, except that among their sacrifices the accepted and the non-accepted were distinguished — according to what is mentioned — by the consuming by fire of what was accepted of it, and the leaving by fire of what was not accepted of it. And "the sacrifice" in our community is the good deeds: the prayer (ṣalāh), the fasting, the charity to the needy, and the fulfillment of the obligatory alms (zakāh). And there is no way in this worldly life to know the accepted of it and the returned.
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And it has been transmitted concerning ʿĀmir ibn ʿAbd Allāh al-ʿAnbarī that he wept when death drew near to him. It was said to him: "What makes you weep? You were such and such!" He said: "What makes me weep is that I hear Allah saying: 'Allah accepts only from the God-fearing.'"
11725 – Muḥammad ibn ʿUmar al-Muqaddamī related that to me, saying: Saʿīd ibn ʿĀmir related to me, on the authority of Hammām, on the authority of someone he mentioned, on the authority of ʿĀmir.
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And some of them have said: the sacrifice of the God-fearing is the prayer.
11726 – Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Ḥafṣ ibn Ghiyāth related to us, on the authority of ʿImrān ibn Sulaymān, on the authority of ʿAdī ibn Thābit, who said: The sacrifice of the God-fearing was the prayer.