Part 6

· ed! - wanted to point out to us the harm that results from the use of

magic, both for those who practice-it and for those who teach it,

and also to let us know that the shaytans or rebellious jinnwho

rebel against Allah are strongly implicated in it.

Being Tested by Good and Evil

We should begin with Harut and Marut. They were the two

angels whom Allah sent down to teach people magic. Allah

Almighty has created trials and tests for His creation and these tri­

als are either by good or evil. Indeed from beginning to end the

life of this world is one great trial in which man is put to the test ­

as can be seen from the words of Allah Almighty:

"We test you with both evil and good as a trial." (21:35)

Man is tried and tested through his wealth, in which the good

and glory of this world lie, so as to see whether this blessing

increases him in obedience to Allah by his using it for what Allah

has commanded in the way of good, sadaqa and feeding the poor,

or whether he uses it for evil purposes by spending it in acts of dis­

obedience to Allah. The same applies to magic. It is a trial and it

gives man power beyond what he would have if he was simply left

to his own devices, because anyone who learns magic can use the

shaytans to serve his desires and, as we have seen, because of the

waf they have been created the shaytans are stronger than man. In

theory this power could be used for either good or evil. However,

those who use it have an unfair advantage over other human

beings and in the nature of things this advantage leads them to

commit injustice and harm. Moreover, Allah Almighty Himself

has decreed that there is no benefit to be gained from magic.

Why were there Two Angels?

The two angels, Harut and Marut, descended to the earth by the

command of Allah to teach people magic. It is part of the wisdom

of Allah Almighty that He chose two angels, creatures of a differ­

ent genus and constitution from mankind. Firstly because angels

do not benefit from magic, having no need of it, and therefore

there could be no suspicion of self-seeking involved. We all know

that magic does not benefit but on the contrary is harmful. If Allah

- glory be to Him and may He be exalted! - had chosen a human

Messenger to teach people magic, people would have believed that

magic was something useful and would have said, "The

Messenger of Allah taught us it. Messengers are models for us and

therefore we should follow our model and do as he does." Others

might have argued: "If magic is evil and leads to disbelief, why

did Allah send a Messenger with it when Messengers only bring

However, the angels Harut and Marut who taught people magic

did not use it, since it did not benefit them in any way. They'also

warned people that magic was a trial which leads to disbelief. In

that way the knowledge which Allah Almighty desired mankind to

have reached them by the means Allah desired and with the clear

warning that magic is evil and a temptation.

There are many things related about Harut and Marut. One of

these transmissions is based on the fact that when Allah Almighty

told the angels about the creation of Adam, they. said:

"Will You place on it one who will corrupt it and shed

blood, while we glorify Your praise and call You holy?"

The story continues by claiming that when they said this, Allah

- glory be to Him and may He be exalted! - asked them to choose

two angels to descend to earth to see how they would behave

there. They chose Harut and Marut. When Harut and Marut came

down to the earth, a stunningly beautiful woman came to them and

they solicited her. She said, "I will have nothing to do with you

until you associate something else with Allah." They refused to do

this. She left them and returned with a child and said, "I will not

give myself to you until you kill this child." They refused to kill it.

So she went and returned to them with a glass of wine and said, "I

will not give myself to you until you drink this wine." Seeing no

harm in this, they drank it and then, in their drunkenness, associat­

ed something with Allah, killed the child and committed adultery.

Although this story is related in some books of tafsir, it is not

true. Firstly, because the angels, "do not disobey Allah no matter

what command He gives them and do as they are commanded."

Secondly, an essential part of Muslim belief is that Allah's

Messengers always fulfil what Allah Almighty has charged them

with. Those two angels were ordered to teach people magic and

charged with warning whomever. they taught that magic was a

temptation and would lead ·to disbelief. And that is what they did.

We have only reported this story in order to let people know that it

is not true. It is fabricated. Harut and Marut carried out the task

which Allah had given them to do.

What we do know is that Allah sent two angels to teach people

magic. Magic is a science by which man can gain the help of the

jinn. The best course for all men, however, is not to learn it.

Otherwise, they will be tempted by it although it contains no real

We used as an illustration for what can happen the example of a

man who learns how to use weapons among people who do not

know anything about the use of weapons. Then he buys himself a

gun and says, "I will use it to defend people from injustice." The

trouble is that the moment he has the weapon, he will be unable to

keep himself from using it to tyrannise others. The superior power

it gives him is bound eventually to lead him to injustice and

oppression and filling the world with corruption.

When the Noble Quran discusses magic, it mentions what hap­

pened during the time of Sulayman, peace be upon him. Did

magic, then, originate in the time of Sulayman? Did the angels

Harut and Marut descend during his time?

In fact it is well-established that magic came down before the

time of Sulayman since magic was prevalent in the time of Musa,

peace be upon him. The Noble Quran tells us what happened

between Musa and the magicians of Pharaoh. Sulayman, son of

Da 'ud, and Da 'ud, peace be upon them both, came after Musa, as

the Noble Quran tells us when Allah says:

"What do you think about the nobles of the tribe of

Israel after the time of Musa, when they said to one of

their Prophets, 'Appoint a king for us and we will fight in

Those people of the tribe of Israel who came after Musa asked

this of one of their Prophets who came after Musa. There were

many Prophets among the tribe of Israel because they frequently

rebelled against Allah Almighty. Those people among the tribe of

Israel asked Allah to send them a king so that they could fight in

the way of Allah. So He sent them a king and they went out to

fight after having first refused to do so and then most of them fled,

only a very few remaining. They went to fight a tyrannical king

named Goliath (Jalut). Allah says:

"Da' ud killed Jalut, and Allah gave him kingship and

Thus Da'ud came after Musa and Sulayman was the son of

Da'ud. So it can be seen that magic definitely existed on the earth

before Sulayman and before Musa, peace be upon both of them.

Indeed the Noble Quran mentions to us the occurrence of magic

during the time of the people of Salih, peace be upon him. He was

one of the Prophets of Allah who came before Ibrahim the Friend,

peace be upon him. When Salih came to call his people to the Path

of Allah, they accused him of being one of the bewitched, accord­

ing to what Allah Almighty says:

"They said, 'You are merely someone bewitched.'''

From this we. know that magic must have been known to the

people of Salih or else they could not have accused him of being

bewitched. So this leads us to the fact that Harut and Marut

descended to earth and taught people magic in very ancient times,

long before Sulayman. So what is the reason for the ayats in which

Harut and Marut are mentioned in the Noble Quran being con­

nected with Sulayman? .When we examine the ayats just before

these ayats, we fmd that they deal with the Jews. Allah Almighty

"When a Messenger comes to them from Allah, confirm­

ing what is with them, a group of those who have been

given the Book disdainfully cast the Book of Allah behind

their backs, just as if they did not know." (2:101)

In this noble ayat Allah - glory be to Him and may He be exalt­

ed! - informs us that the Noble Quran came to confirm the Torah

of the Jews, but they denied the Quran even though they recog­

nised that it was the truth. They cast their own Book, the Torah,

behind their backs, meaning that they did not pay any attention to

it, so that there would be no proof against them regarding the truth

of the Quran. They took the position of someone who does not

know. It was as if they did not know. what had been revealed in the

Torah about the coming of the Messenger of Allah. They did not

know the penalty they would pay for doing that.

Those people, the Jews, brought what the shaytans had recited

during the days of the kingdom of Sulayman. It was as if they

<were seeking help from what the shaytans had recited which had

introduced disbelief into the Torah. They used this disbelief and

these lies to aid and abet them in their denial of the Messenger of

Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and the Noble

Quran. For this reason the noble ayat was sent down in connec­

tion with Sulayman, peace be upon him, and the shay tans and

magic: in order to expose the alterations the Jews had made in

their Book to avoid their having to believe in the Quran and the

Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace.