وَلَقَدْ أَنزَلْنَآ إِلَيْكَ ءَايَـٰتٍۭ بَيِّنَـٰتٍ ۖ وَمَا يَكْفُرُ بِهَآ إِلَّا ٱلْفَـٰسِقُونَ
أَوَكُلَّمَا عَـٰهَدُوا۟ عَهْدًا نَّبَذَهُۥ فَرِيقٌ مِّنْهُم ۚ بَلْ أَكْثَرُهُمْ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ
وَلَمَّا جَآءَهُمْ رَسُولٌ مِّنْ عِندِ ٱللَّهِ مُصَدِّقٌ لِّمَا مَعَهُمْ نَبَذَ
فَرِيقٌ مِّنَ ٱلَّذِينَ أُوتُوا۟ ٱلْكِتَـٰبَ كِتَـٰبَ ٱللَّهِ
وَرَآءَ ظُهُورِهِمْ كَأَنَّهُمْ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ
وَٱتَّبَعُوا۟ مَا تَتْلُوا۟ ٱلشَّيَـٰطِينُ عَلَىٰ مُلْكِ سُلَيْمَـٰنَ ۖ وَمَا
كَفَرَ سُلَيْمَـٰنُ وَلَـٰكِنَّ ٱلشَّيَـٰطِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ يُعَلِّمُونَ ٱلنَّاسَ ٱلسِّحْرَ
وَمَآ أُنزِلَ عَلَى ٱلْمَلَكَيْنِ بِبَابِلَ هَـٰرُوتَ وَمَـٰرُوتَ ۚ وَمَا يُعَلِّمَانِ
مِنْ أَحَدٍ حَتَّىٰ يَقُولَآ إِنَّمَا نَحْنُ فِتْنَةٌ فَلَا تَكْفُرْ ۖ فَيَتَعَلَّمُونَ
مِنْهُمَا مَا يُفَرِّقُونَ بِهِۦ بَيْنَ ٱلْمَرْءِ وَزَوْجِهِۦ ۚ وَمَا هُم بِضَآرِّينَ بِهِۦ
مِنْ أَحَدٍ إِلَّا بِإِذْنِ ٱللَّهِ ۚ وَيَتَعَلَّمُونَ مَا يَضُرُّهُمْ وَلَا يَنفَعُهُمْ ۚ وَلَقَدْ
عَلِمُوا۟ لَمَنِ ٱشْتَرَىٰهُ مَا لَهُۥ فِى ٱلْـَٔاخِرَةِ مِنْ خَلَـٰقٍ ۚ وَلَبِئْسَ
مَا شَرَوْا۟ بِهِۦٓ أَنفُسَهُمْ ۚ لَوْ كَانُوا۟ يَعْلَمُونَ
وَلَوْ أَنَّهُمْ ءَامَنُوا۟ وَٱتَّقَوْا۟ لَمَثُوبَةٌ مِّنْ عِندِ ٱللَّهِ
خَيْرٌ ۖ لَّوْ كَانُوا۟ يَعْلَمُونَ
And indeed We have sent down to you
manifest Ayat and none disbelieve in them
but Fasiqun (those who rebel against Allah’s command).
Is it not (the case) that every time
they make a covenant, some party
among them throw it aside.
Nay! (the truth is:) most of them believe not.
And when there came to them a Messenger
from Allah (Muhammad ) confirming
what was with them, a party of those
who were given the Scripture threw away
the Book of Allah behind their backs
as if they did not know!
They followed what the Shayatin (devils)
gave out (falsely of the magic)
in the lifetime of Sulayman.
Sulayman did not disbelieve,
but the Shayatin (devils) disbelieved,
teaching men magic and such things
that came down at Babylon
to the two angels, Harut and Marut,
but neither of these two (angels)
taught anyone (such things)
till they had said, “We are for trial,
so disbelieve not (by learning this magic from us).”
And from these (angels) people learn that
by which they cause separation
between man and his wife, but they could not
thus harm anyone except by Allah’s leave.
And they learn that which harms them
and profits them not. And indeed they knew
that the buyers of it (magic) would have
no share in the Hereafter. And how bad indeed
was that for which they sold their own selves,
if they but knew.
And if they had believed and guarded themselves
from evil and kept their duty to Allah,
far better would have been the reward
from their Lord, if they but knew!
Proofs of Muhammad’s Prophethood
Imam Abu Ja`far bin Jarir said that Allah’s statement,
وَلَقَدْ أَنزَلْنَآ إِلَيْكَ ءَايَـتٍ بَيِّنَـتٍ
And indeed We have sent down to you manifest Ayat
means, “We have sent to you, O Muhammad, clear signs that testify to your prophethood.”
These Ayat are contained in the Book of Allah (Qur’an) which narrates the secrets of the knowledge that the Jews possess, which they hid, and the stories of their earlier generations. The Book of Allah also mentions the texts in the Books of the Jews that are known to only the rabbis and scholars, and the sections where they altered and distorted the rulings of the Tawrah. Since Allah mentioned all of this in His Book revealed to His Prophet Muhammad , then this fact alone should be enough evidence for those who are truthful with themselves and who wish to avoid bringing themselves to destruction due to envy and transgression. Further human instict testifies to the truth that Muhammad was sent with and the clear signs that he brought which he did not learn or acquire from mankind.
Ad-Dahhak said that Ibn `Abbas said that,
وَلَقَدْ أَنزَلْنَآ إِلَيْكَ ءَايَـتٍ بَيِّنَـتٍ
And indeed We have sent down to you manifest Ayat) means, “You recite and convey this Book to them day and night, although you are an Ummi (unlettered) who never read a book. Yet, you inform them of what they have (in their own Books.
Allah stated that this fact should serve as an example, a clear sign and a proof against them, if they but knew.”
The Jews break Their Covenants
When the Messenger of Allah was sent and Allah reminded the Jews of the covenant that they had with Him, especially concerning Muhammad , Malik bin As-Sayf said, “By Allah! Allah never made a covenant with us about Muhammad, nor did He take a pledge from us at all.” Allah then revealed,
أَوَكُلَّمَا عَـهَدُواْ عَهْدًا نَّبَذَهُ فَرِيقٌ مِّنْهُم
Is it not (the case) that every time they make a covenant, some party among them throw it aside
Al-Hasan Al-Basri said that Allah’s statement,
بَلْ أَكْثَرُهُمْ لاَ يُؤْمِنُونَ
Nay! (the truth is:) most of them believe not
means, “There is not a promise that they make, but they break it and abandon it. They make a promise today and break it tomorrow.”
The Jews abandoned the Book of Allah and practiced Magic
As-Suddi commented on,
وَلَمَّا جَآءَهُمْ رَسُولٌ مِّنْ عِندِ اللَّهِ مُصَدِّقٌ لِّمَا مَعَهُمْ
And when there came to them a Messenger from Allah (Muhammad ) confirming what was with them,
“When Muhammad came to them, they wanted to contradict and dispute with him using the Tawrah. However, the Tawrah and the Qur’an affirmed each other. So the Jews gave up on using the Torah, and took to the Book of Asaf, and the magic of Harut and Marut, which indeed did not conform to the Qur’an. Hence Allah’s statement,
كَأَنَّهُمْ لاَ يَعْلَمُونَ
As if they did not know!.”
Also, Qatadah said that Allah’s statement,
كَأَنَّهُمْ لاَ يَعْلَمُونَ
As if they did not know!
means, “They knew the truth but abandoned it, hid it and denied the fact that they even had it.”
Magic existed before Sulayman
As-Suddi said that Allah’s statement,
وَاتَّبَعُواْ مَا تَتْلُواْ الشَّيَـطِينُ عَلَى مُلْكِ سُلَيْمَـنَ
They followed what the Shayatin (devils) gave out (falsely of the magic) in the lifetime of Sulayman
means, “`During the time of Prophet Solomon.’
Beforehand, the devils used to ascend to heaven and eavesdrop on the conversations of the angels about what will occur on the earth regarding death, other incidents or unseen matters. They would convey this news to the soothsayers, and the soothsayers would in turn convey the news to the people. The people would believe what the soothsayers told them as being true. When the soothsayers trusted the devils, the devils started to lie to them and added other words to the true news that they heard, to the extent of adding seventy false words to each true word. The people recorded these words in some books. Soon after, the Children of Israil said that the Jinns know matters of the Unseen. When Sulayman was sent as a Prophet, he collected these books in a box and buried it under his throne; any devil that dared get near the box was burned. Sulayman said, `I will not hear of anyone who says that the devils know the Unseen, but I will cut off his head.’ When Sulayman died and the scholars who knew the truth about Sulayman perished, there came another generation. To them, the devil materialized in the shape of a human and said to some of the Children of Israil, `Should I lead you to a treasure that you will never be able to use up’ They said. `Yes.’ He said, `Dig under this throne,’ and he went with them and showed them Sulayman’s throne. They said to him, `Come closer.’ He said, `No. I will wait for you here, and if you do not find the treasure then kill me. ‘ They dug and found the buried books, and Satan said to them, `Sulayman only controlled the humans, devils and birds with this magic.’ Thereafter, the news that Sulayman was a sorcerer spread among the people, and the Children of Israil adopted these books. When Muhammad came, they disputed with him relying on these books. Hence Allah’s statement,
وَمَا كَفَرَ سُلَيْمَـنُ وَلَـكِنَّ الشَّيْاطِينَ كَفَرُواْ
Sulayman did not disbelieve, but the Shayatin (devils) disbelieved.
The Story of Harut and Marut, and the Explanation that They were Angels
Allah said,
وَمَآ أُنزِلَ عَلَى الْمَلَكَيْنِ بِبَابِلَ هَـرُوتَ وَمَـرُوتَ
وَمَا يُعَلِّمَانِ مِنْ أَحَدٍ حَتَّى يَقُولاَ إِنَّمَا نَحْنُ فِتْنَةٌ
فَلاَ تَكْفُرْ فَيَتَعَلَّمُونَ مِنْهُمَا مَا يُفَرِّقُونَ بِهِ بَيْنَ الْمَرْءِ وَزَوْجِهِ
And such things that came down at Babylon to the two angels, Harut and Marut, but neither of these two (angels) taught anyone (such things) till they had said, “We are for trial, so disbelieve not (by learning this magic from us).” And from these (angels) people learn that by which they cause separation between man and his wife.
There is a difference of opinion regarding this story. It was said that this Ayat denies that anything was sent down to the two angels, as Al-Qurtubi stated and then referred to the Ayat,
وَمَا كَفَرَ سُلَيْمَـنُ
Sulayman did not disbelieve
saying, “The negation applies in both cases. Allah then said,
وَلَـكِنَّ الشَّيْاطِينَ كَفَرُواْ يُعَلِّمُونَ النَّاسَ السِّحْرَ وَمَآ أُنزِلَ عَلَى الْمَلَكَيْنِ
But the Shayatin (devils) disbelieved, teaching men magic and such things that came down at Babylon to the two angels.
The Jews claimed that Jibril and Mikail brought magic down to the two angels, but Allah refuted this false claim.”
Also, Ibn Jarir reported, that Al-`Awfi said that Ibn `Abbas said about Allah’s statement,
وَمَآ أُنزِلَ عَلَى الْمَلَكَيْنِ بِبَابِلَ
And such things that came down at Babylon to the two angels
“Allah did not send magic down.”
Also, Ibn Jarir narrated that Ar-Rabi` bin Anas said about,
وَمَآ أُنزِلَ عَلَى الْمَلَكَيْنِ
And such things that came down to the two angels, “Allah did not send magic down to the them.”
Ibn Jarir commented, “This is the correct explanation for this Ayat.
وَاتَّبَعُواْ مَا تَتْلُواْ الشَّيَـطِينُ عَلَى مُلْكِ سُلَيْمَـنَ
They followed what the Shayatin (devils) gave out (falsely) in the lifetime of Sulayman.
meaning, magic. However, neither did Sulayman disbelieve nor did Allah send magic with the two angels. The devils, on the other hand, disbelieved and taught magic to the people of the Babylon of Harut and Marut.”
Ibn Jarir continued; “If someone asks about explaining this Ayah in this manner, we say that,
وَاتَّبَعُواْ مَا تَتْلُواْ الشَّيَـطِينُ عَلَى مُلْكِ سُلَيْمَـنَ
They followed what the Shayatin (devils) gave out (falsely) in the lifetime of Sulayman.
means, magic. Sulayman neither disbelieved nor did Allah send magic with the two angels. However, the devils disbelieved and taught magic to the people in the Babylon of Harut and Marut, meaning Jibril and Mikail for Jewish sorcerers claimed that Allah sent magic by the words of Jibril and Mikail to Sulayman, son of Dawud. Allah denied this false claim and stated to His Prophet Muhammad that Jibril and Mikail were not sent with magic. Allah also exonerated Sulayman from practicing magic, which the devils taught to the people of Babylon by the hands of two men, Harut and Marut. Hence, Harut and Marut were two ordinary men (not angels or Jibril or Mikail).” These were the words of At-Tabari, and this explanation is not plausible.
Many among the Salaf, said that Harut and Marut were angels who came down from heaven to earth and did what they did as the Ayat stated. To conform this opinion with the fact that the angels are immune from error, we say that Allah had eternal knowledge what these angels would do, just as He had eternal knowledge that Iblis would do as he did, while Allah refered to him being among the angels,
وَإِذْ قُلْنَا لِلْمَلَـئِكَةِ اسْجُدُواْ لأَدَمَ فَسَجَدُواْ إِلاَّ إِبْلِيسَ أَبَى
And (remember) when We said to the angels: “Prostrate yourselves before Adam.” And they prostrated except Iblis (Satan), he refused (Taha 116) and so forth. However, what Harut and Marut did was less evil than what Iblis, may Allah curse him, did. Al-Qurtubi reported this opinion from `Ali, Ibn Mas`ud, Ibn `Abbas, Ibn `Umar, Ka`b Al-Ahbar, As-Suddi and Al-Kalbi.