Transliteration:( La'im basatta ilaiya yadaka litaqtulanee maaa ana bibaasitiny yadiya ilaika li aqtulaka inneee akhaaful laaha Rabbal 'aalameen )
Surely, if you raise your hand against me to kill me [99], I shall not raise my hand against you to kill you. I fear Allah, Lord of all the worlds [100].
From this verse, we learn that if the oppressed defends himself against the oppressor or kills him in self-defense, it is permissible to do so. However, true piety lies in either saving oneself without aggression or, better still, in being martyred without retaliation. For example, Hazrat Uthman-e-Ghani (May Allah be pleased with him) did not defend himself against his oppressors but was instead martyred by them. This verse is considered a source of his exceptional piety and patience.
Habeel was actually far stronger than Qabeel. Had he chosen to fight back, he could have easily killed Qabeel, and such an action would have been permissible. However, Habeel refrained from this, possibly due to his own kindness and forbearance. This shows a higher moral character in abstaining from violence even when it was within his power to retaliate.
The tafsir of Surah Maidah verse 28 by Ibn Kathir is unavailable here.
Please refer to Surah Maidah ayat 27 which provides the complete commentary from verse 27 through 31.
(5:28) Even if you stretch forth your hand against me to kill, I will not stretch forth my hand to kill you.[49] Surely, I fear Allah, the Lord of the entire universe.
49. This does not mean, that his brother assured him that when the latter stepped forward to kill him he would keep his hands tied and stretch out his own neck to be cut down rather than defend himself. What this statement amounts to is an assurance on the part of the first brother that, even though the other was intent on killing him, he himself had no such intention. In other words, he assured his brother that even though the latter was busy planning his murder he would not take the initiative in killing him despite his knowledge of the latter’s intent.
Righteousness does not demand at all that when a man is subjected to wrongful aggression he should surrender to the aggressor rather than defend himself. Righteousness, however, demands that a man should not take the initiative and try to kill someone even though he knows him to be bent on killing him. He should rather wait for the act of aggression to be initiated by the other person. And this is exactly what was intended by the statement of the righteous son of Adam.
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