Occasion of revelation
(And follow that which the devils falsely related against the kingdom of Solomonナ) [2:102]. Muhammad ibn Abd al-Aziz al-Qantari informed us> Abul-Fadl al-Haddadi> Abu Yazid al-Khalidi> Ishaq ibn Ibrahim> Jarir> Husayn ibn Abd al-Rahman> Imran ibn al-Harith who said: モOnce as we were sitting with Ibn Abbas when he said: The devils used to eavesdrop on heaven. One of them would bring a word of truth from therein, and when he is trusted for telling the truth, he would add to it seventy lies with which he earns the hearts of people. When Solomon came to know about it, he took it and buried it beneath his throne. When he died, a devil stood in the street and said: Shall I guide you to Solomons guarded treasure, the like of which he does not have? They said: Yes, do. He said: It is under his throne; go and unearth it. They said: This is magic. Different nations then copied it from them. And thus Allah, exalted is He, revealed Solomons excuse (And follow that which the devils falsely related against the kingdom of Solomon. Solomon disbelieved not.) ヤ. Said al-Kalbi: モThe devils wrote down magic and talismans (niranjiyyat) and attributed them to Asaf ibn Barakhiya. They wrote: This is what Asaf ibn Barakhiya has taught the king Solomon and they buried it in the place where Solomon worshipped without him realizing it. This happened when Solomon was stripped of his kingdom. When Solomon died, they unearthed it from under his place of worship and said to people: Solomon left this in your possession so that you learn it. As for the scholars of the Children of Israel, they said: Allah forbid that this be the knowledge of Solomon. The lowly among people said: This is Solomons knowledge, and therefore sought its knowledge and rejected the scriptures of their prophets.
Solomon was later blamed for this and this remained the case until Allah sent Muhammad, Allah bless him and give him peace. Allah revealed Solomons excuse was revealed in His own words. He showed his innocence from what he was blamed for (And follow that which the devils falsely related against the kingdom of Solomonナ)ヤ. Said ibn al-Abbas al-Qurashi informed us in his epistle that al-Fadl ibn Zakariyya informed them> Ahmad ibn Najdah> Said ibn Mansur> Itab ibn Bashir> Khusayf who said: モSolomon used to ask any newly grown tree: Which disease can you cure? The tree would say: This and that! When the Carob tree (al-Khurnubah) grew, he asked it: What are you for? it replied: I am for the purpose of destroying your sanctuary! He said: Would you really destroy it? Yes, came the reply. What an evil tree
you are, said Solomon. Shortly after this he died. People began to say regarding their own sick ones: If only we had someone like Solomon. The devils then wrote a book and buried it under the place where Solomon used to worship. After which they said [to the people]: We will direct to that with which Solomon used to treat others. They then proceeded and unearthed that book which contained magic and spells. Allah, exalted is He, therefore revealed (And follow that which the devils falsely related against the kingdom of Solomon) up to His saying (therefore disbelieve not) [2:102]ヤ. Said al-Suddi: モPeople in Solomons time wrote magic from each other and devoted themselves to learning it. Solomon took all that which was written of magic, put it in a chest and buried it under his throne after he warned them against it. When Solomon died and all those who knew the incident of burying these writings then passed away after him, a devil appeared in the shape of a human and went to a group among the Children of Israel. He said to them: Shall I direct you to an inexhaustible treasure? When they answered in the affirmative, he said: Dig under the throne [of Solomon]. When they did, they found those writings. Upon unearthing them, the devil said: It is by means of these that Solomon controlled the jinn, humans, devils and birds. The children of Israel used those writings from then on, and it is for this reason that one finds magic more widespread among the Jews.
Allah, gloried and exalted is He, absolved Solomon of this deed and revealed this verseヤ.
Tafsir Ibn Kathir
Magic existed before Suleiman (Solomon)
Allah tells;
وَاتَّبَعُواْ مَا تَتْلُواْ الشَّيَاطِينُ عَلَى مُلْكِ سُلَيْمَانَ وَمَا كَفَرَ سُلَيْمَانُ وَلَـكِنَّ الشَّيْاطِينَ كَفَرُواْ يُعَلِّمُونَ النَّاسَ السِّحْرَ ...
They followed what the Shayatin (devils) gave out (falsely of the magic) in the lifetime of Suleiman (Solomon). Suleiman did not disbelieve, but the Shayatin (devils) disbelieved, teaching men magic,
As-Suddi said that Allah's statement, وَاتَّبَعُواْ مَا تَتْلُواْ الشَّيَاطِينُ عَلَى مُلْكِ سُلَيْمَانَ (They followed what the Shayatin (devils) gave out (falsely of the magic) in the lifetime of Suleiman) means,
"`During the time of Prophet Suleiman .'
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 Israel said that the Jinns know matters of the Unseen.
When Solomon 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.
Solomon said, `I will not hear of anyone who says that the devils know the Unseen, but I will cut off his head.'
When Solomon died and the scholars who knew the truth about Solomon perished, there came another generation. To them, the devil materialized in the shape of a human and said to some of the Children of Israel, `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 Solomon'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, `Solomon only controlled the humans, devils and birds with this magic.'
Thereafter, the news that Solomon was a sorcerer spread among the people, and the Children of Israel adopted these books. When Muhammad came, they disputed with him relying on these books. Hence Allah's statement, وَمَا كَفَرَ سُلَيْمَانُ وَلَـكِنَّ الشَّيْاطِينَ كَفَرُواْ َ (Suleiman did not disbelieve, but the Shayatin (devils) disbelieved).
The Story of Harut and Marut, and the Explanation that They were Angels
Allah said,
... وَمَا أُنزِلَ عَلَى الْمَلَكَيْنِ بِبَابِلَ هَارُوتَ وَمَارُوتَ ...
And such things that came down at Babylon to the two angels, Harut and Marut,
There is a difference of opinion regarding this story.
It was said that Al-Qurtubi stated that;
this Ayah denies that anything was sent down to the two angels, he then referred to the Ayah, وَمَا كَفَرَ سُلَيْمَانُ (Suleiman did not disbelieve) saying, "The negation applies in both cases.
Allah then said, وَلَـكِنَّ الشَّيْاطِينَ كَفَرُواْ يُعَلِّمُونَ النَّاسَ السِّحْرَ وَمَا 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 Gabriel and Michael 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, وَمَا 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, وَمَا أُنزِلَ عَلَى الْمَلَكَيْنِ بِبَابِلَ (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 Ayah, وَاتَّبَعُواْ مَا تَتْلُواْ الشَّيَاطِينُ عَلَى مُلْكِ سُلَيْمَانَ (They followed what the Shayatin (devils) gave out (falsely) in the lifetime of Suleiman) meaning, magic.
However, neither did Solomon 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 الشَّيَاطِينُ عَلَى مُلْكِ سُلَيْمَانَ (They followed what the Shayatin (devils) gave out (falsely) in the lifetime of Suleiman) means, magic.
Solomon 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 Gabriel and Michael, for Jewish sorcerers claimed that Allah sent magic by the words of Gabriel and Michael to Solomon, son of David.
Allah denied this false claim and stated to His Prophet Muhammad that Gabriel and Michael were not sent with magic.
Allah also exonerated Solomon 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 Gabriel or Michael).''
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 Ayah 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 لِلْمَلَائِكَةِ اسْجُدُوا لِآدَمَ فَسَجَدُوا إِلَّا إِبْلِيسَ أَبَى (And (remember) when We said to the angels: "Prostrate yourselves before Adam.'' And they prostrated except Iblis (Satan), he refused), (20:116), 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.
Learning Magic is Kufr
Allah said,
... وَمَا يُعَلِّمَانِ مِنْ أَحَدٍ حَتَّى يَقُولاَ إِنَّمَا نَحْنُ فِتْنَةٌ فَلاَ تَكْفُرْ ...
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).
Abu Jafar Ar-Razi said that Ar-Rabi bin Anas said that Qays bin Abbad said that Ibn Abbas said,
"When someone came to the angels to learn magic, they would discourage him and say to him, `We are only a test, so do not fall into disbelief.'
They had knowledge of what is good and evil and what constitutes belief or disbelief, and they thus knew that magic is a form of disbelief.
When the person who came to learn magic still insisted on learning it, they commanded him to go to such and such place, where if he went, Satan would meet him and teach him magic.
When this man would learn magic, the light (of faith) would depart him, and he would see it shining (and flying away) in the sky. He would then proclaim, `O my sorrow! Woe unto me! What should I do.''
Al-Hasan Al-Basri said that this Ayah means,
"The angels were sent with magic, so that the people whom Allah willed would be tried and tested. Allah made them promise that they would not teach anyone until first proclaiming, `We are a test for you, do not fall into disbelief.'''
It was recorded by Ibn Abi Hatim.
Also, Qatadah said,
"Allah took their covenant to not teach anyone magic until they said, `We are a test. Therefore, do not fall in disbelief.'''
Also, As-Suddi said,
"When a man would come to the two angels they would advise him, `Do not fall into disbelief. We are a test. '
When the man would ignore their advice, they would say, `Go to that pile of ashes and urinate on it.'
When he would urinate on the ashes, a light, meaning the light of faith, would depart from him and would shine until it entered heaven. Then something black that appeared to be smoke would descend and enter his ears and the rest of his body, and this is Allah's anger. When he told the angels what happened, they would teach him magic.
So Allah's statement, وَمَا يُعَلِّمَانِ مِنْ أَحَدٍ حَتَّى يَقُولاَ إِنَّمَا نَحْنُ فِتْنَةٌ فَلاَ تَكْفُرْ (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).
Sunayd said that Hajjaj said that Ibn Jurayj commented on this Ayah (2:102),
"No one dares practice magic except a disbeliever. As for the Fitnah, it involves trials and freedom of choice.''
The scholars who stated that learning magic is disbelief relied on this Ayah for evidence. They also mentioned the Hadith that Abu Bakr Al-Bazzar recorded from Abdullah, which states,
مَنْ أَتَى كَاهِنًا أَوْ سَاحِرًا فَصَدَّقَهُ بِمَا يَقُولُ فَقَدْ كَفَر بِمَا أُنْزِلَ عَلى مُحَمَّدٍصلى الله عليه وسلّم
Whoever came to a soothsayer or a sorcerer and believed in what he said, will have disbelieved in what Allah revealed to Muhammad.
This Hadith has an authentic chain of narration and there are other Hadiths which support it.
Causing a Separation between the Spouses is One of the Effects of Magic
Allah said,
... فَيَتَعَلَّمُونَ مِنْهُمَا مَا يُفَرِّقُونَ بِهِ بَيْنَ الْمَرْءِ وَزَوْجِهِ ...
And from these (angels) people learn that by which they cause separation between man and his wife,
This means, "The people learned magic from Harut and Marut and indulged in evil acts that included separating spouses, even though spouses are close to, and intimately associate with each other. This is the devil's work.''
Muslim recorded that Jabir bin Abdullah said that the Messenger of Allah said,
إِنَّ الشَّيْطَانَ لَيَضَعُ عَرْشَهُ عَلَى الْمَاءِ ثُمَّ يَبْعَثُ سَرَايَاهُ فِي النَّاسِ فَأَقْرَبُهُمْ عِنْدَهُ مَنْزِلَةً أَعْظَمُهُمْ عِنْدَهُ فِتْنَةً
وَيَجِيءُ أَحَدُهُمْ فَيَقُولُ: مَا زِلْتُ بِفُلَانٍ حَتَّى تَرَكْتُهُ وَهُوَ يَقُولُ كَذَا وَكَذَا،
فَيَقُولُ إِبْلِيسُ: لَا وَاللهِ مَا صَنَعْتَ شَيْئًا،
وَيَجِيءُ أَحَدُهُمْ فَيَقُولُ: مَا تَرَكْتُهُ حَتّى فَرَّقْتُ بَيْنَهُ وَبَيْنَ أَهْلِهِ،
قَالَ: فَيُقرِّبُهُ وَيُدْنِيهِ وَيَلْتَزِمُهُ وَيَقُولُ: نِعْمَ أَنْت
Satan erects his throne on water and sends his emissaries among the people. The closest person to him is the person who causes the most Fitnah.
One of them (a devil) would come to him and would say, `I kept inciting so-and-so, until he said such and such words.'
Iblis says, `No, by Allah, you have not done much.'
Another devil would come to him and would say, `I kept inciting so-and-so, until I separated between him and his wife.'
Satan would draw him closer and embrace him, saying, `Yes, you did well.'
Separation between a man and his wife occurs here because each spouse imagines that the other spouse is ugly or ill-mannered, etc.
Allah's Appointed Term supercedes Everything
Allah said,
... وَمَا هُم بِضَآرِّينَ بِهِ مِنْ أَحَدٍ إِلاَّ بِإِذْنِ اللّهِ ...
But they could not thus harm anyone except by Allah's leave.
Sufyan Ath-Thawri commented,
"Except by Allah's appointed term.''
Further, Al-Hasan Al-Basri said that,
"Allah allows magicians to adversely affect whomever He wills and saves whomever He wills from them. Sorcerers never bring harm to anyone except by Allah's leave.''
Allah's statement,
... وَيَتَعَلَّمُونَ مَا يَضُرُّهُمْ وَلاَ يَنفَعُهُمْ ...
And they learn that which harms them and profits them not.
means, it harms their religion and does not have a benefit compared to its harm.
... وَلَقَدْ عَلِمُواْ لَمَنِ اشْتَرَاهُ مَا لَهُ فِي الآخِرَةِ مِنْ خَلاَقٍ ...
And indeed they knew that the buyers of it (magic) would have no (Khalaq) share in the Hereafter.
meaning, "The Jews who preferred magic over following the Messenger of Allah knew that those who commit the same error shall have no Khalaq in the Hereafter.''
Ibn Abbas, Mujahid and As-Suddi stated that;
`no Khalaq' means, `no share.'
Allah then said,
...وَلَبِئْسَ مَا شَرَوْاْ بِهِ أَنفُسَهُمْ لَوْ كَانُواْ يَعْلَمُونَ ﴿١٠٢﴾
وَلَوْ أَنَّهُمْ آمَنُواْ واتَّقَوْا لَمَثُوبَةٌ مِّنْ عِندِ اللَّه خَيْرٌ لَّوْ كَانُواْ يَعْلَمُونَ ﴿١٠٣﴾
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!
Allah stated, وَلَبِئْسَ (And how bad) meaning,
what they preferred, magic, instead of faith and following the Messenger, if they but comprehend the advice.