Both sons offered a sacrifice
Allah tells the Prophet ﷺ to recite the true story of the two sons of Adam عليه السلام. Each son offered a sacrifice, but only one offering was accepted.
Children of the Prophets عليهم السلام
The Two Sons of Adam عليه السلام
The Qur’an tells the story of two sons of Prophet Adam عليه السلام: one whose offering was accepted, and one who became the first to open the path of wrongful killing on earth.
Quick facts
The details below separate what is directly stated in the Qur’an and authentic hadith from names commonly mentioned in tafsir.
Relation
Two sons of Prophet Adam عليه السلام
Main Qur’an passage
Surah al-Ma’idah 5:27–31
Names in Qur’an
Not named directly in the Qur’an
Known names in tafsir
Commonly mentioned as Habil and Qabil
Exact date
No exact date is given in the Qur’an or authentic hadith
Main lesson
Allah accepts from the people of taqwa
Who were they?
They were two children of Prophet Adam عليه السلام. The Qur’an calls them “the two sons of Adam” and gives their story in Surah al-Ma’idah. Their personal names are not mentioned directly in the Qur’an.
In tafsir and Islamic history, they are commonly known as Habil and Qabil. Many scholars mention Habil as the righteous brother whose offering was accepted, and Qabil as the brother who killed him. Because the Qur’an itself does not name them, this page keeps the Qur’anic wording first and explains the famous names separately.
About dates
No exact year, age, or calendar date is given for this event in the Qur’an or authentic hadith. It belongs to the earliest human family history after Adam عليه السلام, but a precise date should not be invented.
What the Qur’an tells us
Surah al-Ma’idah gives the story in a short but powerful sequence.
One brother became jealous
The son whose offering was not accepted threatened to kill his brother. The accepted brother answered with faith, reminding him that Allah accepts only from the people of taqwa.
The righteous brother refused wrongdoing
He did not answer evil with evil. He said that even if his brother stretched his hand to kill him, he would not stretch his hand back to kill his brother, because he feared Allah, Lord of the worlds.
The first killing happened
The jealous brother allowed his own self to push him into killing his brother. The Qur’an shows how envy, anger, and lack of taqwa can destroy a person from inside before the action appears outside.
Allah sent a crow as a lesson
Allah sent a crow scratching the ground, showing the killer how to cover his brother. He then regretted what he had done and saw his own helplessness.
The authentic hadith connection
The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ taught that whenever a person is killed wrongfully, a share of that burden falls upon the first son of Adam, because he was the first to begin killing. This hadith is reported in Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim.
This does not mean later killers are excused. Each person remains responsible for his own crime. The hadith teaches the frightening weight of starting an evil path that others continue to follow.
Lessons from the story
The story is not only family history. It teaches the condition of the heart before the action of the hand.
Acceptance is not only about the action
Both sons offered something, but Allah accepted from one. The Qur’an points the heart toward taqwa, sincerity, and obedience.
Envy can become a fire if it is not stopped
The rejected son did not correct himself. He turned against his brother. This makes the story a warning against jealousy and blaming others for one’s own spiritual failure.
The believer does not rush toward bloodshed
The righteous brother refused to become an aggressor. His words show fear of Allah and restraint at a moment when anger could have ruled.
A bad example can carry a heavy burden
Authentic hadith teaches that the first son of Adam carries a share of the burden for every wrongful killing, because he began that evil path on earth.
What should not be added
For a clean Islamic history page, avoid adding exact dates, invented conversations, detailed ages, physical descriptions, or family details that are not established through reliable sources. The Qur’an gives the message with enough guidance: taqwa, envy, restraint, wrongdoing, regret, and the heavy burden of beginning evil.
References
- Qur’an: Surah al-Ma’idah 5:27–31, the story of Adam’s two sons, their offerings, the threat, the killing, and the crow.
- Hadith: Sahih al-Bukhari 6867 and Sahih Muslim 1677a, about the first son of Adam carrying a share of the burden for wrongful killing.
- Tafsir: Tafsir Ibn Kathir on Surah al-Ma’idah 5:27 mentions that many scholars identified the two sons as Habil and Qabil.