- 04 Nov 2025
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What is the Ruling on Qābīl (Cain)Who Killed His Brother Hābīl (Abel)?
Is it correct to say that he was a polytheist?
Why did Abel surrender to his brother Cain and not defend himself?
Answer by
Dr. Hani Al-Siba’i
The Question
I received a question from a noble and generous professor, which someone had sent to him, and he forwarded it to me to answer, out of his good opinion of this humble servant.
The text of the question:
“Peace be upon you, … I have an inquiry to send it to one of the scholars well-versed in religion. Cain killed Abel… and he was the son of the first prophet in humanity, and there was no polytheism on the face of the earth until the time of Idris and Noah. And Allah Almighty said that He forgives all sins except associating partners with Him. So was Cain a polytheist? Because we learned that Cain’s punishment is severe and he is among the most severely punished people of Hell… And in narrations mentioned about someone who killed 99 souls then sought Allah’s forgiveness and was forgiven, and the angels of mercy and punishment disputed over the place of his burial, and Allah had mercy on him… So do you have an answer?”
The Answer
I say, with Allah’s guidance:
To begin, I say: The names Hābīl (Abel) and Qābīl (Cain) are not mentioned in the Holy Qur’an nor in the authentic books of Prophetic traditions. Rather, God Almighty said:
“And recite to them the story of Adam’s two sons in truth, when they both offered a sacrifice, and it was accepted from one of them but was not accepted from the other. He said, ‘I will surely kill you.’ The other said, ‘Indeed, Allah only accepts from the righteous.’”
(Surat al-Mā’idah, verse 27)
First: The Prophethood of Abel
It has not been authentically established through a sound chain of narration from the Messenger ﷺ that Abel (Habil) was a prophet.
Second: Regarding Polytheism
Regarding polytheism with Allah, Cain was not a polytheist, as polytheism was not known at all because Allah created people upon monotheism—the natural disposition (fitrah) of Islam.
Allah the Almighty says in the decisive revelation:
“So direct your face toward the religion, inclining to truth. [Adhere to] the fitrah of Allah upon which He has created [all] people. No change should there be in the creation of Allah. That is the correct religion, but most of the people do not know.” (Ar-Rum: 30)
Thus, Allah created Adam (peace be upon him) upon monotheism, and his children were likewise upon monotheism for several centuries. Then idol worship appeared openly before the Prophet of Allah, Noah (peace be upon him), when he warned his people of the consequences of polytheism:
“Noah said, ‘My Lord, indeed they have disobeyed me and followed him whose wealth and children will not increase him except in loss. And they conspired an immense conspiracy. And said, ’Never leave your gods and never leave Wadd or Suwa’ or Yaghuth and Ya’uq and Nasr. And already they have misled many. And, [my Lord], do not increase the wrongdoers except in error.’” (Nuh: 21-24)
Third: The Original State of Humanity
The principle is that Allah created people upon monotheism, and this is the opposite of what the speculators among sociologists and others claim—that humanity was upon polytheism, then progressed from mental childhood until reaching mental maturity and rationality, thus knowing monotheism! And sometimes they claim that man invented monotheism through his maturity! Exalted is Allah above what they say, highly exalted.
Fourth: The Natural Disposition (Fitrah)
Al-Bukhari and Muslim narrated in their Sahih collections from Abu Huraira (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger ﷺ said:
“Every child is born upon the fitrah, then his parents make him Jewish, Christian, or Zoroastrian, just as an animal produces a perfect animal. Do you see any defect in it?”
And in a narration by Muslim in his Sahih, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
“Indeed, my Lord commanded me to teach you what you do not know of what He taught me this day: Every wealth I have granted to a servant is lawful, and I created My servants as true monotheists, all of them, and the devils came to them and led them astray from their religion, and made forbidden to them what I had made lawful for them, and commanded them to associate with Me that for which I sent down no authority.”
The evidence from these two hadiths is that Allah created people upon monotheism, then the devils came and whispered to them and misled them, so they moved from truth to falsehood, from monotheism to polytheism.
Fifth: Regarding Cain’s Killing of His Brother Abel
(a) The Quranic Account
Allah the Almighty says in the decisive revelation:
“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].’” (Al-Ma’idah: 27)
Then to His saying:
“And his soul permitted to him the murder of his brother, so he killed him and became among the losers.” (Al-Ma’idah: 30)
Therefore, Cain killed his brother Abel out of envy because his offering was not accepted.
(b) The Status of Cain
It has not been authentically established through a sound chain in the noble Prophetic Sunnah that Cain disbelieved by killing his brother, nor has it been authentically established that he is in Paradise.
(c) The Ruling on Intentional Murder
Regarding intentional murder, Allah the Almighty says:
“But whoever kills a believer intentionally - his recompense is Hell, wherein he will abide eternally, and Allah has become angry with him and has cursed him and has prepared for him a great punishment.” (An-Nisa’: 93)
This is a severe warning from the Lord of the Worlds to whoever commits the crime of intentional murder. Whoever wants details should refer to the interpretation of this verse from Surah An-Nisa’ and the statements of the commentators in their proper places.
(d) Cain’s Burden
Al-Bukhari narrated in his Sahih with his chain from Abdullah ibn Mas’ud (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
“No soul is wrongfully killed except that the first son of Adam bears a portion of its blood, because he was the first to establish the practice of killing.”
This does not indicate that Cain died as a disbeliever, but rather it is a severe warning so that people will refrain from killing, and to make this heinous crime of taking an innocent soul protected by Islam more abhorrent—unless the killer has deemed lawful the killing of a believing soul protected by Islam, in which case he becomes a disbeliever.
(e) The Creed of Ahl al-Sunnah
The creed of Ahl al-Sunnah regarding one who kills a Muslim intentionally is that he is a sinner who has committed a major sin and is in great danger and deserves to enter Hell, but he will not remain there eternally.
However, if he deems lawful the killing of a soul protected by Islam, then he has disbelieved. Allah the Almighty says:
“And do not kill the soul which Allah has forbidden, except by right.” (Al-Isra’: 33)
Thus, Allah the Almighty has forbidden killing a soul except by right. Whoever deems lawful the killing of a soul has deemed lawful what Allah the Almighty has forbidden, and thus has disbelieved. This is the belief of Ahl al-Sunnah wal-Jama’ah.
(f) The Fate of Sinners
Imam Al-’Allamah Abu Ja’far al-Tahawi (died 321 AH), author of the text of Al-’Aqidah al-Tahawiyyah, says:
“The people of major sins from the nation of Muhammad ﷺ will not remain eternally in the Fire if they die while being monotheists, even if they were not repentant, and they are subject to His will and judgment. If He wills, He forgives them, as the Almighty mentioned in His Book: ‘and forgives what is less than that for whom He wills’—and if He wills, He punishes them in the Fire by His justice, then He brings them out of it by His mercy and the intercession of the intercessors from the people of His obedience, then He sends them to His Paradise.”
(g) Repentance for Intentional Murder
As for the repentance of one who kills intentionally without right, Allah the Almighty says:
“And those who do not invoke with Allah another deity or kill the soul which Allah has forbidden [to be killed], except by right, and do not commit unlawful sexual intercourse. And whoever should do that will meet a penalty. Multiplied for him is the punishment on the Day of Resurrection, and he will abide therein humiliated - Except for those who repent, believe and do righteous work. For them Allah will replace their evil deeds with good. And ever is Allah Forgiving and Merciful.” (Al-Furqan: 68-70)
And it has been narrated in the Prophetic Sunnah about the man who killed ninety-nine souls and completed them to one hundred:
In the Sahih collections of Al-Bukhari and Muslim from Abu Sa’id Al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him), the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
“Among those before you was a man who killed ninety-nine people. He asked about the most knowledgeable person on earth, and was directed to a monk. He went to him and said: ‘I have killed ninety-nine people; is there any repentance for me?’ He said: ‘No,’ so he killed him, making him one hundred. Then he asked about the most knowledgeable person on earth and was directed to a learned man. He said: ‘I have killed one hundred people; is there any repentance for me?’ He said: ‘Yes, and who stands between him and repentance?’”
Sixth: Why Did Abel Not Defend Himself?
But someone might ask: Why did Abel surrender to his brother Cain and not defend himself?
I believe that Cain killed his brother Abel by treachery and caught him off guard while he was sleeping. And assuming hypothetically that non-resistance to a killer was permissible in their law—of course, I do not agree with this opinion, but as a hypothetical assumption—this contradicts our law regarding repelling injustice and not surrendering, for there is no such thing in our law as “our peacefulness is stronger than bullets”!
In the two Sahih collections from the hadith of Abdullah ibn ’Amr (may Allah be pleased with him), the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
“Whoever is killed defending his property is a martyr.”
And according to Muslim, from Abu Huraira (may Allah be pleased with him), who said:
A man came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and said: “O Messenger of Allah! What do you think if a man comes wanting to take my property?” He said: “Do not give him your property.” He said: “What if he fights me?” He said: “Fight him.” He said: “What if he kills me?” He said: “Then you are a martyr.” He said: “What if I kill him?” He said: “He is in the Fire.”
The conclusion is that Cain killed Abel by treachery.
Seventh: Scholarly Opinion on Cain’s Status
Returning to the question: Did Cain become a disbeliever?
The scholar Judge Ibn ’Atiyyah al-Andalusi (died 541 AH), may Allah have mercy on him, said in his tafsir:
“The majority of people held that Abel was stronger than Cain, but he refrained [from fighting back]. And this is the most apparent view, and from this it is strengthened that Cain is merely a sinner, not a disbeliever; because if he had been a disbeliever, there would have been no reason for the restraint. The reason for restraint in this case is that the one who refrains abhors fighting a monotheist and accepts being wronged in order to be rewarded in the Hereafter; similar to what Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) did.”
Source: Al-Muharrar Al-Wajiz fi Tafsir Al-Kitab Al-’Aziz: Ibn ’Atiyyah - Ibn Hazm edition - Beirut - 1st edition, p. 532
Among those who supported this opinion and transmitted it was: - The scholar Abu Abdullah Al-Qurtubi (died 671 AH), in his tafsir Al-Jami’ li-Ahkam Al-Qur’an al-Karim, Al-Risalah Foundation - Beirut - 1st edition - 1427 AH - vol. 7, p. 413 - The scholar Abu Zayd Al-Tha’alibi (died 875 AH), in his tafsir Al-Jawahir Al-Hisan, Turath Heritage edition, Beirut 1418 AH, vol. 2, p. 70
Summary
After this brief exploration of the topic of Cain’s killing of his brother Abel, I conclude:
- It has not been established through an authentic legal chain that Cain was a polytheist, because polytheism with Allah occurred several centuries after Adam’s descent to earth.
- It has not been established that Abel was a prophet.
- The most likely view I hold is that Cain killed his brother Abel out of envy; that is, he committed the major sin of killing a soul wrongfully and aggressively without right.
- His ruling is the ruling of the people of major sins according to the creed of Ahl al-Sunnah, as I mentioned earlier from the statements of the scholars.
- Allah knows best. We ask Allah to teach us what benefits us, to give us understanding in our religion, and to make us among those who act according to our religion.
Dr. Hani Al-Siba’i
17 Shawwal 1442 AH - May 29, 2021