Surah Al Baqarah Tafseer

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 لِلْمَلَإيِكَةِ اسْجُدُوا لاِإدَمَ فَسَجَدُوا إِلاَّ 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 يَقُولَا إِنَّمَا نَحْنُ فِتْنَةٌ فَلَ 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 يَقُولَا إِنَّمَا نَحْنُ فِتْنَةٌ فَلَ 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 بِفُلَنٍ حَتَّى تَرَكْتُهُ وَهُوَ يَقُولُ كَذَا وَكَذَا

فَيَقُولُ إِبْلِيسُ لَا وَاللهِ مَا صَنَعْتَ شَيْيًا

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 بِضَأرِّينَ 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 وَلَا 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 الاخِرَةِ مِنْ خَلَقٍ

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,

وَلَبِيْسَ

مَا شَرَوْاْ بِهِ أَنفُسَهُمْ لَوْ كَانُواْ يَعْلَمُونَ

وَلَوْ أَنَّهُمْ امَنُواْ واتَّقَوْا لَمَثُوبَةٌ مِّنْ عِندِ اللَّه خَيْرٌ لَّوْ كَانُواْ يَعْلَمُونَ