'In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful' His saying, exalted and glorified is He: "Or whenever they made a covenant, a group of them threw it away. Rather, most of them do not believe." "And when a Messenger came to them from Allah, confirming what was with them, a group of those who were given the Scripture threw the Book of Allah behind their backs as if they did not know." "And they followed what the devils recited during the reign of Solomon. And Solomon did not disbelieve, but the devils disbelieved, teaching people magic and what was revealed to the two angels in Babylon, Harut and Marut." Sibawayh said: The 'wa' is the conjunction 'and', and it has been preceded by the interrogative 'alif'. Al-Akhfash said: It is extra. Al-Kisai said: It is 'or', and it was opened for ease. Some recited it as 'or' with the 'wa' being silent, which gives the meaning of 'but', as when someone says: 'I will strike you', the responder may say: 'or is Allah enough?' The judge Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: All of this is forced, and 'or' in this example is firmly established in division. The correct statement is that of Sibawayh. It was recited: 'They made a covenant', and Al-Hasan and Abu Rija' read: 'They were given a covenant'. 'Covenant' is a noun, and it is said to be a verb meaning they gave a covenant. 'Throwing away' means casting and discarding, and from it comes 'nabidh' and 'manboudh'. 'Group' is a collective noun that has no singular form in its wording, and it applies to both few and many in the collective. Therefore, the abundance of those who throw away is indicated by His saying: "Rather, most of them", as the group could be the lesser. And 'do not believe' in this interpretation is a state of the pronoun in 'most of them'. The pronoun may refer back to the group, and it may refer back to all of the Children of Israel, which is more severe for them. The covenant they threw away is what was taken from them in the Torah concerning the matter of Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him. In the Mushaf of Ibn Mas'ud, it is written: 'A group broke it.' His saying, exalted and glorified is He: "And when a Messenger came to them", meaning Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him, and "what was with them" is the Torah, and "confirming" is an adjective for "Messenger". Ibn Abi Abla read "confirming" in the accusative. "And when" necessitates the occurrence of something due to the necessity of another. It is a time adverb, and its response is "threw away" which comes. And "the Book" which they were given is the Torah, and "the Book of Allah" is the object of "threw away", and what is meant is the Qur'an because disbelief in it is throwing away. It is said that what is meant is the Torah because opposing it and disbelieving in what was taken from them in it is throwing away. And "behind their backs" is a metaphor, for what is made to be behind is no longer looked at at all. The Arabs say: This matter was made behind his back and behind his ear. Al-Farazdaq said: Tamim ibn Zayd, do not let my need be behind, so that its response does not elude me. And "as if they did not know" is a comparison to one who does not know, as they acted like the ignorant, thus it comes from the wording that they disbelieved knowingly.

And His saying, exalted is He: ﴿And they followed what the devils recited﴾, refers to the Jews. Ibn Zayd said: The intended meaning is those who were in the time of Solomon. Ibn Abbas said: The intended meaning is those who were in the time of the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him. It is said that it refers to all of them. And "تَتْلُوا" (you recite) was explained by Ata as meaning you read from recitation. Ibn Abbas said: "تَتْلُوا" means you follow, as you say: The people came following one another. And "تَتْلُوا" can mean "تَلَتْ" (they followed), so the future tense is placed in the position of the past tense. The Kufans said: The meaning is what it was that you recited. Al-Hasan and Al-Dahhak read: "الشَياطِين" (the devils) with a waw. And His saying: ﴿On the kingdom of Solomon﴾ means on the time of the kingdom of Solomon. It is said: The meaning is in the stories of Solomon, his attributes, and his news. Al-Tabari said: They followed, meaning they preferred, and ﴿On the kingdom of Solomon﴾ means according to his law, prophethood, and condition.

What the devils recited, it was said: They used to throw to the soothsayers a word of truth along with a hundred words of falsehood until that became their knowledge. Solomon gathered it and buried it under his throne. When he died, the devils said: That was the knowledge of Solomon. It is said: Rather, what the devils recited was magic and its teaching. Solomon, peace be upon him, gathered it as has been mentioned. It is said: Solomon, peace be upon him, used to dictate to his scribe Asaf ibn Barkhiyah his knowledge and store it. When he died, the jinn brought it out and wrote between every two lines a line of magic, then attributed that to Solomon. It is said: Asaf conspired with the devils to write magic and attribute it to Solomon after his death. It is said: The jinn wrote that after the death of Solomon and fabricated it and attributed it to him. It is said: When the kingdom of Solomon was removed from him, some of the jinn and humans took magic and soothsaying as knowledge. When Solomon returned to his kingdom, he traced their books in the lands and buried them. When he died, a devil said to the Children of Israel: Shall I guide you to the treasure of Solomon by which the jinn and the wind were subjugated to him? It is this magic. The Children of Israel extracted it and it spread among them, and they attributed Solomon to magic, and they disbelieved in that until Allah exonerated him by the tongue of Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him.

It is narrated that when the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, mentioned Solomon among the prophets, some of the Jews said: Look at Muhammad mentioning Solomon among the prophets when he was nothing but a magician. And His saying, exalted is He: ﴿And Solomon did not disbelieve﴾ is an exoneration from Allah, exalted is He, for Solomon. It has not been previously mentioned in the verses that anyone attributed him to disbelief. However, this is a verse that was revealed in the previous Sabbath that the Jews attributed him to magic, and magic and working with it is disbelief.

The sorcerer is killed according to Malik for disbelief, and he is not given a chance to repent like the zindiq. Al-Shafi'i said: He is asked about his magic, and if it is disbelief, he is given a chance to repent. If he repents, well and good; otherwise, he is killed. Malik said regarding one who contracts on behalf of women: He is punished but not killed. There is a difference of opinion regarding the sorcerer of the people of dhimmah; it is said he is killed. Malik said: He is not killed unless he has killed with his magic, and he must compensate for what he has done. He is killed if he brings forth something that he did not covenant upon. Nafi', Asim, Ibn Kathir, and Abu Amr read with a strengthened noon in 'but' and the accusative of 'the devils.' Hamzah, Al-Kisai, and Ibn Amir read with a softened noon and the nominative of 'the devils.' Some of the Kufans said: The strengthening is more beloved to me if the waw enters upon it, because the softened form is like 'but,' and 'but' does not accept the waw. Abu Ali said: The entry of the waw upon it does not necessitate strengthening; it is heavy and light in meaning, except that it does not act if it is softened. The disbelief of the devils is either by teaching them magic, or by their knowledge of it, or by their denying Solomon with it, and all of that occurred. The teaching people are the followers of the devils from the Children of Israel, and 'magic' is the second object of 'they teach,' and the position of 'they teach' is either in the accusative as a circumstantial phrase or in the nominative as a second subject. And His saying, the Exalted: 'And what was sent down upon the two angels in Babylon, Harut and Marut.' The 'what' is connected to 'magic,' so it is a second object, and this is based on the saying that Allah, the Exalted, sent down magic upon the two angels as a trial for the people, so that whoever followed it would disbelieve, and whoever left it would believe. Or based on the saying of Mujahid and others: Indeed, Allah, the Exalted, sent down upon the two angels that which distinguishes between a man and his wife without magic, or based on the saying: Indeed, He, the Exalted, sent down magic upon them to be known as a warning against it and a prohibition from it. The judge Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: And the teaching in this saying is merely a brief introduction to its principles. It is said that 'what' is connected to 'what' in His saying: 'What you recite.' It is said: 'What' is negating, a refutation of His saying: 'And Solomon did not disbelieve,' and that is because the Jews said: Indeed, Allah sent down Gabriel and Michael with magic, so Allah refuted that. Ibn Abbas, Al-Hasan, Al-Dahhak, and Ibn Abzi read 'the two angels' with a kasra on the lam. Ibn Abzi said: They are David and Solomon, and according to this saying, 'what' is also negating. Al-Hasan said: They are two angels who were in Babylon. So 'what' in this saying is not negating. Abu Al-Aswad Al-Du'ali also read it this way and said: They are Harut and Marut, and this is like the saying of Al-Hasan. 'Babylon' does not decline for femininity and definiteness; it is a region of the earth, and there is a difference of opinion regarding its location. Some said: It is in Iraq and what is adjacent to it. Ibn Mas'ud said to the people of Kufa: You are between Al-Hirah and Babylon. Qatadah said: It is from Nasibin to the head of the eye. Some said: It is in the Maghreb, and this is weak. Some said: It is a mountain called Damawand.

And "Harut and Marut" is a substitute for "the two angels" according to the saying of those who said: they are two angels. And whoever recited "the two angels" with a kasra on the lam and made them David and Solomon, or made the two angels Gabriel and Michael, made "Harut and Marut" a substitute for the devils in His saying: "But the devils" and said: they are two devils.

And "they teach" comes either on the basis that the two is a plural, or on the estimation of followers of these two devils who are the head. And whoever said: they were two men said: "Harut and Marut" is a substitute for his saying: "the two angels."

And it was said: they are a substitute for the people in His saying: "they teach the people." And Al-Zuhri recited "Harut and Marut" in the nominative, and its aspect is the substitution for "the devils" in His saying: "the devils recite" or from the devils in the second according to the recitation of those who lightened "but" and raised it, or on the news of an implied beginning whose estimation is: they are "Harut and Marut." And it was narrated by those who said that they are angels that the angels despised the rulers of the children of Adam, and claimed that if they were like them from the distance from Allah, they would obey truly. So Allah said to them: choose two angels to judge between the people, so they chose Harut and Marut, and they were judging. A woman came to them seeking a judgment, and they were tempted by her, so they seduced her, and she refused until they drank wine and were killed, so they did, and she asked them about the name by which they ascend to the heavens, and they taught her it. So she spoke with it and ascended, and she was transformed into a star, and she is Venus, and Ibn Umar used to curse her.

The judge Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: All of this is weak, and far from Ibn Umar, may Allah be pleased with him. And it was narrated that Venus descended to them in the form of a woman from Persia, and what was mentioned occurred to them, and Allah informed the angels of what had happened with Harut and Marut, and they were astonished. They remained on earth because they were given the choice between the punishment of the Hereafter and the punishment of this world, and they chose the punishment of this world, so they are in a pit of the earth suspended, clapping with their wings.

And a group narrated that they teach magic in that place, and they took upon themselves that they do not teach anyone until they say to him: "Indeed, we are a trial, so do not disbelieve." And this story increases in some narrations and decreases in others, and does not cut off from it with anything, and for that reason it has been summarized.