Unfertige Studien 6: Der Brudermord des Kain aus theologischer Sicht

Abstract

Abstract Unconcluded Studies: The Fratricide of Cain from a Theological View The story of Cain and Abel as it is told in the Qurʾān (Q 5:27–32), which follows closely that in the Bible (Gen 4:1–16), became the topic of various discussions among early Muslim theologians, especially Abel’s statement when threatened by Cain: “I wish you to take both your sin and my sin and become one of the companions of the Fire.” In the context of civil war, Abel’s pacifism became a paradigm of ideal behavior, and the notion of ridding oneself of sin through victimhood appeared attractive. It was used as a model in stories concerned with battles between Muslims, such as the battle of al-Ḥarra (683 CE), in which many Qurayshi notables and Qurʾān reciters from Medina were killed by the Syrian army. According to advice from the prophet Muḥammad, the correct behavior would have been not to participate in the fighting and, in the face of death, to quote Abel’s words. Whoever acts in this manner attains Paradise. However, some theologians denied the possibility that the burden of somebody’s sin could be transferred to another. The story was thus reinterpreted. In his commentary on the Qurʾān, al-Ṭabarī (d. 923 CE) proposed that Abel’s sentence should be understood differently: “I wish you to take your [previous] sin[s] and the sin against me …”, since he could accept neither that Abel committed a sin, nor the transfer of sin to somebody else.