The Killer (1)
The crow said, "Time changes everything. People's hair turns white as they grow older, but one thing always stays the same, the feathers of the crow that never change color. If anyone experienced what we, the crows, had experienced, his hair would never turn white. As a creature, my ancestor was the only eyewitness to the first crime of murder committed on the earth. My ancestor witnessed the first drop of human blood that was shed treacherously. I also knew that Allah was witnessing it all.
And I know the story of the first time killing when I heard a teacher told his young apprentice about the story. They were sitting under a tree when I was perched at the branch of the tree. The teacher said, "O young man, know that Adam was the father of mankind. He was created by the Hand of Allah Who breathed out of His Soul into him, Who made the Angels prostrate themselves before him, Who taught him names of everything, and Who made him dwell in His spacious Paradise.
Once, Abu Dharr asked the Prophet (ﷺ) about how many prophets of Allah, He (ﷺ) said: 'One hundred twenty-four thousands.' Abu Dharr then asked, 'O Allah's Messenger! How many were the Messengers among them?' He (ﷺ) said: 'Three hundred and thirteen, a great number!' Abu Dharr asked: 'O Allah's Messenger! Who was the first among them?' He (ﷺ) said: 'Adam.' Abu Dharr said: 'O Allah's Messenger! Was he a Prophet sent with a Message?' He (ﷺ) said: 'Yes, Allah the Almighty created him with His Hand, then, breathed into him out of His Soul, then, He fashioned him (in a very proper manner). "
The young apprentice said, "O master, tell me about Adam, what happened in Adam's time after he was cast down to earth?" The teacher said, "The first of event was the killing by Cain of his brother Abel. The story of Cain and Abel was told by Allah to our Prophet (ﷺ) in the Qur'an Surah Al-Ma'idah[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]."
According to Ibn Mas'ud and some other companions, every boy born to Adam was born together with a girl. Adam used to marry the boy of one pregnancy to the girl of another, and vice versa. According to Ibn Ishaq, the total number of children born to Adam by Eve was forty ; that is, male and female children born in twenty pregnancies . Some names of fifteen men and four women, among them Cain and his twin sister Qalima, Abel and his twin sister Labudha, Adam's daughter Ashuth and her twin brother, Seth and his twin sister, Hazurah and her twin brother, born when Adam was one hundred and thirty years old, Adam's son Ayad and his twin sister, Adam's son Balagh and his twin sister, Adam's son Athati and his twin sister, Adam's son Tawbah and his twin sister, Adam's son Banan and his twin sister, Adam's son Shabubah and his twin sister, Adam's son Hayan and his twin sister, Adam's son Darabis and his twin sister, Adam's son Hadaz and his twin sister, Adam's son Yahud and his twin sister, Adam's son Sandal and his twin sister, and Adam's son Baraq and his twin sister-every male of them born together with a female as twins. However, nothing is sure of their names or numbers. Only Allah knows best and no one else can know their exact number!
Two boys, called Cain and Abel, were born to him. Cain was a farmer and Abel a herdsman. Cain was the older of the two. He had a sister who was more beautiful than Abel's sister. Abel sought to marry Cain's sister, but Cain refused and said, 'She is my sister born together with me, and she is more beautiful than your sister. I deserve to marry her more than you do. His father ordered Cain to marry her to Abel. However, he refused. Then, Adam ordered Abel and Cain to offer a sacrifice to Allah.
Cain and Abel offered a sacrifice to Allah to find out who was more deserving of the girl. On that day, Adam was absent, as he had gone to have a look at Mecca. Allah had said to Adam, 'Adam, do you know that I have a House on earth?' Adam replied, 'Indeed, I do not.' Allah said, 'I have a House in Mecca. So go there!' Adam said to heaven, 'Guard my two children safely!' But heaven refused. He addressed the earth with the same request, but the earth refused. He addressed the mountains, and they also refused. He then spoke to Cain, who said, 'Yes! You shall go, and when you return, you will be happy with the state in which you will find your family.'
When Adam had left, Cain and Abel offered a sacrifice. Cain had always boasted of being better than Abel, saying, 'I am more deserving of her, because she is my sister, I am older than you, and I am the legatee (wasi) of my father. For their sacrifices, Abel offered the best and fattest of his animals, and Cain offered some of his agricultural produce. Allah sent down a white fire which consumed Abel's offering, leaving that of Cain. In this way, the acceptance of an offering to Allah used to be indicated. When Allah accepted Abel's offering, indicating the decision that Cain's sister was meant for Abel, Cain became angry. Haughtiness got the better of him, and Satan gained mastery over him.
Whereupon Cain got angry and said, 'I shall kill you to prevent you from marrying my sister.' Abel said, 'Allah accepts only from those 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 Allah, 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." It was said that Abel was stronger than Cain, but he did not intend to fight against his brother though he was far stronger and tougher than his brother. He refused to stretch his hand against his brother to kill him due to his piety and God-fearing. It indicated his good morals and ethics, his fear from Allah, and perfect piety that he may harm his brother, in contrast with the odious deed intended by his brother, Cain.
Cain now sought Abel in order to kill him, and young Abel tried to escape from him on the mountain tops . But one day, Cain came upon him while he was herding his small cattle on a mountain and was asleep. He lifted a big rock and crushed Abel's head with it. So he died. Cain let him lie naked, not knowing about burials. Allah then sent two ravens that were brothers, and they fought with one another. When the one killed the other, it dug a hole for it and covered it with soil. When Cain saw that, he said: "Woe to me! Am I incapable of being like that raven, so as to conceal the secret parts of my brother? " Then, he buried the body of his dead brother and covered it with earth. This event described in the Qur'an Surah al-Mai'dah[5]:30-31, "And his soul permitted to him the murder of his brother, so he killed him and became among the losers. Then Allah sent a crow searching 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 body of my brother?" And he became of the regretful."
Adam became very sick at heart and felt great sorrow for his dead son, Abel. According to Mujahid, Cain was brought punishment very soon afterwards. On the same day he killed his brother, Abel, his foot was tied up to his thighbone and his face was forcibly directed up to the sun disk. His face used to go where the sun goes as a way of punishment and penalty in return for what he had done to his own brother."
Then the crow said, "I know that the children of Cain, the first murderer, would fill the earth. I know that the conflict between them and the children of the kind martyr Abel would never stop. Maybe even the father's tragedy would be repeated with the children. All this I know but I am ignorant of the wisdom behind that. It is not my business to know, it is not my job to know why. Maybe the human knows."
(Part 2)
