Allah mentions these two angels in the Quran
Al Baqarah 2: 102
They followed what the Shayâtin (devils) gave out (falsely of the magic) in the lifetime of Sulaimân (Solomon). Sulaimân did not disbelieve, but the Shayâtin (devils) disbelieved, teaching men magic and such things that came down at Babylon to the two (angels,) Hârût and Mârût, but neither of these two angels taught anyone (such things) till they had said, “We are only for trial, so disbelieve not (by learning this magic from us).” And from these (angels) people learn that by which they cause separation between man and his wife, but they could not thus harm anyone except by Allâh’s Leave. And they learn that which harms them and profits them not. And indeed they knew that the buyers of it (magic) would have no share in the Hereafter. And how bad indeed was that for which they sold their ownselves, if they but knew. (102)
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Who are Haroot and Maroot?
They are the two angels that Allah mentions in the Quran. He sent them to Babylon where the devils taught black magic to people. The two angels showed them even more powerful magic with warning that the magic is only a trial.
They are sent down to test human with human and thus separate who believers and who are the disbelievers.
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The current media be it movie and books glamourise magic tremendously. To learn “white magic” is perhaps the coolest thing in the world. Harry Potter and friends are good group of young people who are fighting evil. “white magic” is good and “Black magic” is voldermort, bad and evil and cannot be named.
The truth is all magic are evil. And magic is disbelieve!
That is why Allah said prophet Sulaiman alaihi salam did not disbelieve in this ayah.
If you look around when people talk about magic, you can trace that supposedly magic goes all the way to Prophet Sulaiman alaihi salam. And this is false. And Allah has confirmed that this is false! And we believe in Allah than some people who are trying to glamourise magic and raise the status of shaytan!
Allah has given prophet Sulaiman the miracle (mu’jizat) to be able to control the jinn, animals and wind. He was very much against magic and had confiscated the book of magic and kufr that some people were practising with teh aid of Shytan. He hid it under his throne.
After his death and after the death of the righteous who knew, shaytan showed the human the books of magic under Prophet Sulaiman’s throne and accused Prophet Sulaiman of practicing magic and that was why Prophet Sulaiman could have the power that he had.
And after that magic spread again under the lie that it originated from Prophet Sulayman.
Among the plots of shaytan is to separate the husband and wife and they will try their utmost best to do it.
Muslim recorded that Jabir bin `Abdullah said that the Messenger of Allah said,
(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.’)
Lessons
1. Haroot and Maroot are angels sent down to Babyln to test human with magic.
2. Learning magic is disbelieve.
3. protect yourself by getting closer to Allah.
4. Do your morning and evening adzkar.
5. Prophet Sulaiman alaihi salam did not practise magic.
6. media is trying hard to glamourise magic.
7. There is no such thing as white magic.
8. White magic and black magic are equally evil.
9. Do you think Harry Potter and friends are good?
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Some adult readings which support the lesson
The Jews abandoned the Book of Allah and practiced Magic
As-Suddi commented on,
وَلَمَّا جَآءَهُمْ رَسُولٌ مِّنْ عِندِ اللَّهِ مُصَدِّقٌ لِّمَا مَعَهُمْ
(And when there came to them a Messenger from Allah (i.e. Muhammad ) confirming what was with them), “When Muhammad came to them, they wanted to contradict and dispute with him using the Tawrah. However, the Tawrah and the Qur’an affirmed each other. So the Jews gave up on using the Torah, and took to the Book of Asaf, and the magic of Harut and Marut, which indeed did not conform to the Qur’an. Hence Allah’s statement,
كَأَنَّهُمْ لاَ يَعْلَمُونَ
(As if they did not know!).”
Also, Qatadah said that Allah’s statement,
كَأَنَّهُمْ لاَ يَعْلَمُونَ
(As if they did not know!) means, “They knew the truth but abandoned it, hid it and denied the fact that they even had it.”
Magic existed before Sulayman (Solomon)
As-Suddi said that Allah’s statement,
وَاتَّبَعُواْ مَا تَتْلُواْ الشَّيَـطِينُ عَلَى مُلْكِ سُلَيْمَـنَ
(They followed what the Shayatin (devils) gave out (falsely of the magic) in the lifetime of Sulayman) means, “`During the time of Prophet Solomon.’
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 سُلَيْمَـنُ وَلَـكِنَّ الشَّيْاطِينَ كَفَرُواْ
(Sulayman did not disbelieve, but the Shayatin (devils) disbelieved).
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There were different opinions about Harut and Marut whether they are angels or they are men. Whether they did teach magic or otherwise.
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.
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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 Ja`far 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.
Source
1. Tafsir Ibn Kathir
2. Knowing the Angels (Eeman Made Easy) – Muhammad al Jibaly
Lollies Place 