What does the raven in the story of Cain and Abel mean?

So, I'd been asked about this. I thought, look, let me shed some light. This is those of you that don't know to do with the verse in Surah Maida, I believe it's verse 31, uh speaking about the two sons of Adam. Now, Allah doesn't mention who they are, but Abel and Cain, the the classic story that you have right there, and it's followed by Cain murdering Abel.

And so Allah mentions regimen and narrate onto them the story of the two sons of Adam um rightfully so when they both offered a sacrifice but it was accepted from one now it's interesting that here even Allah uses the word in the what is uh the passive sense that it was accepted.

Not saying that um we accepted it even though that's obviously the understanding here that Allah accepted it. But it's interesting that what did acceptance mean? They were obviously associating a meaning with it. But that acceptance would have been some kind of ritual that they would have come up with. You understand? So they both do something and then whether one of them this happens to it, one of them floats, the other sinks or one this happens, one that happens.

You see they would have been meanings that they would be naturally associating. Obviously ultimately Allah is you know the ultimate planner of things in that sense. So, but it's interesting that Allah mentions he said I will kill you. He said God accepts from those who have God consciousness.

Now here he says he said look one of the brothers he demon like he refuses to take up violence. He says look if you extend your your hand to me with harm I will not meet you with harm. So I won't fight back. Um he said that I fear God you know that should I be responsible for bloodshed.

He says, he said, "I would rather that you, you know, you take the sin or you take the responsibility, this crime, if that's what you want to do, and you bear its responsibility and you will suffer damnation for that. But I'm not going to kill you in return or fight back." Now,

So he Cain Mo obviously doesn't mention here but the general story is it's Cain he his he justified to himself murdering his brother like his his self got the better of him and he killed his brother and he became of those who have lost or who have suffered loss in this world.

Now this part here it mentions. So here then Allah mentions a crow, a raven comes.

Allah says he sends it. Now obviously here in the sense that Allah is ultimately in control of things. This raven seems to search about or do something with the earth. Okay. Now, so this so Kane can learn from this or he comes to learn from this event of what this raven is doing that how to cover up the ugly state of his brother.

He and he says to himself, he has this internal dialogue that what have I done that, you know, he says that can I not be at least like this raven, this crow that you can see here? Um, could I not at least be like like that and cover up the ugly state of my brother? Now, first of all, right, just mentioning here one moment.

So, just to kind of sum up what's going on and then I'm going to go into certain insights. You see, this verse mentions that a raven turns up. It's not too clear. The verse is not it's not totally ambiguous, but it leaves a lot. It leaves room for different interpretation, different readings of what is happening with an overall similarity like there's a huge overlap in what's happening but the detail there's so much room for interpretation.

I I don't just mean interpretation but in how to read it. So it could be read as an example that you read that this raven turns up and it says which actually means to kind of search in the in the earth. So it's doing something to the soil and it says now so he may or it may show him.

Now we know it may show Cain. But who may show Cain? the raven or god may showc who's trying to teach here. In my understanding, this is talking about God. Um, but some people have understood from it the raven. Now then it mentions he the raven is doing this so that he [snorts] or it may cover the ugly state of his or its brother.

So once again is it that the raven there was a dead raven there and this other raven comes and it's doing something it's observing and it's doing this. Is this in a way so that the raven may cover the other raven? Or is it that Cain learns from this so he may cover his own brother? Once again, because the verb doesn't mention the subject, you could be reading it as the raven.

You could be reading it as um as Cain. Both readings are equally valid. They're not like one is invalid. These are these are not interpretations. These are readings. how to read the actual verse. Who is it going back to? And you can see here that as I uh will show you that look um oh right no right no right so um Ashur highlights these differences as

well that I've that I've mentioned by the way he mentions this um And he highlights that look this is uh you can take either of these meaning he says look either is valid but it most this so this is the understanding that I'm looking at okay that they've had this this fight he's killed his brother he's he's left him in a very ugly state because it mentions so that this ugly state to look at is called so in Arabic and he's there.