# Harut and Marut, and how magic 'splits' people

- URL: https://muftiabulayth.org/r/pifqxkwyrwg/s/7/
- Date: 2018-04-15 · Kind: lesson · Transcript tier: machine · Recording: Magic: Myth and Reality in Islam by Mufti Abu Layth (40:24–43:38)
- Status: general teaching
- Watch from the start of the segment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PiFqxkWyrwg&t=2424s
- Recording page: https://muftiabulayth.org/r/pifqxkwyrwg/

**Topics:** Magic, the evil eye and superstition; Contested verses

**Summary (not a quotation; machine-made, unchecked):** Harut and Marut may have been two pious men taken for angels who taught skills that looked like magic; the doll-and-needles idea of magic is not from the Quran or Sunnah.

**Checked position (checked by two independent reviews, not by the channel):** Mufti Abu Layth says nothing like the doll-and-needles understanding of magic has come from the Quran and Sunnah.

**Evidence, his words at 42:58:** “this is our understanding of magic nothing like that has come from the Koran asana” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PiFqxkWyrwg&t=2578s)

## Longer summary

Mufti Abu Layth says Harut and Marut in the Quran are generally understood as two angels, but according to the reading 'two kings', attributed to Ibn Abbas [?], many commentators say they were two very pious men in Babylon whom people perceived as angels, and the story of angels sent down who became stars is nonsense. He says they taught skills from the categories he described, such as hypnosis and chemical inducement, while warning people not to be tempted, and quotes Clarke's third law that any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. He says the verse does not say how people split husband and wife, which could be through conspiracy, backbiting or embedded suggestion like that used to help people quit smoking, and that the doll-and-needles understanding of magic has not come from the Quran and Sunnah.

## Sources and names cited

- Quran 2:102 (Harut and Marut in Babylon; verse not numbered by him): https://quran.com/2/102
- Ibn Abbas [?]
- Arthur C. Clarke

## Transcript (machine tier, 40:24–43:38)

[39:45] because the Motta's illa held a stance Alesana retrospectively re-engineered our narrative to fall in line with this to just bash them to hate on them analyst so now were generally early day is very proud of reason but the moment Montes let's start to use it they start to bash on reason and say you know none of this makes any sense so these were the key things that I wanted to kind of address the this incident of her root and marut that is used in the Quran once again just bringing it to that Allah

[40:24] mentions that that they were that what was revealed allowed Malik Ain right and this is generally understood as angels and according to Abner Percy's reading Malik cane the two kings and this is what many of them offer serine say is Suhail mana this is what the meaning is that these were two very pious people in in Babylon that they were so pious that they were seen as angels so people perceived them as angels and that's why they've read as angels these were not actual according to this understanding

[41:02] they were not actual angels that came down and was sent to kind of teach people and became these kind of stars in the sky or whatever this kind of story that circulated is nonsense they were these two people that were teaching with what were they teaching those categories of magic that I said you know like of what is hypnosis what is mind control what is this maybe these kind of inducing chemical inducing things maybe stuff but they were telling people look listen and people are saying wow you are something else because what what is clocks third famous Lord the popular thing that any sufficiently advanced

[41:40] technology is indistinguishable from magic any sufficiently advanced technology is always indistinguishable from magic so these people have this they've got this skill which to people is like magic so they like you know you guys are something maybe you're a god and they like local or not know if it's not tuned so that took for you know like this this is just don't let this try you like become a test for you I've got these skills and in the head in the IMI you for a raccoon abhi he been on more it was all it doesn't say how they split the people

[42:18] you know people would use this to split people look how would this one way is like this I get my doll and I stick needles in it and and this guy this is happening over there this Quran doesn't say that you can make people split through conspiracies through backbiting through mind control through kind of like with mind control and hypnosis you can actually embed commands of hatred sometimes how do you people go to cognitive-behavioral kind of therapy CBT to want to quit smoking how do they help you quit smoking they embed command commands into your subconscious about hating cigarettes and stuff like this

[42:58] and it works with several people so so these kind of things you can make people have a hatred this many ways it's not just I pick up a doll and stick needles in and get here wrap it round squander it or whatever throw it into the air and get a black goat and Stroke it three times and you know like this kind of this is our understanding of magic nothing like that has come from the Koran asana so I just wanted to highlight these things the hadith I did I think worth touching up on the surah what I did mention the seven dates that the Prophet said in a hadith which is in Sahih Muslim that mantra sabaha be service a Marathi Najwa

[43:37] most of the people who commented on this didn't did not accept this hadith in that understanding so even people like call the yard and all these people who come afterwards they said maybe the Prophet was speaking about something in Medina exclusively and in fact Imam Missouri in his commentary on Muslim before worried the Muslim gives a very good understanding and he says he says that maybe he says Allah who that was in the prophet's time over there because he says that I have not known and not understood he says that I do not know

## Cite

Mufti Abu Layth Archive, segment PiFqxkWyrwg/s/7. https://muftiabulayth.org/r/pifqxkwyrwg/s/7/

Not a fatwa: these answers were given to specific people at specific times. Ask a qualified scholar about your own situation.