THE WORD OF GOD
From The Scriptures
THE Quran is the book of God. It has been preserved in its
entirety since its revelation to the Prophet of Islam between
610 and 632 A.D. It is a book that brings glad tidings to mankind,
along with divine admonition, and stresses the importance of man’s
discovery of the Truth on a spiritual and intellectual level.
Translated from Arabic and commentary
by Maulana Wahiduddin Khan
Relate to them, the true story of the two sons of Adam. When they both presented an offering, it was accepted from one of them and not from the other. The latter said, ‘I shall kill you!’ The former said, ‘God accepts [things] only from the righteous. If you raise your hand to kill me, I will not raise mine to kill you. I fear God, the Lord of the Universe, and I want you to bear your sins against me as well as your own sins and become an inhabitant of the Fire. Such is the reward of the wrongdoers.’ (5: 27-29)
The real reward for the deeds performed for the sake of God will be given in the Hereafter. However, sometimes even in this world certain occurrences show whether human actions have gained God’s approval. This happened in the case of Adam’s sons, Abel and Cain (Habil and Qabil). Abel’s offerings from his flocks of sheep and goats were accepted by God and he was duly blessed, but Cain’s offerings of his agricultural produce were not, and he remained unblessed. Cain then became so jealous of his younger brother that he threatened to kill him. Abel said that Cain’s offering had been rejected because Cain had no heartfelt fear of God and should, therefore, reform himself instead of threatening him. But, jealousy and enmity blur the truth and one can think only of how to eliminate one’s supposed enemy.
Abel told Cain that he might raise his hand to murder him, but that he would not retaliate, because God had prohibited any fighting between one Muslim and another. Even if a Muslim wanted to assassinate his brother, the brother should not consider it legitimate to kill his attacker. This obviated the mutual clash which was otherwise inevitable, as well as the resulting endless chain of action and reaction in Muslim society. If two Muslims are bent on each other’s destruction, the guilt is divided between the two. But if one Muslim carries out his intention, while the other remains immersed in prayer, the attacker will not only shoulder the burden of his own sin, but also that of any sin which his victim might have committed had he not remained patient and prayerful.
His lower self persuaded him to kill his brother, and he killed him and he became one of the lost. Then God sent a raven, which scratched the earth, so that He might show him how to hide the corpse of his brother. ‘Alas!’ he cried, ‘Am I not able even to be like this raven, so that I may hide the corpse of my brother?’ And he repented. (5: 30-31)
Whatever a man receives in this world is bestowed by God. Therefore, one who, out of being jealous inflicts harm upon another who is better situated in life attempts, in effect, to nullify God’s plan. Such a person is to some extent given the scope to do whatever he likes in this world of trial, but in the eyes of God, he is the worst sinner. Abel drew the attention of his elder brother Cain to this fact. This created some hesitation in Cain’s mind. He realised that if he was bent on killing his younger brother, it was without any justification. But the feeling of jealousy in him did not cool down. He invented excuses to justify his action. Ultimately, his inner struggle resolved itself by returning to his self-devised justification and he proceeded to kill his brother. The voice of conscience is the voice of God. A question arising in a man’s conscience about any action of his amounts in fact to his facing a test. A man is successful if he gives a positive response to the voice of his conscience, but if, in taking the shelter of false excuses, he suppresses the voice of his conscience, then he has failed.
It has been recorded in a tradition of the Prophet that transgression and the killing of kindred are sins for which punishment starts right here in this world. The punishment for the unjustified atrocity committed by Cain against his brother was given to him not only in the Hereafter but in this very world where he was immediately plunged into misery. Cain, after committing the murder, was afflicted by his lower leg becoming stuck to his thigh. He remained lying on the ground, unattended and uncared for, until he died in ignominy and distress (Tafsir ibn Kathir). Cain was instructed by means of a crow how to bury the dead body under the ground. This points to the fact that man was less knowledgeable than the animals about the ways of nature. And, if he follows his emotions, there is no worse transgressor than he. Furthermore, it is implied that if, rather than committing a crime, a man buries the intention in his heart, he will not have to face the shame of it afterwards. A man should curb and bury his bad intentions in his heart and not allow them to emerge and become a reality. A man, before bringing his evil designs to fruition, has simply to bury the intention. If, not, he will be confronted with the problem of burying the dead body, which, even after burial, will be treated by God as not having been buried.
That was why We laid it down for the Children of Israel that whoever killed a human being — except as a punishment for murder or for spreading corruption in the land — shall be regarded as having killed all mankind, and that whoever saved a human life shall be regarded as having saved all mankind. Our messengers came to them with clear signs, but many of them continued to commit excesses in the land. (5: 32)
When one person kills another, he is the killer of not only one person but of all human beings, because he contravenes the law of respect for human life upon which the lives of all human beings depend. Similarly, when someone saves another from oppression, he is not the saviour of just one person but of all human beings, because he is protecting the principle of respect for life of all human beings, which holds that nobody has the right to raise his hand to another. If one person attacks the honour, property or life of another, it means that abnormal conditions have developed in the society. It is necessary for Muslims to look at even one incident of this nature as if the life, property and honour of all people are in danger. In a society, the tradition of respect for each other’s life is formed as a result of a long history, and once this tradition is violated, it will be a very long time before it can be revived. Those who establish the tradition of violence in a society are the worst enemies of that society.
Try your best to evolve your personality
in terms of spiritual and intellectual development.
But as far as your material requirements are concerned,
adopt the need-based formula and not
the greed-based formula.