29 Preface إِنّي أُريدُ أَن تَبوءَ بِإِثمي وَإِثمِكَ فَتَكونَ مِن أَصحابِ النّارِ ۚ وَذٰلِكَ جَزاءُ الظّالِمينَYusuf Ali“For me, I intend to let thee draw on thyself my sin as well as thine,1 for thou wilt be among the companions of the fire, and that is the reward of those who do wrong.”2My sin as well as thine. There are two possible interpretations: (1) The obvious one is that the unjust murderer not only carried on himself the burden of his own sin, but also the burden of his victim’s sins. The victim, in suffering a wrong or injustice, is forgiven his own sins, and the wrongdoer, having been warned, aggravates his own sin. (2) “My sin” has also been interpreted as “the sin against me, in that thou slayest me”: in that case “thy sin” may mean either “thy crime in committing a murder,” or “thy sin against thyself, for the crime causes real loss to thyself in the Hereafter.” See the last clause of the next verse.Abel’s speech is full of meaning. He is innocent and God-fearing. To the threat of death held out by the other, he returns a calm reply, aimed at reforming the other. “Surely,” he pleads, “if your sacrifice was not accepted, there was something wrong in you, for God is just and accepts the sacrifice of the righteous. If this does not deter you, I am not going to retaliate, though there is as much power in me against you as you have against me. I fear my Maker, for I know He cherishes all His Creation. Let me warn you that you are doing wrong. I do not intend even to resist, but do you know what the consequences will be to you? You will be in spiritual torment.”