Lessons from the Story of Abel and Cain (Part 2)
Envy
The lack of God-consciousness was the major downfall of Cain, but it did not stop there. When good is absent, evil takes over. When Cain saw that his sacrifice was rejected, he became envious of his brother.
This is unfortunately a big problem today. Many of us today are envious of those who are successful. We are envious of those who have money. If we would be satisfied with what we have and wish that God gives us like others and better, then envy would not exist. However, the danger lies in wishing that other people lose what they have. That is envy, and it can lead to almost anything.
In the case of Cain, it led him to actually kill his brother. It is important to notice that Cain admitted the presence of God when he offered a sacrifice. He also knew that Abel was his brother. Did any of that restrain him from killing? No! That's how dangerous envy can be!
Sources of Knowledge
The journey of education is a never-ending one. The importance of acquiring knowledge is highly emphasized in Islam. A common pitfall in acquiring knowledge is bias towards the source of information. Many of us avoid listening to certain figures because we have a personal grudge against them. Others avoid reading a book because the author is someone we do not like.
In the story of Abel and Cain, we see that Cain learned the act of burial from a crow. This shows that learning is never restricted to certain figures, but even an animal can become a teacher at any moment.
Of course, in order to avoid clutter and all the misinformation we face, we need to be able to filter out good from bad. This is where the role of reason (Aql) becomes important. This can get tricky. However, if we seek the knowledge from God, the Prophet, and Ahl-ul-Bayt through our righteous scholars, then we know it is from a pure source.
The story of Abel and Cain teaches us many things. It shows us where the position of Taqwa lies in the heart of a true believer. It shows that envy will lead to heinous acts. And importantly, it shows the importance of acquiring correct knowledge from any source. So let us engage in self-reflection, and if we find that we are falling behind in any of these three areas, we should start fixing ourselves immediately. Knowing where we stand is the first step, and only then we can proceed in the path towards God.
Source: shafaqna.com
Other links:
The Story of Prophet Luqman (A.S) and the WaterMelon
