The story of Haaroot and Maaroot– I

One of the stories in the Quran, is the story of Haaroot and Maaroot.
Allaah Says what means:"And they ]i.e., the Children of Israel[
followed ]instead[ what the devils had recited during the reign of
Sulaymaan )Solomon(. It was not Sulaymaan who disbelieved, but the
devils disbelieved, teaching people magic and that which was revealed
to the two angels at Babylon, Haaroot and Maaroot. But they ]i.e., the
two angels[ do not teach anyone unless they say: 'We are a trial, so
do not disbelieve ]by practicing magic[.' And ]yet[ they learn from
them that by which they cause separation between a man and his wife.
But they do not harm anyone through it except by permission of Allaah.
And they ]i.e., people[ learn what harms them and does not benefit
them. But they ]i.e., the Children of Israel[ certainly knew that
whoever purchased it ]i.e., magic[ would not have in the Hereafter any
share. And wretched is that for which they sold themselves, if they
only knew."]Quran 2: 102[
The Children of Israel received a Great Book from Allaah, namely the
Quran, which confirmed what they had been told in the Tawraah )i.e.
Torah(; they were claiming to adhere to their scripture, yet they
disbelieved in the Messenger )Muhammad(and a group of them also threw
the Scripture of Allaah )i.e., the Tawraah( behind their backs and
shunned it, despite them knowing that it was the truth, as Allaah
tells us, saying what means:"…A party of those who had been given the
Scripture threw the Scripture of Allaah ]i.e., the Tawraah[ behind
their backs as if they did not know ]what it contained[."]Quran 2:
101[
It is the way of Allaah that He punishes those who shun that which
benefits them; He therefore busies them with things that are of no
benefit to them, or makes them indulge in what harms them. Whoever
shuns the worship of the Most Merciful will be afflicted with the
worship of idols.
Whoever shuns Islamic monotheism will be afflicted with association
with Allaah. Whoever shuns the Sunnah will be afflicted with religious
innovation. Whoever shuns adhering to the Islamic texts will be
afflicted with blind imitation of others who have no evidence to back
up their actions.
Whoever shuns hoping in, loving and fearing only Allaah will be
afflicted with directing all these acts to other than Him. Whoever
refrains from spending his wealth for the sake of Allaah will be
afflicted with spending it for the sake of Satan.
Whoever shuns humbling himself to Allaah will be afflicted with being
humiliated by other people, and whoever shuns the truth will be
afflicted with adhering to falsehood.
This is exactly what happened to the Jews when they shunned the Book
of Allaah; they were afflicted with following in the footsteps of
Satan. During the reign of Sulaymaanthey refused to believe in the
Book of Allaah, and were thus afflicted by following what the devils
recited and invented.
The devils introduced magic to the people and claimed that
Sulaymaanused magic and that it was the means for him to have such
great power and a vast empire.
Indeed they lied, because Allaah is the One who granted him enough
power and such a vast empire that he had no need to resort to magic,
or to seek the help of the devils. As a matter of fact, Allaah
facilitated the devils for the disposal of Sulaymaan; Allaah Says what
means:"They made for him what he willed of elevated chambers, statues,
bowls like reservoirs, and stationary kettles…"]Quran 34: 13[
Allaah utilised them for Sulaymaanto use, and so they were under his
command, but after the death of Sulaymaanthe devils came out to the
people claiming that the reason behind his control over them was the
magic he used and practiced, but Allaah exposes their lie saying what
means:"And they ]i.e., the Children of Israel[ followed ]instead[ what
the devils had recited during the reign of Sulaymaan. It was not
Sulaymaan who disbelieved …"]Quran 2: 102[
Whoever practices or uses magic is a disbeliever, but Sulaymaannever
disbelieved and never practiced magic; indeed Allaah confirms the very
opposite, saying what means:"…It was not Sulaymaan who disbelieved,
but the devils disbelieved, teaching people magic…"]Quran 2: 102[ They
disbelieved by teaching people magic and how to use it, thereby
misguiding them.
The Jews practiced the magic that Allaah sent the two angels with,
namely Haaroot and Maaroot, as a means of testing people and seeing
who amongst His slaves would remain steadfast and who would deviate,
or who would remain upon faith and who would disbelieve.
These two angels, Haaroot and Maaroot, were sent to teach people magic
in the land of Babylon in Iraq as a test for these people. One may
ask: "How can Allaah send these two angels to teach people magic if
practicing magic is disbelief?" The answer is that it is done in
order to subject people to a trial, as Allaah Says what means:"…But
they ]i.e., the two angels[ do not teach anyone unless they say: 'We
are a trial, so do not disbelieve ]by practicing magic[…'"]Quran 2:
102[
These angels would initially warn people not to learn this magic, and
that to do so would entail disbelief, but if they insisted on learning
magic, then they would teach them it; this magic could thereafter be
used for prohibited reasons, such as to separate spouses. The Jews
practiced the magic that they accused Sulaymaanof using.
The Jews learnt magic and became specialists in it, and to this day
the most skilled magicians are the Jews, especially the Moroccan Jews.
These Jews shunned the news of the description and imminent arrival of
the Prophet Muhammadthat was in their scripture; they also shunned the
new Book )i.e. the Quran(; they eschewed all this and instead resorted
to learning and practicing magic.
In this story, Allaah mentions some of the evil consequences of magic,
such as what means:"…And ]yet[ they learn from them that by which they
cause separation between a man and his wife…"]Quran 2: 102[
This is while Allaah describes marriage as something that results in
harmony when He Says what means:"…He placed between you ]i.e., man and
his wife[ affection and mercy…."]Quran 30: 21[
Magic separates man from his wife, which is proof that it does have an
effect, but this effect only occurs by the will of Allaah. Some types
of magic make a person love another and act as if he is enslaved to
him or her; such a person would feel that he simply cannot live
without this person; another type of magic results in the opposite,
whereby a person may hate another to the extent that he cannot even
look him in the eye; a father can be bewitched in order to make him
despise his children or wife, as in the previously mentioned verse of
Chapter Al-Baqarah.
Allaah Says what means:"But they ]i.e. the Children of Israel[
certainly knew that whoever purchased it ]i.e. learnt and practiced
magic[ would not have in the Hereafter any share."]Quran 2: 102[
The scholars differed in their interpretation of this verse. Some of
them stated that Allaah did not send down these angels with magic to
teach people, but rather it was the devils who taught people magic. On
the other hand, many from the Salaf )predecessors(were of the view
that Allaah sent down to the earth these two angels from the heavens
as a punishment to them; others said that they were angels who
deviated and were an exceptional case from all the other angels, who
never disobey Allaah; yet others said that they were honourable angels
who were sent down to teach people magic as a way of testing them, but
who only taught those who insisted on learning it after having been
informed and reminded that magic is a form of disbelief, and after
having been sternly warned against learning and practicing it.
Undoubtedly, learning magic is prohibited, and practicing it is
disbelief, as indicated in the verse, in addition to many prophetic
narrations that affirm this fact.