Tafsir of Al-Baqarah 2:102

Surah Al-Baqarah (The Cow): Verse 102

{وَاتَّبَعُوا مَا تَتْلُوا الشَّيَاطِينُ عَلَى مُلْكِ سُلَيْمَانَ} (And they followed what the devils recited concerning the reign of Solomon.)

Know that this verse introduces another category of their reprehensible actions: their engagement with sorcery, their inclination towards it, and their invitation of people to practice it.

Issue 1: Who are those being addressed by {وَاتَّبَعُوا} (And they followed)?

There are several opinions:

1. It refers to the Jews present during the time of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).
2. It refers to the Jews who preceded them.
3. It refers to the sorcerers among the Jews during Solomon's time, as most Jews deny his prophethood and consider him merely a worldly king. They might have believed his great kingdom was achieved through sorcery.
4. It encompasses all of the above, which is preferable as there is no evidence to restrict the term to only one group.

Al-Suddi reported that when Muhammad (PBUH) came to them, they debated him using the Torah. When the Torah and the Qur'an agreed, they cast the Torah aside and followed the book of Asaf and the sorcery of Harut and Marut, which contradicted the Qur'an. This is supported by the preceding verse (Al-Baqarah: 101), where Allah mentions that a party of the People of the Book cast away the Book of Allah behind their backs, and then informed that they followed the books of sorcery.

Issue 2: The meaning of {تَتْلُوا} (recited/chanted).

1. It means recitation and narration.
2. Abu Muslim suggested it means they fabricated lies against the reign of Solomon. The Arabs use tala ‘alayhi (he recited to him) for lying, and tala ‘anhu (he recited from him) for truthfulness. If the context is ambiguous, both meanings are possible.
3. The first meaning (recitation/narration) is closer to the literal sense, although the term tila (recitation) is sometimes used for a lie to distinguish it from a true narration (which is usually attributed via ruwiya ‘an or akhbara ‘an). It is not impossible that what they narrated about Solomon was something read and recited, thus encompassing all descriptions.

Issue 3: The identity of the devils ({الشَّيَاطِينُ}).

1. The devils of the Jinn (most common view).
2. The devils of mankind (view of the Mu'tazilites).
3. Both Jinn and human devils.

• Regarding Jinn devils: They used to eavesdrop on the heavens, add fabrications to what they heard, and pass these lies to soothsayers, who recorded them in books that people read and learned. This became widespread during Solomon's time, leading people to claim that the Jinn knew the unseen, and that Solomon's kingdom was established solely by this knowledge, which enabled him to subjugate Jinn, humans, and the wind.
• Regarding human devils: It is narrated that Solomon buried much of the knowledge Allah granted him beneath his throne, hoping it would remain preserved if the apparent aspects of his rule perished. After some time, hypocrites accessed these writings, inserted sorcery into them, and after Solomon's death, they presented these books to the people, claiming Solomon achieved his status only through this knowledge. This explains {mā tatlū ash-shayāṭīn} (what the devils recite).
• Argument against Jinn devils: If Jinn devils could alter prophetic books and laws in a way that the alteration remained accepted among people, trust in all divine laws would cease.
• Rebuttal to the counter-argument: The difference is that what a human does will likely show some flaw. However, if we allow Jinn to forge writings in Solomon's handwriting, it would remain hidden, leading to doubt in all religions.

Issue 4: The meaning of {عَلَى مُلْكِ سُلَيْمَانَ} (concerning the reign of Solomon).

1. It means regarding Solomon's reign (Ibn Jurayj).
2. It means during the time of Solomon's reign.
3. The closest meaning is that they recited these things as a false attribution against the reign of Solomon, because they would read from the books of sorcery and claim Solomon attained his kingdom through this knowledge. Thus, their recitation was like an accusation against his reign.

Issue 5: The meaning of Solomon's reign ({مُلْكِ سُلَيْمَانَ}).

The Judge suggested that Solomon's reign includes his Prophethood, the revealed Book, and the Law. If they produced a scroll of sorcery, claiming it was from him, it would be a false claim against his true reign (which included prophethood). The sounder view is that since they claimed his kingdom was due to sorcery, this claim itself constituted a false attribution against his reign.

Issue 6: Reasons for attributing sorcery to Solomon.

1. To magnify his status and encourage people to accept the sorcery from them.
2. The Jews did not acknowledge his prophethood, claiming his kingdom was due to sorcery.
3. Since Allah subjected the Jinn to Solomon, and he interacted with them and gained wondrous secrets, people generally assumed he learned sorcery from them.

{وَمَا كَفَرَ سُلَيْمَانُ} (But Solomon did not disbelieve.)

This is a declaration of his innocence from disbelief. This implies that the people attributed both disbelief and sorcery to him.

1. Some Jewish accounts claim that Muhammad (PBUH) asserted Solomon was a Prophet, while they asserted he was merely a sorcerer. Allah revealed this verse in response.
2. Jewish sorcerers claimed they learned sorcery from Solomon, so Allah exonerated him.
3. Some claimed his kingdom was sustained by sorcery. Allah cleared him of it, as being a Prophet contradicts being an unbelieving sorcerer.

Then Allah clarifies who did disbelieve: {وَلَٰكِنَّ الشَّيَاطِينَ كَفَرُوا} (But the devils disbelieved), referring to those who adopted sorcery as a profession and attributed it to Solomon.

Then Allah explains how they disbelieved: {يُعَلِّمُونَ النَّاسَ السِّحْرَ} (teaching people sorcery).

Issue 1: Linguistic Meaning of Sorcery.

Linguists state that Sihr originally refers to anything subtle and whose cause is hidden. As-sihr (with fatḥa on sīn) means nourishment because its channels are subtle and hidden. Labeed said:

And we nourish with food and drink.

This has two interpretations: we deceive and trick, like one who is enchanted; or we nourish. In either case, the meaning relates to hiddenness. It is also said that tala ‘alayhi (he recited to him) implies lying. If the matter is ambiguous, both meanings are possible.

The word is also used for the lung/chest area. Aisha (RA) said: "The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) passed away between my siḥrī (chest area) and my naḥrī (throat)." (This relates to hiddenness).

The verse {إِنَّمَا أَنتَ مِنَ الْمُسَحَّرِينَ} (You are only a man who is fed) means one who eats and drinks (i.e., created), supported by their response: {مَا أَنتَ إِلَّا بَشَرٌ مِّثْلُنَا} (You are nothing but a man like us). It could also mean one who possesses a lung (siḥr).

In the story of Moses, Allah says to the sorcerers: {إِنَّ اللَّهَ سَيُبْطِلُهُ} (Indeed, Allah will invalidate it). And: {فَلَمَّا أَلْقَوْا سَحَرُوا أَعْيُنَ النَّاسِ} (So when they cast down, they deceived the eyes of the people). This is the original linguistic meaning of sihr.

Issue 2: Legal (Shar'i) Meaning of Sorcery.

In religious terminology, sihr is restricted to any act whose cause is hidden, which makes things appear other than their reality, operating through illusion and deception. When used without qualification, it implies condemnation of the practitioner. Allah says: {سَحَرُوا أَعْيُنَ النَّاسِ} (they deceived the eyes of the people), meaning they deluded them into thinking their ropes and staffs were moving. Also: {يُخَيَّلُ إِلَيْهِ مِن سِحْرِهِمْ أَنَّهَا تَسْعَى} (It was made to appear to him from their sorcery that they were moving).

It can also be used qualifiedly in a praiseworthy manner. It is narrated that when Al-Zibriqan ibn Badr and Amr ibn Al-Ahtham came to the Prophet (PBUH), and Amr praised Al-Zibriqan, Al-Zibriqan objected. Amr then described Al-Zibriqan negatively. The Prophet (PBUH) said: "Indeed, some eloquence is sorcery (sihr)." The Prophet (PBUH) called some eloquence sihr because its speaker clarifies the obscure and reveals the truth through beautiful expression.

• Objection: How can something that reveals truth be called sihr, which implies concealing the apparent?
• Response: It is called sihr for two reasons:
  1. Its subtlety and beauty captivate hearts, resembling the captivating nature of sorcery.
  2. The eloquent person can make the ugly appear beautiful and the beautiful appear ugly, resembling sorcery in this aspect.

Issue 3: Categories of Sorcery.

Sorcery has several categories:

1. Sorcery of the Chaldeans/Kasdeans: Ancient people who worshipped the stars, believing they governed the world, dispensing good, evil, fortune, and misfortune. Abraham (PBUH) was sent to refute them. The Mu'tazilites deny that anyone other than Allah can create bodies, life, color, or taste. They offer arguments (summarized by Al-Qadi and refuted by Al-Razi here, focusing on the weakness of their reliance on the premise that all non-God entities are either discrete bodies or subsist in them, and the problem of analogy between human powers and potential divine power).

2. Sorcery of Illusion and Strong Soul: This relates to the power of the human soul/self ({أَنَا} - I). If the human is just the physical structure, perhaps certain temperaments allow for creating bodies or knowing the unseen. If the human is the soul, perhaps some souls possess this power inherently. This possibility is supported by:
   • The inability to walk on a tightrope suspended over a chasm (fear of falling causes the effect).
   • Doctors advising the fearful to avoid red objects and the epileptic to avoid strong, rotating lights.
   • Aristotle's report that a hen imitating a rooster's sound and spurs grew a spur-like growth on its leg, showing psychosomatic influence on the body.
   • The consensus that verbal supplication without sincere inner intention has little effect, proving the influence of intentions/souls.
   • The nearest causes for animal actions are mental perceptions, as the motive force in muscles requires a preference (beautiful, pleasant, or ugly/painful perception).
   • Experience shows these perceptions cause physical changes (e.g., anger increases body heat).
   • Anecdote: A king paralyzed was cured when insulted, causing him to jump up in anger, removing the chronic ailment. If perceptions can affect the body, why not external reality?
   • The "evil eye" is agreed upon by the rational.
   • Souls strong enough to affect matter might not need tools, while weaker souls need instruments (like effigies) to focus their intent. This is why seclusion, less food, and avoiding people are required for such practices.
   • Charms/Incantations ({الرُّقَى}): If the words are known, they focus the senses (sight and hearing) toward the goal, strengthening the soul's influence. If the words are unknown, they induce a state of bewilderment/awe, causing the soul to detach from the senses and focus on the act, strengthening its spiritual influence.
   • If this soul power combines with the first type (celestial influence), the effect is magnified.

3. Sorcery involving Terrestrial Spirits (Jinn): The greatest philosophers accepted the existence of terrestrial spirits (Jinn), categorized as good (believing Jinn) and evil (disbelieving Jinn/devils). These spirits are self-subsisting entities, capable of knowing particulars. Connection with them is easier than with celestial spirits due to greater similarity, though the power gained is weaker (like a flame compared to the sun). This type is called Azā'im (incantations/binding) and the subjugation of Jinn.

4. Sorcery of Illusions and Deception of the Eyes ({التَّخَيُّلاتِ وَالْأَخْذُ بِالْعُيُونِ}): Based on:
   • Visual errors (e.g., stationary objects appearing to move on a ship).
   • The eye needing a measurable duration to perceive something clearly; rapid succession of stimuli merges into one perception (like colors on a spinning wheel).
   • The mind's preoccupation preventing sensory registration (e.g., not noticing someone while focused on the Sultan).
   • The conjurer distracts the audience's eyes and minds with one action while quickly performing the real trick, which remains hidden due to the audience's focus and the speed of the second action. The more skilled the distraction, the better the trick. Bright light, darkness, or strong colors can also induce visual impairment.

5. Sorcery of Mechanical Devices: Wonderful effects achieved through devices built on geometric ratios or illusions, like mechanical figures fighting or a trumpeter sounding a horn hourly without being touched. This includes the realistic statues of Rome and India. Mechanical clockwork falls under this. Also included is the science of hauling heavy weights with light apparatus—though this has known, albeit rare, scientific principles, laymen consider it sorcery. Example: The story of Arjiyānūs the musician and the temple of Jerusalem, using a mechanical bird-call device to attract doves to deposit olives daily, which people mistook for miracles of the buried hermit.

6. Sorcery using Properties of Drugs: Administering stupefying or intoxicating substances (like donkey brain fumes) that dull the mind. The properties of things (like magnetism) are undeniable, though people often mix truth with falsehood here.

7. Sorcery of Attaching the Heart (Psychological Influence): The sorcerer claims knowledge of the Greatest Name and the obedience of Jinn. If the listener is weak-minded, they believe it, become terrified, and their sensory powers weaken, allowing the sorcerer to act upon them. Attachment of the heart has a great effect in executing actions and concealing secrets.

8. Sorcery of Slander and Subtle Manipulation: Subtle methods of sowing discord, common among people.

Issue 4: Possibility and Legality of these Types of Sorcery (Muslim Views).

• Mu'tazilites: Denied all types except those based on illusion, dulling drugs, slander, and manipulation. They deemed the first five categories impossible and perhaps considered those who affirmed them as disbelievers.
• Ahl al-Sunnah (Sunnis): Affirmed the possibility of flying or transforming humans into donkeys, but maintained that Allah is the Creator of these effects when the sorcerer performs specific recitations. They deny that celestial bodies or stars are the direct agents.
• Philosophers, Astrologers, Sabians: Their views are as previously established (i.e., affirming celestial influence).

• Argument against Sabians (Sunni Proof): Since the universe is contingent (created), its Creator must be capable. Anything deemed possible must be within the scope of God's power. If any contingent thing occurred through another cause, that cause would have to remove God's power over that contingent thing, implying God becomes incapable—which is impossible. Therefore, nothing can occur except by God's power. Thus, these extraordinary acts cannot occur by mere custom during sorcery.
• Proof from Qur'an and Hadith:
  • Qur'an: {وَمَا هُم بِضَارِّينَ بِهِ مِنْ أَحَدٍ إِلَّا بِإِذْنِ اللَّهِ} (And they cannot harm anyone thereby except by permission of Allah). The exception implies that effects do occur by His permission.
  • Hadith: Numerous reports state the Prophet (PBUH) was enchanted (he felt as if he was saying things he hadn't said or doing things he hadn't done). A Jewish woman enchanted him, placing the spell under a well, and it was removed when extracted. The Mu'awwidhatayn (Chapter of Protection) were revealed because of this.
  • Anecdote of Harut and Marut: A woman came to Aisha (RA) seeking repentance from sorcery. She recounted going to Harut and Marut in Babylon, who warned her it was a trial and forbade disbelief (idolatry). She pretended to obey, then committed idolatry, losing her faith. They taught her that whatever she imagined, she could manifest (e.g., turning a grain into wheat, grinding it, baking it). Aisha told her there was no repentance for her.

Issue 5: Is knowledge of sorcery reprehensible or forbidden?

The verified scholars agree that knowledge of sorcery is not inherently reprehensible because knowledge itself is noble (cf. {هَلْ يَسْتَوِي الَّذِينَ يَعْلَمُونَ وَالَّذِينَ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ} - Are those who know equal to those who do not know?). Furthermore, if sorcery were unknown, distinguishing it from miracles would be impossible, and knowledge of miracles is obligatory. What is prerequisite for an obligation is also obligatory.

Issue 6: Does the sorcerer become a disbeliever (Kafir)?

• Type 1 (Astrology): Believing stars govern the universe and create all events is unanimously disbelief.
• Type 2 (Soul Power): Believing the purified human soul can create bodies, life, power, and change form is unanimously disbelief (like apostasy).
• Type 3 (Customary Causality): Believing that Allah creates bodies, life, and form habitually following specific incantations or drugs. The Mu'tazilites deem this disbelief because it prevents recognizing the truth of prophets (as they argue a liar could also perform such acts). Al-Razi refutes this: if a false claimant to prophethood performs such acts, it is deception; but if he doesn't claim prophethood, it doesn't cause confusion, as the true prophet performs miracles while claiming prophethood. The other types of sorcery are not disbelief.

• Objection: Allah says: {وَمَا كَفَرَ سُلَيْمَانُ} (Solomon did not disbelieve), implying sorcery is disbelief. Also: {وَلَٰكِنَّ الشَّيَاطِينَ كَفَرُوا يُعَلِّمُونَ النَّاسَ السِّحْرَ} (But the devils disbelieved, teaching people sorcery), implying teaching sorcery is disbelief. Also, the two angels warned: "We are only a trial, so do not disbelieve."
• Response: We interpret this based on the context. The verse about the devils refers specifically to the first type of sorcery (believing in the divinity of the stars and seeking miracles through them). The angels' warning was about this specific type of disbelief.

Issue 7: Is the sorcerer to be executed?

• Types 1 & 2 (Belief in Star Divinity or Soul Creation): These are acts of disbelief (apostasy). If a Muslim does this, he is sought for repentance; if he persists, he is executed (though Malik and Abu Hanifa reportedly held that repentance is not accepted for this specific type).
• Type 3 (Customary Causality): If the sorcerer believes Allah creates effects habitually following his actions, he is not necessarily a disbeliever (as argued above). However, if he believes his act is permissible when it is forbidden, he commits disbelief by permitting the forbidden. If he believes it is forbidden but does it anyway, he is a sinner (fāsiq).
  • Shafi'i's view: It is treated as a transgression (jināyah). If he claims his sorcery usually kills, he faces qiṣāṣ (retaliation). If it sometimes kills, it is like manslaughter (shibh ‘amd). If he claims he targeted someone else and the name matched the victim, it is an error requiring diyah (blood money) from his wealth.
  • Abu Hanifa's view: The sorcerer is executed without repentance if known to be a sorcerer, because he combines disbelief with spreading corruption on earth. If he admits past practice but has repented long ago, his repentance is accepted.
  • Counter-argument (Sunni): Since Type 3 is not disbelief, it is fisq. If it harms others, the Shafi'i detail applies. Furthermore, the Prophet (PBUH) was enchanted by a Jew (Lubaid ibn al-A'sam) and a Jewish woman, yet he did not execute them, implying Muslims should be treated similarly (having the same rights and obligations).

• Other Types (4-8: Illusion, Mechanics, Drugs, Psychological Influence, Slander): These do not reach the level of disbelief and do not warrant execution.

{وَلَٰكِنَّ الشَّيَاطِينَ كَفَرُوا يُعَلِّمُونَ النَّاسَ السِّحْرَ} (But the devils disbelieved, teaching people sorcery.)

The apparent meaning suggests that their disbelief stemmed from teaching sorcery, implying that teaching sorcery is disbelief.

• Objection: The verse continues: {وَمَا أُنزِلَ عَلَى الْمَلَكَيْنِ بِبَابِلَ هَارُوتَ وَمَارُوتَ} (And what was sent down to the two angels in Babylon, Harut and Marut). If teaching sorcery is disbelief, then teaching by the angels (who are infallible) would imply they disbelieved, which is impossible.
• Response: The shared term (sihr) must be restricted. We apply the term that constitutes disbelief (Type 1: believing in the divinity of stars) to the devils' actions. The angels did not teach this type of sorcery. They taught the other types (like those causing separation between spouses), which are not disbelief. Furthermore, teaching something is only disbelief if the teacher intends for the student to believe it is true. The angels taught only to warn against it, as stated: {إِنَّمَا نَحْنُ فِتْنَةٌ فَلَا تَكْفُرْ} (We are only a trial, so do not disbelieve). The devils intended for people to believe their teachings were true.

{وَمَا أُنزِلَ عَلَى الْمَلَكَيْنِ بِبَابِلَ هَارُوتَ وَمَارُوتَ} (And [they followed] what was sent down to the two angels in Babylon, Harut and Marut.)

Issue 1: The meaning of {مَا} (what) in {وَمَا أُنزِلَ}.

1. It is coordinated with {السِّحْرَ} (sorcery): They followed the sorcery and what was sent down to the angels.
2. It is coordinated with {مَا تَتْلُوا الشَّيَاطِينُ}: They followed what the devils recited and what was sent down to the angels (which was the very thing the devils recited). Thus, they followed both, not just one.
3. It is in the genitive case, coordinated with {مُلْكِ سُلَيْمَانَ}: They followed what the devils recited falsely against Solomon's reign and what was sent down to the angels. Abu Muslim preferred this, arguing that sorcery cannot be sent down to angels.

• Abu Muslim's Arguments against Sorcery being sent down:
  1. If sorcery were sent down, Allah would be the sender, which is impossible as sorcery is disbelief and vanity.
  2. The verse states devils teach sorcery, implying teaching it is disbelief; this cannot apply to angels.
  3. If prophets cannot be sent to teach sorcery, angels certainly cannot.
  4. Sorcery is only attributed to disbelievers and devils; Allah does not command what He threatens with punishment.

• Abu Muslim's Alternative Interpretation: Just as devils falsely attributed sorcery to Solomon (who was innocent), they also falsely attributed what was sent down to the angels as sorcery. What was truly sent down was Law and Religion (calling to good). The angels taught this while warning: {إِنَّمَا نَحْنُ فِتْنَةٌ فَلَا تَكْفُرْ}. Some accepted this guidance, while others deviated and learned from the fitnah (trial/temptation) what caused separation between spouses.

• Second View (Negation): {مَا} is negative, coordinated with {وَمَا كَفَرَ سُلَيْمَانُ}. Solomon did not disbelieve, nor was sorcery sent down to the angels. The sorcerers falsely attributed sorcery to Solomon and claimed it was sent down to Harut and Marut. Allah refuted both claims, stating the angels {وَمَا يُعَلِّمَانِ} (do not teach) anyone unless they first warn them.

• Al-Razi's Preference: The first view (coordination with the following phrase) is better, as coordinating with a nearby phrase is preferable without evidence to the contrary. The arguments against the angels teaching sorcery are refuted by noting that teaching something can be for the purpose of warning against it (like defining evil to avoid it).

Issue 2: The reading of {الْمَلَكَيْنِ} (the two angels).

• Majority Reading (Fatḥa on Lām): They were two angels sent down from heaven, named Harut and Marut. Some suggest they were Gabriel and Michael.
• Hasan, Al-Dahhak, Ibn Abbas Reading (Kasra on Lām): They were two men (or two kings) in Babylon teaching sorcery.

• Arguments for Kasra (Humanity): It is unfitting for angels to teach sorcery; it contradicts the verse {وَلَوْ أَنزَلْنَا مَلَكًا لَّقُضِيَ الْأَمْرُ} (If We had sent down an angel, the matter would have been decided). Also, if they appeared as men, it would be deception, which is impermissible for angels.
• Response: The verse about sending down an angel is general, while the reading with fatḥa is specific and takes precedence. Furthermore, in the time of prophets, people were obligated not to assume anyone appearing as a man was definitively human.

Issue 3: The reason for sending down the angels (if they were angels).

• Narrative (Weak/Rejected): Angels questioned why Allah placed Adam's descendants on Earth given their corruption. Allah challenged them, and they chose Harut and Marut to be tested. They were given human desires, descended, and were tempted by the beautiful woman (Zuhra/Venus) into idolatry, drinking wine, and murder to silence a witness. They repented, chose worldly punishment, and are now suspended in Babylon teaching sorcery. (This narrative is rejected because it contradicts angelic infallibility and suggests Allah offered them a choice between worldly and Hereafter punishment, which is unlikely).

• Sounder Reasons for Sending Them:
  1. Sorcery was rampant, with practitioners claiming prophethood. The angels were sent to teach the specifics of sorcery so people could refute the false claimants.
  2. Knowing the nature of sorcery is necessary to distinguish it from miracles. They were sent to define sorcery for this purpose.
  3. Perhaps sorcery that caused separation among enemies of God and unity among His friends was permissible or even recommended at that time. The people misused it to cause discord among believers.
  4. Knowledge of everything forbidden must be conceivable; otherwise, the prohibition itself is meaningless.
  5. Jinn possessed types of sorcery beyond human capability; the angels taught humans means to counter the Jinn.
  6. It was a severe test (taklīf): teaching them something that could lead to immediate worldly pleasure, while forbidding its use, resulting in great reward for those who abstained (like the test of the river for Saul's army).

Issue 4: Timing of the Event.

Some suggest this occurred during the time of Prophet Idris (PBUH), as if angels descended as men for this purpose, a messenger must have been present as a miracle for them, and they themselves could not be messengers to humans.

Issue 5: Harut and Marut.

They are ‘aṭf bayān (apposition) to the two angels. They are non-Arabic names, hence they are mamnū‘ min aṣ-ṣarf (indeclinable for tanwīn).

{وَمَا يُعَلِّمَانِ مِن أَحَدٍ حَتَّىٰ يَقُولَا إِنَّمَا نَحْنُ فِتْنَةٌ فَلَا تَكْفُرْ} (And they would not teach anyone until they would say, "We are only a trial, so do not disbelieve.")

Allah explains their state: they would not teach sorcery except after a severe warning: "We are only a trial." Here, fitnah means a test/trial by which the obedient is distinguished from the disobedient (like testing gold with fire to separate the pure from the alloy). They taught the method of sorcery, which could lead to corruption, but only after advising: "What I describe to you, although its purpose is to distinguish sorcery from miracles, enables you to reach forbidden acts. Therefore, after learning it, beware of using it for what you are forbidden or for immediate worldly gains."

{فَيَتَعَلَّمُونَ مِنْهُمَا مَا يُفَرِّقُونَ بِهِ بَيْنَ الْمَرْءِ وَزَوْجِهِ} (So they learn from them that by which they cause separation between a man and his wife.)

Issue 1: How the separation occurs.

1. The separation occurs because the person believes the sorcery is effective, leading him to disbelief (kufr). Once he becomes a disbeliever, his wife separates from him.
2. The separation occurs through deception, trickery, manipulation, and other mentioned methods.

Issue 2: Why this specific separation was mentioned.

Allah mentioned this specific separation to indicate other forms of harm. Since the bond between a man and his wife is the strongest form of affection, mentioning that sorcery can break this bond implies that it can certainly achieve lesser separations.

{وَمَا هُم بِضَارِّينَ بِهِ مِنْ أَحَدٍ إِلَّا بِإِذْنِ اللَّهِ} (And they cannot harm anyone thereby except by permission of Allah.)

This confirms our earlier point: harm is generally restricted. Allah mentioned separation because it is one of the highest degrees of harm.

Permission literally means command. Allah does not command sorcery, nor would He command what He intends to condemn. Therefore, interpretation is necessary:

1. Al-Hasan's View (Leaving Alone): It means leaving them to it. If Allah wills, He prevents the harm; if He wills, He leaves the person exposed to the sorcerer's harm.
2. Al-Aṣamm's View (Knowledge): It means by the knowledge of Allah. Adhān (announcement) is called idhān because it informs people of the prayer time, and the ear perceives it. Similarly, {وَأَذَانٌ مِّنَ اللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ} (And an announcement from Allah and His Messenger) means notification. {فَأَذِّنُوا بِحَرْبٍ مِّنَ اللَّهِ} (Then be informed of a war from Allah) means "know."
3. Creation: The harm resulting from sorcery only occurs through Allah's creation and origination. Anything created by Him can be attributed to His permission (as in {إِنَّمَا أَمْرُنَا لِشَيْءٍ إِذَا أَرَدْنَاهُ أَن نَّقُولَ لَهُ كُن فَيَكُونُ}).
4. Command (If separation is disbelief): If separation is interpreted as the sorcerer causing the victim to become a disbeliever (which entails separation from his wife by religious ruling), then this legal consequence requires Allah's command.

{وَيَتَعَلَّمُونَ مَا يَضُرُّهُمْ وَلَا يَنفَعُهُمْ وَلَقَدْ عَلِمُوا لَمَنِ اشْتَرَاهُ مَا لَهُ فِي الْآخِرَةِ مِنْ خَلَاقٍ} (And they learn what harms them and does not benefit them. And they knew indeed that whoever purchased it had no share in the Hereafter.)

Issue 1: The metaphor of "purchasing" ({اشْتَرَاهُ}).

The term "purchase" is used metaphorically for several reasons:

1. Since they cast the Book of Allah behind their backs and clung to what the devils recited, it is as if they bought that sorcery with the Book of Allah.
2. The angels intended the teaching of sorcery to be a means of avoiding it (to gain the benefits of the Hereafter). When they used sorcery, it was as if they bought worldly benefits with the benefits of the Hereafter.
3. Since they undertook hardship to practice sorcery, it is as if they bought the ability to practice it with the hardships they endured.

Issue 2: The meaning of {خَلَاقٍ} (share/portion).

The majority hold that khalaq means portion/lot. Some suggest its root relates to khalq (creation/estimation), like estimating a sum of money for a task. Others suggest it means deliverance/escape.

Remaining Question: How does Allah affirm their knowledge in {وَلَقَدْ عَلِمُوا} (And they knew indeed) and then negate it in {لَوْ كَانُوا يَعْلَمُونَ} (if they only knew) in the next verse?

1. Different Groups: Those who knew are the ones who learned and taught sorcery (the ones mentioned in the preceding verses). Those who do not know are the ignorant ones who desire to learn it, as implied by the verse about the People of the Book casting away the Book as if they did not know.
2. Partial Knowledge: Even if it is the same group, they knew one thing but were ignorant of another. They knew they had no share in the Hereafter, but they were ignorant of the magnitude of the benefits they forfeited and the severity of the punishments they incurred.
3. Knowledge Rendered Useless: Even if the knowledge and the people are the same, they did not benefit from their knowledge; they turned away from it, rendering the knowledge equivalent to non-existence, just as Allah calls the disbelievers "deaf" because they do not benefit from their hearing.

{وَلَوْ أَنَّهُمْ آمَنُوا وَاتَّقَوْا لَمَثُوبَةٌ مِّنْ عِندِ اللَّهِ خَيْرٌ لَّوْ كَانُوا يَعْلَمُونَ} (And if they had believed and feared Allah, a reward from Allah would have been better, if they only knew.)

(The text ends here, returning to the exegesis of the previous verse.)