Al-Baqarah · Madani · ayah 102 of 286

Al-Baqarah 2:102

وَٱتَّبَعُوا۟ مَا تَتْلُوا۟ ٱلشَّيَـٰطِينُ عَلَىٰ مُلْكِ سُلَيْمَـٰنَ ۖ وَمَا كَفَرَ سُلَيْمَـٰنُ وَلَـٰكِنَّ ٱلشَّيَـٰطِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ يُعَلِّمُونَ ٱلنَّاسَ ٱلسِّحْرَ وَمَآ أُنزِلَ عَلَى ٱلْمَلَكَيْنِ بِبَابِلَ هَـٰرُوتَ وَمَـٰرُوتَ ۚ وَمَا يُعَلِّمَانِ مِنْ أَحَدٍ حَتَّىٰ يَقُولَآ إِنَّمَا نَحْنُ فِتْنَةٌ فَلَا تَكْفُرْ ۖ فَيَتَعَلَّمُونَ مِنْهُمَا مَا يُفَرِّقُونَ بِهِۦ بَيْنَ ٱلْمَرْءِ وَزَوْجِهِۦ ۚ وَمَا هُم بِضَآرِّينَ بِهِۦ مِنْ أَحَدٍ إِلَّا بِإِذْنِ ٱللَّهِ ۚ وَيَتَعَلَّمُونَ مَا يَضُرُّهُمْ وَلَا يَنفَعُهُمْ ۚ وَلَقَدْ عَلِمُوا۟ لَمَنِ ٱشْتَرَىٰهُ مَا لَهُۥ فِى ٱلْـَٔاخِرَةِ مِنْ خَلَـٰقٍ ۚ وَلَبِئْسَ مَا شَرَوْا۟ بِهِۦٓ أَنفُسَهُمْ ۚ لَوْ كَانُوا۟ يَعْلَمُونَ

“And they followed [instead] what the devils had recited during the reign of Solomon. It was not Solomon who disbelieved, but the devils disbelieved, teaching people magic and that which was revealed to the two angels at Babylon, Hārūt and Mārūt. 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]."[34] 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 Allāh. 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.”

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Essence

They traded scripture for sorcery; Sulaymān never practised it, its harm reaches no one without Allah's permission, and its buyers sell themselves cheaply.

A reflection

Nothing passes without His permission

In one bad month a man's van breaks down, a contract falls through and his son fails an exam. At a family meal an older relative leans in and lowers her voice. 'Someone has done something to you.' By midnight he is going through the guest list of his brother's wedding, wondering which cousin it was.

The ayah does not tell him magic is imaginary. It speaks of something people learned and used to divide a husband from his wife. Most classical scholars held that such harm can be real. Then, in the middle of the ayah, comes the sentence that changes everything. 'They do not harm anyone through it except by the permission of Allah'.

The magician's pride rests on the claim that he holds a key. The frightened person's fear rests on believing him. The ayah takes the key out of both their hands. A classical commentator explains that nothing in magic causes an effect by itself. Allah creates what He wills when it is done, as He creates fullness when we eat. He may allow it, or He may not.

Does 'by Allah's permission' mean He approves? A classical scholar distinguished two kinds of permission. One belongs to creation: what He lets happen, as here. The other belongs to His law: what He approves, as when the Quran asks, 'Has Allah permitted you?' (10:59). He lets much happen that He does not approve, and its doers will answer for it.

The Prophet ﷺ himself was once affected, so that he imagined he had done things he had not (Sahih al-Bukhari). His response is the model. He prayed, and prayed again. Then he said that Allah had cured him, and he declined to stir up public anger over it.

There is a lesson here for the ego. Pharaoh's magicians were the masters of their craft. They were the first to see that Mūsā's staff was not magic, and they fell in prostration (20:70). Those who knew the trick best knew best how small it was.

Does Allah declare His control because He needs us to acknowledge it? He is free of all need (35:15). The sentence is for the man at midnight with the guest list. It moves his fear from a cousin to his Lord, where it can finally rest.

The full entry has 5 more reflections, questions to sit with, and "Live it today" - with the words, the roots and the tafsir alongside. Free, no account, works offline.