Transliteration:( Faba'asal laahu ghuraabai yabhasu fil ardi liyuriyahoo kaifa yuwaaree saw'ata akheeh; qaala yaa wailataaa a'ajaztu an akoona misla haazal ghuraabi fa uwaariya saw ata akhee fa asbaha minan naadimeen )
106. Two crows fought in the presence of Qabeel, one of which killed the other. The crow which had survived then dug a hole with its beak and claws and buried the dead crow in it and filled the hole with sand.
107. This expression of regret was not due to repentence but because of his inability to bury. Or in those days only regret was not enough for seeking repentence. Allah knows best.
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The tafsir of Surah Maidah verse 31 by Ibn Kathir is unavailable here.
Please refer to Surah Maidah ayat 27 which provides the complete commentary from verse 27 through 31.
(5:31) Thereupon Allah sent forth a raven who began to scratch the earth to show him how he might cover the corpse of his brother. So seeing he cried: Woe unto me! Was I unable even to be like this raven and find a way to cover the corpse of my brother?[51] Then he became full of remorse at his doing.[52]
51. In this way God made this errant son of Adam realize his ignorance and folly. Once his attention turned to self-appraisal, his regret was not confined to realizing that in his effort to hide his brother’s corpse he proved to be even less efficient than the raven. He also began to feel how foolish he was to have killed his own brother. The later part of the sentence indicates this remorse.
52.The purpose of mentioning this particular incident is to reproach the Jews subtly for the plot they had hatched to assassinate the Prophet (peace be on him) and some of his illustrious Companions see (Surah Al-Maidah, ayat 11) note 30 above. The resemblance between the two incidents is evident. God honoured some of the illiterate people of Arabia and disregarded the ancient People of the Book because the former were pious while the latter were not. But rather than reflect upon the causes of their rejection by God, and do something to overcome the failings which had led to that rejection, the Israelites were seized by the same fit of arrogant ignorance and folly which had once seized the criminal son of Adam, and resolved to kill those whose good deeds had been accepted by God. It was obvious that such acts would contribute nothing towards their acceptance by God. They would rather earn them an even greater degree of God’s disapproval.
[257]- Referring to the dead body, evidence of his shameful deed.
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