Prophet Adam Part 6- Qabeel and Habeel
Qabeel and Habeel were Prophet Adam’s children who were a part of the first two set of twins that Adam and Eve had. As discussed in part 5 – the twins would marry from the other set of twins that were born at a different time. Based on that Qabeel would marry Habeel’s female twin and Habeel would marry Qabeel’s.
However when Qabeel and Habeel reached the age of marriage Qabeel did not want to marry Habeel’s twin because she was not as beautiful as his twin. Qabeel refused and rebelled against his father’s wishes and became greedy and destructive.
Prophet Adam wanted to maintain peace in his children and made dua to Allah for help. Allah SWT told Prophet Adam that each of his son’s needs to give an item in sacrifice. Whoever would give the most acceptable sacrifice would have the decision on his side.
Habeel offered his best camel for sacrifice while Qabeel offered the worst of grains that he had. Due to his insincerity in the sacrifice and greed, Allah SWT did not accept his sacrifice. He threatened to kill his brother and said he refused to see him happy while he (Qabeel) is unhappy, while his brother calmly told him to think about what he is doing.
No advice helped Qabeel and he went forward with killing his brother. In various Hadith it is said that this was the first murder. Prophet SAW said “No soul is killed unjustly but the first son of Adam bears a part of that sin. Because he was the first to initiate this tradition of killing.” (Bukhari).
After Qabeel had committed the murder in anger and spite, he came back to reality and realized what he had done. He felt guilty but also did not know what to do with his brother’s body. It was then that Allah SWT sent two crows to demonstrate for Qabeel on what he should do and one crow buried the other . Qabeel went ahead and buried his brother. This was the first murder/death and burial of mankind on the earth.
Lesson's Learned:
Physical Beauty:
Physical Beauty has been deceiving humans from the beginning of time. It was mere physical beauty that caused Qabeel to rebel. It is important to remember that physical beauty is short lived whether it is a male or female. Physical beauty should never be the only reason for making any decision. It can be one of the reasons but not the only one.
Trial of Prophet Adam:
Imagine the pain of Prophet Adam losing a son – and not because he was ill but because his brother (prophet Adam’s) other son killed him. This is one of the first examples that the trials of Prophets were far greater.
Jealousy and Envy:
Jealousy and envy was one of the main reasons why Qabeel ended up killing Habeel. It is an inner evil that can cause great destruction if acted upon. As a believer we should be happy with the success of others and if we want the same success we should work hard and make dua not try to snatch it away from others.
Same Parents- Different Behaviors
Qabeel and Habeel both had Prophet Adam and Eve as their parents. They both got the same morals and values yet chose to behave differently. This is a clear example that destiny and qadr play a major role in life and we should always make dua to Allah to keep us on the right path.
Habeel's Reaction
Habeel’s patience with his brother and explaining to him despite his hatred shows that he had a very forgiving quality. He could have rebelled too , when he was asked to offer a sacrifice. He could have said why should I offer a sacrifice to be able to marry someone who I am already supposed to marry. Instead he complied and followed on the orders of Allah and his father Adam.
