Harut and Marut

In the Quran, Harut and Marut are mentioned briefly in Surah 2:102. There are different readings and interpretations of the verses. The Study Quran translates the verse as follows:

{{blockquote|Solomon did not disbelieve, but the satans disbelieved, teaching people sorcery and that which was sent down to the two angels at Babylon, Harūt and Marūt. But they would not teach anyone until they had said, "We are only a trial, so do not disbelieve." Then they would learn from them that by which they could cause separation between a man and his wife. But they did not harm anyone with it, save by God's Leave. And they would learn that which harmed them and brought them no benefit, knowing that whosoever purchases it has no share in the Hereafter. Evil is that for which they sold their souls, had they but known.|The Qur'an, 2:102.{{cite book |editor-last=Nasr |editor-first=Seyyed Hossein |editor-link=Seyyed Hossein Nasr |title=The Study Quran |publisher=HarperOne |year=2015 |isbn=978-0-06-112586-7 |pages=47–48}}}}

According to the reading attributed to Hasan al-Basri (642–728), Harut and Marut are "two kings" ({{langx|ar|{{Script|Arab|ملكين}}|malikayn}}), and not two angels (malakayn).Jung, Leo. "Fallen Angels in Jewish, Christian and Mohammedan Literature: A Study in Comparative Folk-Lore." The Jewish Quarterly Review 16.3 (1926): 287-336.Al-Saïd Muhammad Badawi Arabic–English Dictionary of Qurʾanic Usage M. A. Abdel Haleem ISBN 978-90-04-14948-9, p. 864Omar Hamdan Studien zur Kanonisierung des Korantextes: al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrīs Beiträge zur Geschichte des Korans Otto Harrassowitz Verlag 2006 ISBN 978-3-447-05349-5 pp. 291–292 (German)

Alternatively, a reading attributed to ibn Abbas reads the term mā ({{langx|ar|{{Script|Arab|ما}}}}), as "not" instead of "what":

"The devils believed not, they taught men sorcery and not what was sent down to the two angels at Babel, Harut and Marut."Jung, Leo. "Fallen Angels in Jewish, Christian and Mohammedan Literature: A Study in Comparative Folk-Lore." The Jewish Quarterly Review 16.3 (1926): p. 297

In his commentary, Tabari (839–923 CE) puts forth an argument that mā ("not") refers to the angels Gabriel and Michael, and not to Harut and Marut.Ayoub, Mahmoud M. Qurʾan and Its Interpreters, The, Volume 1 State University of New York Press, 30.06.1984 p. 130Jung, Leo. "Fallen Angels in Jewish, Christian and Mohammedan Literature: A Study in Comparative Folk-Lore." The Jewish Quarterly Review 16.3 (1926): p. 297 In line with Hasan al-Basri's reading, Harut and Marut are ordinary men, who learned sorcery from the devils.Jung, Leo. "Fallen Angels in Jewish, Christian and Mohammedan Literature: A Study in Comparative Folk-Lore." The Jewish Quarterly Review 16.3 (1926): p. 297 This exegetical approach is similar to the reinterpretation of the Bənē hāʾĔlōhīm mentioned in the Book of Genesis; depicting them as ordinary humans (sons of Cain and Seth) instead of as angels.Jung, Leo. "Fallen Angels in Jewish, Christian and Mohammedan Literature: A Study in Comparative Folk-Lore." The Jewish Quarterly Review 16.3 (1926): p. 298 However, most early commentators of the Quran regard Harut and Marut as angels.Ayoub, Mahmoud M. Qurʾan and Its Interpreters, The, Volume 1 State University of New York Press, 30.06.1984 p. 131

Another variance can be found in a reading attributed to ibn Abbas. Accordingly, mā ("not") refers to the angels Harut and Marut, meaning that the devils taught men unlawful sorcery instead of the lawful things taught by the angels Harut and Marut.Jung, Leo. "Fallen Angels in Jewish, Christian and Mohammedan Literature: A Study in Comparative Folk-Lore." The Jewish Quarterly Review 16.3 (1926): 297 This reading is rather unconvincing as the verse depicts Harut and Marut as testers, implying that these angels taught something unlawful.Jung, Leo. "Fallen Angels in Jewish, Christian and Mohammedan Literature: A Study in Comparative Folk-Lore." The Jewish Quarterly Review 16.3 (1926): p. 297 Tabari explains that this interpretation is best be understood as, that there are two kinds of magic; lawful sent down by angels and unlawful taught by devils.Ayoub, Mahmoud M. Qurʾan and Its Interpreters, The, Volume 1 State University of New York Press, 30.06.1984 p. 130Jung, Leo. "Fallen Angels in Jewish, Christian and Mohammedan Literature: A Study in Comparative Folk-Lore." The Jewish Quarterly Review 16.3 (1926): 298 He defends this interpretation on the authority of Ibn Wahb, arguing that God creates both good and evil.Jung, Leo. "Fallen Angels in Jewish, Christian and Mohammedan Literature: A Study in Comparative Folk-Lore." The Jewish Quarterly Review 16.3 (1926): 298

File:FallenAngelsHarutandMarut.jpg

Harut and Marut are portrayed as the origin of magical practises in the worldSalim Ayduz, Caner Dagli The Oxford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Science, and Technology in Islam Oxford University Press, 2014 isbn 978-01998-1257-8 p. 504 and by that, explain magic to be of otherwordly origin. From a theological viewpoint, Harut and Marut are a form of temptation, similar to the satans (šayāṭīn).Jones, David Albert. Angels: a very short introduction. OUP Oxford, 2010. p. 107 They are also described in the Stories of the Prophetsʾ (Qiṣaṣ al-Anbiyā) and seen as a symbol for "enchanting love".

The tale of Harut and Marut (qiṣṣat Hārūt wa-Mārūt) is a recurring story throughout Quranic exegesis (Tabari, ibn Hanbal, Rumi, Maqdisi, Tha'labi, Kisa'i, Suyuti) to explain the earthly abode of this angelic pair.Majmaʻ al-Buḥūth al-Islāmīyah The Fourth Conference of the Academy of Islamic Research 1968 p. 707 There are different variances of the same story with additional details. They all contain a prolegomenon in heaven, resulting in an angelic mission to earth, followed by a corruption of these angels, and consequent punishment by God.Reeves, John C. "Some Parascriptural Dimensions of the “Tale of Hārūt wa-Mārūt”." Journal of American Oriental Society 135.4 (2015): 817-842. In some variations, not two, but three angels are send down to earth. In Rumi's (1207 – 1273) Masnavi, God tests three angels. However, once on earth one of them suspects to fail and returns to heaven.Jung, Leo. "Fallen Angels in Jewish, Christian and Mohammedan Literature: A Study in Comparative Folk-Lore." The Jewish Quarterly Review 16.3 (1926): 298

A version provided by Tabari narrates the Tale of Harut and Marut as follows:{{cite book|author=Hanan Jaber |title=Harut and Marut in The Book of Watchers and Jubilees |date=November 18, 2018 |publisher=University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign |pages=14–15}}

The angels were astonished at the acts of disobedience committed by the human beings on earth, claiming they would do better than them. Therefore, God challenged the angels to choose two representatives among them, who would descend to earth and be endowed with bodily desires. During their stay on earth, they fell in love with a woman named Zohra (Venus). She told them she would become intimate with them if they joined her in idolatry and told her how to ascend to heaven. The angels refused and remained pious.Jung, Leo. "Fallen Angels in Jewish, Christian and Mohammedan Literature: A Study in Comparative Folk-Lore." The Jewish Quarterly Review 16.3 (1926): 298

Later they met her again and the woman this time stated she would become intimate with them if they drank alcohol. The angels thought that alcohol could not cause great harm and therefore, they accepted the condition. After they were drunk, they became intimate with her and after noticing a witness, they killed them. The next day, Harut and Marut regretted their deeds but could not ascend to heaven anymore due to their sins, as their link to the angels was broken. Thereupon, God asked them, whether their punishment shall be in this world or in the hereafter. They chose to be punished on earth and therefore were sent to Babel as a test, teaching humans magic but not without warning them that they were just a temptation.{{cite book|author=Hussein Abdul-Raof |title=Theological Approaches to Qur'anic Exegesis: A Practical Comparative-Contrastive Analysis |publisher=Routledge |date=2012 |isbn=978-1-136-45991-7 |page=155}}

Although not explicitly mentioned, Harut and Marut are sometimes linked to the events in Surah 2:30.Ayoub, Mahmoud M. Qurʾan and Its Interpreters, The, Volume 1 State University of New York Press, 30.06.1984 p. 131 The Study Quran translates the verse as follows:

"And when thy Lord said to the angels,"I am placing a vicegerent upon the earth," they said, "Wilt Thou place therein one who will work corruption therein, and shed blood, while we hymn Thy praise and call Thee Holy?" He said, "Truly I know what you know not."2:30.{{cite book |editor-last=Nasr |editor-first=Seyyed Hossein |editor-link=Seyyed Hossein Nasr |title=The Study Quran |publisher=HarperOne |year=2015 |isbn=978-0-06-112586-7 |pages=47–48}}

In his Haba'ik fi akhbar al-mala'ik, Suyuti narrates a ḥadīth that after the dispute mentioned in this verse, the angels made a bet with God. They bet that they are more obedient than the sons of Adam. God then inqures them to choose two among them to descent to earth and being tested.Burge, Stephen. Angels in Islam: Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti's al-Haba'ik fi akhbar al-mala'ik. Routledge, 2015. p. 286

Zakariya al-Qazwini (1203–1283) narrates on authority of ibn Abbas, when Adam was cast out of the Garden of Eden, he passed by a crowd of angels who reprimanded Adam for breaking the covenant with God.Jung, Leo. "Fallen Angels in Jewish, Christian and Mohammedan Literature: A Study in Comparative Folk-Lore." The Jewish Quarterly Review 16.3 (1926): 298 The most critical have been Harut and Marut. Adam sought mercy from the angels and their mockery. Then, God tries the angels until they fail on their part.Jung, Leo. "Fallen Angels in Jewish, Christian and Mohammedan Literature: A Study in Comparative Folk-Lore." The Jewish Quarterly Review 16.3 (1926): 201 This version is silent on the details of these angels sins and their teachings of magic.Jung, Leo. "Fallen Angels in Jewish, Christian and Mohammedan Literature: A Study in Comparative Folk-Lore." The Jewish Quarterly Review 16.3 (1926): 301

Although the Quran does not call this pair of angels fallen explicitly, the context assumes this to be true. The story bears some resemblance to the Watchers, mentioned in Second Temple traditions and reflects an early Christian belief. The most dominant components of this motif, however, are unique to Islamic tradition and reflect neither biblical or Second Temple traditions: The core feature of this story is the angels' amazement at human wickedness. Unlike in the Book of Watchers and Christian tradition, the story is not about angelic revolt or original sin, but about how tough it is to be a human. In contrast to apocalyptic literature, according to the Quran, they are "sent down" by God.Dye, Guillaume. Early Islam: the sectarian milieu of late Antiquity?. Éditions de l'Université de Bruxelles, 2023.

The names "Hārūt" and "Mārūt", do not originate from Semitic beliefs. Instead, they appear to be etymologically related to Haurvatat and Ameretat, two Amesha Spenta from Zoroastrianism.Bürgel, J. Christoph. "Zoroastrianism as viewed in medieval Islamic sources." Muslim Perceptions of Other Religions (1999): 202-212.{{cite encyclopedia |encyclopedia=Britannica |title=Harut and Marut|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Harut-and-Marut}} Georges Dumézil suggested that the story has close parallels to the Mahabharata.Burge, Stephen. Angels in Islam: Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti's al-Haba'ik fi akhbar al-mala'ik. Routledge, 2015. p. 89

Mufassirs (authorized exegetes of the Quran) seem to have been aware of the historical reliance on previous Jewish material. Compared to the fallen angels from 3 Enoch, Al-Kalbi (737 AD – 819 AD) identifies Harut and Marut with them. Accordingly, their original names were (‘Azā, ‘Azāyā) and then changed after their fall to Hārūt and Mārūt, just as the name of Satan was changed from ʿAzāzīl to Iblīs after his fall.

For this reason, some Muslim scholars argue that the stories surrounding Harut and Marut derive from Judeo-Christian sources (Israʼiliyyat). According to Ansar al-'Adl, the extra-Quranic story of this verse entered tafsir from Judaism or Christianity. The English Quran translator Abdullah Yusuf Ali states this story develops from Jewish midrashim, particularly Midrash Abkir.{{cite book|last=Ali |first=Abdullah Yousf |url= http://www.thegodisone.com/koran.pdf |title=The Meaning of the Holy Quran |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090305200127/http://www.thegodisone.com/koran.pdf |archive-date=2009-03-05 |edition=11th |date=2006 |at=note 104, p. 45}} Yet, historically, the Midrash Abkir is not dated earlier than the eleventh century, a time then the story of Harut and Marut has been recorded already. Thus, John C. Reeves concludes that, although the Quran alludes to previously known Judeo-Christian material, the midrashim is shaped by Muslim beliefs, not the other way around.{{Cite book|title=Some Parascriptural Dimensions of the Muslim "Tale of Harut wa-Marut"|last=Reeves|first=John C.|publisher=Journal of the American Oriental Society |year=2015|quote=Western scholars who have studied the "Tale of Harut and Marut" and grappled with its literary analogues have most frequently pointed to the Jewish and Christian parascriptural materials that envelop the enigmatic figure of Enoch and in particular to a curious medieval Jewish aggadic narrative known as the "Midrash of Shemhazai and 'Azael." (29) This unusual tale, extant in at least four Hebrew versions and one Aramaic rendition, (30) requires our attention at this stage, and I accordingly provide here a translation of what is arguably its earliest written registration, in the eleventh-century midrashic compilation Bereshit Rabbati of R. Moshe ha-Darshan.

Careful comparison of the developed narratives of the "Tale of Harut and Marut" and the "Midrash of Shemhazai and cAzael" amid the larger literary corpora within which they are embedded suggests that the Muslim Harut wa-Marut complex both chronologically and literarily precedes the articulated versions of the Jewish "Midrash of Shemhazai and 'Azael," or as Bernhard Heller expressed it over a century ago, "la legende [i.e., the Jewish one] a ete calquee sur celle de Harout et Marout." (39) What is likely the oldest Hebrew form of the story dates from approximately the eleventh century, (40) several hundred years after the bulk of the Muslim evidence.}}

Similarly, Patricia Crone argues that Jews adopted the Islamic story, especially since stories regarding fallen angels were considered unauthentic by Rabbinic Judaism.{{cite book | first=Patricia | last=Crone | author-link=Patricia Crone | title=The Book of Watchers in the Quran | pages=10–11}} Rejecting a Jewish origin of the story also comes from Muslim scholars. Kürşad Demirci points out that there are no similarities between the story of Harut and Marut and the angels from ancient Jewish lore.KÜRŞAT DEMİRCİ, "HÂRÛT ve MÂRÛT", TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/harut-ve-marut (19.09.2023).

File:Harut and Marut hanging in a well.jpg

The trial and punishment of Harut and Marut circulated at the time of Muhammad and his companions (salaf), but do not elaborate on them in detail.Tottoli, R. (2017). Hārūt and Mārūt. In K. Fleet, G. Krämer, D. Matringe, J. Nawas and D. J. Stewart (eds.), Encyclopaedia of Islam Three Online. Brill. https://doi.org/10.1163/1573-3912_ei3_COM_30337 Al-Suyuti traces the Tale of Harut and Marut to Muhammad himself.Dye, Guillaume. Early Islam: the sectarian milieu of late Antiquity? Éditions de l'Université de Bruxelles, 2023. However, the inclusion of details, such as Venus, gave rise to dispute in Islamic exegetical tradition. Rabi ibn Anas argues that there is nothing in the Quran about Venus and calls for eliminating her from the Tale of Harut and Marut, or interpreting her as merely an idol or symbol for worshipping stars.Jung, Leo. "Fallen Angels in Jewish, Christian and Mohammedan Literature: A Study in Comparative Folk-Lore." The Jewish Quarterly Review 16.3 (1926): 300 Likewise, Ibn Kathir argues that parts of the Tale of Harut and Marut are fabricated (mawḍūʿ) and traces many details to Ka'b al-Ahbar.KÜRŞAT DEMİRCİ, "HÂRÛT ve MÂRÛT", TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/harut-ve-marut (20.09.2023).

Although angels are not infallible in Orthodox Islam,Houtsma, M. Th. (1993). E.J. Brill's First Encyclopaedia of Islam, 1913–1936, Band 5. BRILL. p. 191. {{ISBN|978-90-04-09791-9}}.Welch, Alford T. (2008) Studies in Qur'an and Tafsir. Riga, Latvia: Scholars Press. p. 756 Muslim philosophers (falsafa) commonly reject the Tale of Harut and Marut on grounds of angelic impeccability.Jung, Leo. "Fallen Angels in Jewish, Christian and Mohammedan Literature: A Study in Comparative Folk-Lore." The Jewish Quarterly Review 16.3 (1926): 299 According to the philosophers, angels lack a body and the mental capacity to strive for anything else but devotion to God.Jung, Leo. "Fallen Angels in Jewish, Christian and Mohammedan Literature: A Study in Comparative Folk-Lore." The Jewish Quarterly Review 16.3 (1926): 299 Abu Ma'shar al-Balkhi (787 – 886) considers angels to be pure ministers of God, a conception borrowed from Jewish lore.Jung, Leo. "Fallen Angels in Jewish, Christian and Mohammedan Literature: A Study in Comparative Folk-Lore." The Jewish Quarterly Review 16.3 (1926): 300 Likewise, they reject that the planets (angels) could commit sins, as they hold the view that the planets are integral part of the order of the universe.Jung, Leo. "Fallen Angels in Jewish, Christian and Mohammedan Literature: A Study in Comparative Folk-Lore." The Jewish Quarterly Review 16.3 (1926): 299 An exception to Ash'arism and Māturīdism acceptance of angelic fallibility{{cite book |author-last=Rudolph |author-first=Ulrich |year=2015 |chapter=The Foundation and Establishment of Ḥanafite Theology in the Second/ Eighth and Early Third/Ninth Centuries |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LwOjBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA54 |title=Al-Māturīdī and the Development of Sunnī Theology in Samarqand |translator-last=Adem |translator-first=Rodrigo |location=Leiden and Boston |publisher=Brill Publishers |series=Islamic History and Civilization |volume=100 |pages=21–71 |doi=10.1163/9789004261846_003 |isbn=978-90-04-26184-6 |lccn=2014034960 |issn=0929-2403}} is Fakhr al-Din al-Razi, who agrees with the Mu'tazilites and philosophers that angels cannot sin, and rejects the associated story of the Quranic verse regarding Harut and Marut.Street, Tony. "Medieval Islamic doctrine on the angels: the writings of Fakhr al-Dīh al-Rāzī." Parergon 9.2 (1991): 111-127. He further elevated this position to The Six Articles of Faith.Street, Tony. "Medieval Islamic doctrine on the angels: the writings of Fakhr al-Dīh al-Rāzī." Parergon 9.2 (1991): 111-127. Mujahid ibn Jabr explains, in his version of this story, that the lechery of Harut and Marut was in their heart (qalb) not in their flesh, since as angels they lack bodily desires.

While the Tale of Harut and Marut has been widely accepted in pre-modern times, in the modern period Muslim scholars increasingly adhere to the philosopher position. Modernist Salafis Muhammad Abduh and Rashid Rida ignore Venus as part of the story entirely. Furthermore, in the process of the demystification of the Quran, they reject the heavenly origin of Harut and Marut.Burge, S.R. The Demystification of Magic in the Tafsīr al-Manār: An Analysis of the Exegetical and Homiletic Devices Used in the Discussion ‘Mabḥath al-siḥr wa-Hārūt wa-Mārūt’. Religions 2021, 12, 734. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel12090734

Ibn Arabi interpretates the verse concerning Harut and Marut metaphorically. The satans are forces veiling the soul from God's light through powers of illusions (awham).Ayoub, Mahmoud M. Qurʾan and Its Interpreters, The, Volume 1 State University of New York Press, 30.06.1984 p. 133 By doing so, they are "kafir"; rejecting that only God can ultimately affect things.Ayoub, Mahmoud M. Qurʾan and Its Interpreters, The, Volume 1 State University of New York Press, 30.06.1984 p. 133 The fallen angels Harut and Marut, in this context, are the "theoretical" and "practical" intellect, inclined towards the soul. Since the intellect descends to the heart, Harut and Marut are described as "upside down".Ayoub, Mahmoud M. Qurʾan and Its Interpreters, The, Volume 1 State University of New York Press, 30.06.1984 p. 133 Their sorcery consists of veiling the heart from the soul, which is symbolized in "separating husband and wife".Ayoub, Mahmoud M. Qurʾan and Its Interpreters, The, Volume 1 State University of New York Press, 30.06.1984 p. 133

Rūmīs major work, the poem Mas̲navī, is closer to the orthodox Islamic depiction of Harut and Marut. The reader is recommended to remember the story of Harut and Marut, and how their self-righteousness led to their demise.{{Cite journal |title=English-an Analysis of Spiritualism in Rumi's Mathnawi |url=http://siarj.com/index.php/Siarj/article/view/246 |journal=The Scholar Islamic Academic Research Journal |date=2020 |volume=6 |issue=2 |doi=10.29370/siarj/issue11ar6 |pages=129–155|doi-access=free }} By that, Rumi compares believers who criticize other believers for their sins, not realizing that they are doing for worse. Like the angels Harut and Marut, they look down on others, yet are blind to their own pride.Arberry, A.J. (1993). Tales from the Masnavi (1st ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315026091 p. 173-174

• Azazel
• Samyaza
• Iraq in the Quran
• List of angels in theology
• Lucifer
• Tower of Babel in Islamic tradition

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• {{in lang|fr}} [https://web.archive.org/web/20120826083741/http://www.at-tawhid.net/article-tafsir-sourate-2-al-baqarah---verset-102-sur-harut-et-marut-al-qadi-iyad-al-qurtubi-et-at-tabari-107380839.html Sunni point of view about Harut et Marut (at-tawhid.net)]

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