Harut and Marut

Harut and Marut (Arabic: ُ ََ ُ َ , romanized: Hārūt wa-Mārūt)

are two angels mentioned in Quran 2:102, who are described as having been
present during the reign of Solomon (Sulayman), and as being located in
Babylon.[1][2] According to some narratives, those two angels were in the
time of Idris. The Quran indicates that they were a trial for the people and
through them the people were tested with sorcery. The names are probably
etymologically related to Haurvatat and Ameretat, two Zoroastrian
archangels.[3]

Contents
Quranic narrative
Interpretations by scholars
Tabari
Ibn Kathir
Criticism This folio from Walters
Shia discussion manuscript W.659 depicts
the angels Harut and Marut
See also
hanging as a punishment for
References being critical of Adam's fall
External links

Quranic narrative
In the Quran, the two angels are briefly mentioned as follows:[4][5]

When there has come to them a Messenger from Allāh (God) confirming what was with them, a
party of them that were given the Book reject the Book of Allāh behind their backs, as though
they knew not!

َ
They followed what the Shayāṭīn (Satans) gave out, in the Mulki Sulaymān ( َ ُ ِ ُ ,
Kingdom of Solomon). Sulaymān did not disbelieve, but the Shayāṭīn disbelieved, ََ teaching men
magic and such things that came down upon al-Malakayn bi-Bābil ( ِ َ ِ َ , the Two Angels
in Babylon), Hārūt and Mārūt, but neither of these two taught anyone, till they had said, "We are
only a Fitnah (trial), so do not disbelieve." And from these, people learn that by which they cause
separation between a man and his wife, but they could not thus harm anyone except by the Leave
of Allāh. 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 Ākhirah (Hereafter). And how bad indeed
was that for which they sold their own selves, if they but knew!

— The Qur'an, 2: 101–102.[4]

Interpretations by scholars

Tabari

Tabari offers different narrations linking back to the sahaba.[6] Although differing in detail, the story can be
summarized as follows:

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 (often identified with
Venus). She told them she would become intimate with them if they joined her in idolatry and tell
her how to ascend to heaven. The angels refused and remained pious. 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. On 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,
either 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.[7]

Ibn Kathir

The 14th-century scholar Ibn Kathir gives an alternative version of Harut and Marut. Although regarding their
story as sound in chain of narrations, but since it goes back to Ibn Abbas and not to Muhammad himself, he
asserts Muslims should not follow this narrative.[8] Instead he goes into depth about what exactly the angels
had taught to the people in his book, Stories of the Qur'an:

Narrated Al-`Ufi in his interpretation on the authority of Ibn `Abbas (May Allah be pleased with
him) pertaining to Allah's Statement {They followed what the Shayatin (devils) gave out (falsely
of the magic) in the lifetime of Sulaiman (Solomon). Sulaiman did not disbelieve, but the
Shayatin (devils) disbelieved, teaching men magic and such things that came down at Babylon to
the two angels, Harut and Marut 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)." ...}
When Sulaiman lost his kingdom, great numbers from among mankind and the jinn renegaded
and followed their lusts. But, when Allah restored to Sulaiman his kingdom and the renegade
came to follow the Straight Path once again, Sulaiman seized their holy scriptures which he
buried underneath his throne. Shortly after, Sulaiman (Peace be upon him) died. In no time, the
men and the Jinn uncovered the buried scriptures and said: This was a book revealed by Allah to
Sulaiman who hid it from us. They took it as their religion and Allah the Almighty revealed His
Saying: {And when there came to them a Messenger from Allah confirming what was with them,
a party of those who were given the Scripture threw away the Book of Allah behind their backs
as if they did not know!}. (Al-Baqarah, 101) and they followed what the devils gave out, i.e. all
that blocks the remembrance of Allah.[9]
Criticism

Some Islamic exegetes prefer to view Harut and Marut as ordinary

men rather than angels, who learned magic from devils since their
legend cannot be attributed to Muhammed with certainty.[10] This also
shall defend the impeccability of angels, as already asserted by Hasan
of Basra,[11] but mostly emphasized during the Salafi-movement.[5]
Contrary, the story was accepted by many Medieval Muslims, and
also cited by influential scholars such as Ahmad ibn Hanbal.[12]

According to Muslim scholar Ansar Al-'Adl, many interpretations of

the verse originated from alleged Judeo-Christian sources that came to
be recorded in some works of Quranic exegesis, called Tafsir.
Numerous stories have been transmitted about these verses, yet all
center around the same basic story. Abdullah Yusuf Ali, translator of
the Qur'an into English, asserts that the source of this story may be the
Jewish Midrash:

Among the Jewish traditions in the Midrash was a story Harut and Marut in Their Forever
of two angels who asked Allah's permission to come Well (1703)
down to earth but succumbed to temptation, and were
hung up by their feet at Babylon for punishment. Such
stories about sinning angels who were cast down to
punishment were believed in by the early Christians, also
(see II Peter 2:4, and Epistle of Jude, verse 6).[13]

However, most recent research in the field of Islamic Studies has established that the earliest possible date for
the Midrash dealing with the Harut & Marut narrative, dates from the 11th century and thus postdates the
advent of Islam by more than 400 years:

Careful comparison of the developed narratives of the "Tale of Harut and Marut" and the Midrash
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. What is likely the oldest Hebrew form of the story dates from approximately the
eleventh century, several hundred years after the bulk of the Muslim evidence.[14]

Similarly, Patricia Crone argues, that the Midrash actually adapted the story from Muslims,[15] but the names
were changed to Azazel and Samyaza, terms for fallen angels in other earlier Jewish scriptures, however,
regarded as unauthentic by Rabbinic Judaism.

Shia discussion

Hasan ibn Ali ibn Muhammad, the 11th Imam of the Twelver Shi'ah, after being asked about the truth of the
story, refuted the belief that angels may emerge as transgressors, because, he reasoned, they lack freedom to
act upon their will and just rely on the Will of God. Pertaining to the Quran's statement: "To Him belongs
whatever is in the heavens and the earth, and those who are near Him do not disdain to worship Him, nor do
they become weary. They glorify [Him] night and day, and they do
not flag,"[16] he argued that if Harut and Marut had committed
oppression and injustice, how could they have been God's
representative or messenger on earth?[17]

Shia Islamic scholars and philosophers such as Sadr al-Din al-Shirazi

believe that angels are regarded as mujarradat who are "intrinsically
intelligible" and free from the limitations of material existence. A
mujarrad being, as described by Shirazi, is not necessarily something
"that exists as an abstraction in the mind". It can be a concrete reality
as in the case of God, the angels or the intellect.[18]

See also Harut and Marut in Arabic calligraphy

Azazel
Samyaza
Iraq in the Quran
Tower of Babel in Islamic tradition
Watcher (angel)

References
1. Quran 2:102 (http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A2002.02.000
4%3Asura%3D2%3Averse%3D102) (Translated by Yusuf Ali)
2. Jastrow, Morris; Price, Ira Maurice; Jastrow, Marcus; Ginzberg, Louis; MacDonald, Duncan B.
(1906). "Tower of Babel" (http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/2279-babel-tower-of).
Jewish Encyclopedia. Funk & Wagnalls.
3. "Harut and Marut" (https://www.britannica.com/topic/Harut-and-Marut). Britannica.
4. Quran 2:101–102 (http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A2002.0
2.0006%3Asura%3D2%3Averse%3D101)
5. Stephen Burge (2015). Angels in Islam: Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti's al-Haba'ik fi Akhbar al-malik (htt
ps://books.google.com/books?id=IDZACwAAQBAJ&q=Harut+and+Marut#v=snippet&q=Haru
t%20and%20Marut&f=false). Routledge. p. 8. ISBN 978-1-136-50473-0.
6. Hanan Jaber (November 18, 2018). Harut and Marut in The Book of Watchers and Jubilees.
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. pp. 14–15.
7. Hussein Abdul-Raof (2012). Theological Approaches to Qur'anic Exegesis: A Practical
Comparative-Contrastive Analysis. Routledge. p. 155. ISBN 978-1-136-45991-7.
8. Hanan Jaber (November 18, 2018). Harut and Marut in The Book of Watchers and Jubilees.
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. pp. 14–15.
9. Muhammad Saed Abdul-Rahman and Ibn Kathir. Tafsir Ibn Kathir Juz' 1: Al-Fatihah 1 to Al-
Baqarah 141 2nd Edition. MSA Publication Limited.
10. Cenap Çakmak (2017). Islam: A Worldwide Encyclopedia. [4 volumes]. ABC-CLIO. p. 578.
ISBN 978-1-610-69217-5.
11. Omar Hamdan (2006). Studien zur Kanonisierung des Korantextes: al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrīs
Beiträge zur Geschichte des Korans (in German). Otto Harrassowitz Verlag. p. 292. ISBN 978-
3-447-05349-5.
12. Reynolds, Gabriel Said (28 March 2020) [2009]. "Angels". In Kate Fleet; Gudrun Krämer; Denis
Matringe; John Nawas; Everett Rowson (eds.). Encyclopaedia of Islam. Encyclopaedia of
Islam. 2009-3. 3. doi:10.1163/1573-3912_ei3_COM_23204> (https://doi.org/10.1163%2F1573-
3912_ei3_COM_23204%3E). ISBN 978-9-0041-8130-4.
13. Ali, Abdullah Yousf (2006). The Meaning of the Holy Quran (https://web.archive.org/web/20090
305200127/http://www.thegodisone.com/koran.pdf) (PDF) (11th ed.). note 104, p. 45. Archived
from the original (http://www.thegodisone.com/koran.pdf) (PDF) on 2009-03-05.
14. Reeves, John C. (2015). Some Parascriptural Dimensions of the Muslim "Tale of Harut wa-
Marut". Journal of the American Oriental Society. "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."
15. Patricia Crone THE BOOK OF WATCHERS IN THE QURÅN page 10-11
16. Quran 21:19-20 (http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A2002.02.0
006%3Asura%3D21%3Averse%3D19-20) (Translated by ʿAli Quli Qaraʾi)
17. Neshat, Gholamreza (2018). A History of the Prophets. Isfahan: Neshat. ISBN 978-600-04-
9294-6.
18. Kalin, Ibrahim (2010). Knowledge in Later Islamic Philosophy (https://global.oup.com/academi
c/product/knowledge-in-later-islamic-philosophy-9780199735242?cc=us&lang=en&). New
York: Oxford University Press. p. 188. ISBN 978-0-19-973524-2.

External links
(in French) Sunni point of vue about Harut et Marut (at-tawhid.net) (https://web.archive.org/web/
20120826083741/http://www.at-tawhid.net/article-tafsir-sourate-2-al-baqarah---verset-102-sur-h
arut-et-marut-al-qadi-iyad-al-qurtubi-et-at-tabari-107380839.html)

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