Who first taught us to bury the dead?
فَبَعَثَ ٱللَّهُ غُرَابًا يَبْحَثُ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ لِيُرِيَهُۥ كَيْفَ يُوَٰرِى سَوْءَةَ أَخِيهِ ۚ قَالَ يَٰوَيْلَتَىٰٓ أَعَجَزْتُ أَنْ أَكُونَ مِثْلَ هَٰذَا ٱلْغُرَابِ فَأُوَٰرِىَ سَوْءَةَ أَخِى ۖ فَأَصْبَحَ مِنَ ٱلنَّٰدِمِينَ ﴿٣١﴾
Surah Al-Maaida · 5:31
Meaning (M. Pickthall, 1930): Then Allah sent a raven scratching up the ground, to show him how to hide his brother's naked corpse. He said: Woe unto me! Am I not able to be as this raven and so hide my brother's naked corpse? And he became repentant.
The reflection
Who first taught humankind how to bury the dead?
In the chapter of the Table, one of Adam's two sons killed his brother. Al-Sa'di notes it was the first death among the children of Adam, and he did not know what to do.
God sent a raven scratching up the ground, to show him how to hide his brother's body. Al-Sa'di: a crow digging to bury another, dead crow. Ibn Kathir reports from al-Suddi that there were two crows.
He said: "Woe unto me! Am I not able to be as this raven". And he became repentant. Al-Sa'di: such is the end of sin, regret and loss. And God knows best.
Sources
- Ibn Kathir, Tafsir al-Qur'an al-'Azim
- al-Sa'di, Taysir al-Karim al-Rahman
- Quran text: Tanzil Project (tanzil.net)
- English meaning: M. Pickthall, The Meaning of the Glorious Koran (1930)
