ended than another began. He also had to toil to sustain himself. He
had to protecthimself with clothes and weapons and protect his wife
and children from wild beasts. Above all, he had to struggle withthe
spirit of evil. Iblees (Satan), the cause of his expulsion from
Paradise continued to beguile him and his children in order to have
them thrown into the eternal Hellfire. The battle between good and
evil is continuous, but those who follow Allaah's guidance should fear
nothing while those who disobey Allaah and follow Iblees will be
damned along with him.
Aadam grasped all of this and with the knowledge of this challenge
began his life on the earth. The only relief for his grief was that as
master of the earth he had to make it yield to him. He was the one who
had to perpetuate, cultivate, construct and populate the earth. He had
to procreate and raise the children necessary to change and improve
the world.
The pinnacle of earthly bliss was reached when Aadam and Hawaa', may
Allaah exalt their mention, witnessed the birth of their first set of
twins. Aadam was a devoted father and Hawaa', may Allaah exalt her
mention, a contentedmother. The twins were Qaabeel (Cain) and his
sister. Later, Hawaa', may Allaah exalt her mention, gave birth to a
second setof twins, Haabeel (Abel) and his sister. The family enjoyed
the bounties andfruits of the earth provided by their Lord. The
children grew up to be strong and healthy young adults. Qaabeel tilled
the land while Haabeel raised cattle.
The time arrived when the two young men desired life partners. Thiswas
part of Allaah's plan for mankind, to multiply and form nations with
different cultures and colours. Allaah revealed to Aadam that he
should marry each son to the twin sister of the other. Aadam
instructed his children according to Allaah's command, but Qaabeel was
displeased with the partner chosen for him, for Haabeel's twin sister
was not as beautiful as his own.
It appears that since the beginning of time, physical beauty has been
a factor in the attraction between man and woman. This attraction
caused Qaabeel to envy his brother Haabeel. He rebelled against
Allaah's command by refusing to accept his father's advice.
Aadam was in a dilemma. He wanted peace and harmony in his family, so
he invoked Allaah for help. Allaah commanded that each son offer a
sacrifice, and he whose offering was accepted would have right on his
side. Haabeeloffered his best camel while Qaabeel offered hisworst
grain. His sacrifice was not accepted by Allaah because of his
disobedience to his father and the insincerityin his offering.
This enraged Qaabeel even further. Realising that his hopes of
marrying his own beautiful sister were fading, he threatened
hisbrother. "I will kill you! I refuse to see you happy while I remain
unhappy!"he said.
Haabeel, feeling sorry forhis brother, replied: "It would be more
proper for you, my brother, to search for the cause of your
unhappiness and then walk in the way of peace. Allaah accepts deeds
only from those who serve and fear Him, not from those who reject His
commands."
Haabeel was intelligent, obedient, and always ready to obey the will
of Allaah. This contrasted sharply with his brother who was arrogant,
selfish and disobedient to his Lord. Haabeel did not fear his
brother's threats, but he did not want his brother to be hurt. Allaah
had blessed Haabeel with purity and compassion.
Hoping to dispel the hatred seething in his brother, Haabeel said:"My
brother, you are deviating from the right path and are sinful in your
decisions. It is betterthat you repent to Allaah and forget about your
foolish threat. But if you do not, then I will leave the matter in the
hands of Allaah. You alone will bear the consequence of your sin, for
the Fire is the reward of the wrong-doers."
This brotherly plea did nothing to lessen the hatred in Qaabeel's
heart,nor did he show fear of Allaah's punishment. Evenfamilial
considerations were cast aside. Qaabeel struck his brother with a
stone killing him instantly. This was the first death and the first
criminal act committed by man on earth.
When Haabeel had not appeared for some time, Aadam began to search for
him but found no trace of his beloved son. He asked Qaabeel about
Haabeel's whereabouts. Qaabeel insolently replied that he was neither
his brother's keeper nor his protector. From these words his father
understood that Haabeel was dead and Aadam was filled withgrief.
Meanwhile, Qaabeel did not know what to do with his brother's
corpse.He carried it on his back wandering from place to place trying
to hide it. Hisanger had now subsided and his conscience was saddled
with guilt. He was tiring under the burden of the corpse which had
started to have a stench. As a mercy,and to show that dignity could be
retained even indeath, Allaah sent two ravens that began fighting,
causing the death of one. The victorious bird used its beak and claws
to dig a hole in the ground, rolledits victim into it and covered it
with sand.
Witnessing this, Qaabeel was overcome with shame and remorse."Woe unto
me!" he exclaimed. "I was unable to do what this raven hasdone, that
is to hide my brother's corpse." Qaabeel then buried his brother. This
was also thefirst burial of man.
Allaah, the Almighty, revealed (what means): "And recite to them the
story of Aadam's two sons, in truth, when they both offered a
sacrifice [to Allaah], 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, Allaah only accepts from the
righteous [who fear Him]. If you should raise your hand against me to
kill me - I shall not raise my hand against you to kill you. Indeed, I
fear Allaah, Lord of the worlds. Indeed, I want you to obtain
[thereby] my sin and your sin so you will be among the companions of
the Fire. And that is the recompense of wrongdoers.' And his soul
permitted to him the murder of his brother, so he killed him and
became among the losers. Then Allaah sent a crow searching [i.e.
scratching] in the ground to show him how to hide the disgrace of his
brother. He said: 'O woe to me! Have I failed to be like this crow and
hide the disgrace [i.e. body] of my brother?' And he became of the
regretful." [Quran 5:27-31]
Aadam was utterly grief-stricken by the loss of his two sons. One was
dead; the other was won over by the devil. Aadam prayed for his son
and turned to mundane matters, for he had to toilfor his sustenance.
At the same time he was a Prophet advising his children and
grandchildren, telling them about Allaah and calling them to believe
inHim. He told them about Iblees and warned them by recounting his own
experience with the deviland how the devil had tempted Qaabeel to kill
his brother.
Years and years passed, Aadam grew old and his children spread all
over the earth. Imaam Muhammad Ibn Is-Haaq related that when Aadam's
death drew near, he appointed his son Sheeth (Seth) to be his
successor and taught him the hours of the day and night along with
their appropriate acts of worship.
Ubayy Ibn Ka'b said:"When Aadam's death was near, he said to his
children: 'O my children! Indeed I feel an appetite for the fruits of
Paradise .'So they went away searching for what Aadam had requested.
They met withthe angels, who had withthem his shroud and what he was
to be embalmed with. They said to them: 'O Children of Aadam! What are
you searching for? What do you want? Where are yougoing?' They
replied: 'Ourfather is sick and has an appetite for the fruits of
Paradise .' The angels said to them: 'Go back, for your father is
going to meet his end soon.' So they returned with the angels and when
Hawaa',may Allaah exalt her mention, saw them, she recognised them.
She tried to hide herself behind Aadam . He said to her. 'Leave me
alone. I came before you;do not go between me and the angels of my
Lord.' So they took his soul, embalmed and wrapped him, dug the grave
and laid him in it. They prayed for him and put him in his grave,
saying: 'O Children of Aadam! This is your tradition at the time of
death.'"
Before his death, Aadam reassured his childrenthat Allaah would not
leave man alone on the earth, but would send Hisprophets to guide
them. The prophets would havedifferent names, traits and miracles, but
they would be united in one thing - the call to worship Allaah Alone.
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