Isra’ilites enmity towards Gabriel, Their breaking the covenant, Sorcery falsely attributed to Solomon, The truth about sorcery.

Al-Baqarah Verses 97 - 103

قُلْ مَنْ كَانَ عَدُوًّا لِجِبْرِيلَ فَإِنَّهُ نَزَّلَهُ عَلَىٰ قَلْبِكَ بِإِذْنِ اللَّهِ مُصَدِّقًا لِمَا بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ وَهُدًى وَبُشْرَىٰ لِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ

“Say (O’ Our Apostle Muhammad) whoso is an enemy to Gabriel; for, verily it is he who hath brought it unto thy heart by God’s (command) confirming what had (already) been (revealed) before and guidance and glad tidings to the believers” (2:97).

مَنْ كَانَ عَدُوًّا لِلَّهِ وَمَلَائِكَتِهِ وَرُسُلِهِ وَجِبْرِيلَ وَمِيكَالَ فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ عَدُوٌّ لِلْكَافِرِينَ

“Whoso is an enemy to God and His angels and His apostles, and Gabriel and Michael, so verily God is an enemy to the disbelievers” (2:98).

وَلَقَدْ أَنْزَلْنَا إِلَيْكَ آيَاتٍ بَيِّنَاتٍ وَمَا يَكْفُرُ بِهَا إِلَّا الْفَاسِقُونَ

“And verily We sent down, unto thee clear signs, but none disbelieveth in them but the perverse” (2:99).

أَوَكُلَّمَا عَاهَدُوا عَهْدًا نَبَذَهُ فَرِيقٌ مِنْهُمْ بَلْ أَكْثَرُهُمْ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ

“And is it not (true) that every time they make a covenant, a party of them cast. it aside? Nay, most of them believe not” (2:100).

وَلَمَّا جَاءَهُمْ رَسُولٌ مِنْ عِنْدِ اللَّهِ مُصَدِّقٌ لِمَا مَعَهُمْ نَبَذَ فَرِيقٌ مِنَ الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْكِتَابَ كِتَابَ اللَّهِ وَرَاءَ ظُهُورِهِمْ كَأَنَّهُمْ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ

“And when there came unto them an apostle from God confirming what was (already) with them, some of those to whom the scripture was given cast the Book of God behind their backs as if they knew (it) not” (2:101).

وَاتَّبَعُوا مَا تَتْلُو الشَّيَاطِينُ عَلَىٰ مُلْكِ سُلَيْمَانَ وَمَا كَفَرَ سُلَيْمَانُ وَلَٰكِنَّ الشَّيَاطِينَ كَفَرُوا يُعَلِّمُونَ النَّاسَ السِّحْرَ وَمَا أُنْزِلَ عَلَى الْمَلَكَيْنِ بِبَابِلَ هَارُوتَ وَمَارُوتَ وَمَا يُعَلِّمَانِ مِنْ أَحَدٍ حَتَّىٰ يَقُولَا إِنَّمَا نَحْنُ فِتْنَةٌ فَلَا تَكْفُرْ فَيَتَعَلَّمُونَ مِنْهُمَا مَا يُفَرِّقُونَ بِهِ بَيْنَ الْمَرْءِ وَزَوْجِهِ وَمَا هُمْ بِضَارِّينَ بِهِ مِنْ أَحَدٍ إِلَّا بِإِذْنِ اللَّهِ وَيَتَعَلَّمُونَ مَا يَضُرُّهُمْ وَلَا يَنْفَعُهُمْ وَلَقَدْ عَلِمُوا لَمَنِ اشْتَرَاهُ مَا لَهُ فِي الْآخِرَةِ مِنْ خَلَاقٍ وَلَبِئْسَ مَا شَرَوْا بِهِ أَنْفُسَهُمْ لَوْ كَانُوا يَعْلَمُونَ

“They followed what the devils reciteth (falsely) against Solomon’s kingdom; not that Solomon disbelieved but (it was) the devils that disbelieved; sorcery did they teach to men and what was revealed to the two angels at Babylon, Harut and Marut. Neither of these taught anyone without saying, “We are only a trial so disbelieve not (in the guidance of God); They learned from them that which sows discord between man and wife; but they could harm no one (thereby) but by God’s permission. And they learned what harmed them and profiteth them not; and indeed they knew that he who bought that (art) had not shared in the happiness of the hereafter. And vile was the price for which they did sell their selves, had they only known (it)” (2:102).

وَلَوْ أَنَّهُمْ آمَنُوا وَاتَّقَوْا لَمَثُوبَةٌ مِنْ عِنْدِ اللَّهِ خَيْرٌ لَوْ كَانُوا يَعْلَمُونَ

“And had they believed (in God) and guarded themselves (against evil) verily their reward from God had been better; had they only known (it)” (2:103).

Commentary

Verse 97

It was the Jewish notion that Michael was their guardian angel1 “The great prince which standeth for the children of thy people” The Jews looked upon Gabriel as their enemy as they considered him to be the avenging angel who brought down from God His punishment upon the guilty. And it was Gabriel that generally inspired the apostles of God, and the apostles generally imprecated against the perverse conduct of the Isra’ilites. It was through Gabriel who announced to Daniel2.

“And I heard a man’s voice between the banks of Ulai, which called, and said, Gabriel, make this man to understand the vision” Dan. 8/16.

“Yea, while I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening ablution” Dan. 9/21.

“But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me: and I remained there with the kings of Persia,”

“Now I am come to make thee understand what shall befall thy people in the latter days: for yet the vision is for many days” Dan. 10/13, 14.

It was he who announced the birth of John the Baptist3.

“And the angel answering said unto him, I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God; and am sent to speak unto thee, and to shew thee these glad tidings” Luke 1/19.

It was Gabriel who conveyed the glad tidings to Virgin Mary about the birth of Jesus Christ whom the Jews hated so peevishly. It was the Jewish tradition also that it was Gabriel who saved Nebuchadnezzar from their hands when he was still a boy and who afterwards destroyed their temple. This prejudice against Gabriel led the Jews to believe that he was charged to convey the gift of prophecy to some Isra’ilites but out of spite Gabriel conveyed it to a Hashimite (The Holy Prophet Muhammad).

A Jew called Abd Allah bin Suriya came to the Holy Prophet Muhammad and put some questions to test his gift of prophecy and on being convinced that Muhammad was a true prophet of God, he asked as to which angel it was who had conveyed to him the divine messages. Being told that it was Gabriel, he said he would never believe, as Gabriel was the enemy of his people. (B.H.)

Angels and the angelic spheres have already been dealt with vide note Here noteworthy is the function of the four Arch - Angels:

1. Gabriel - Generally in charge of the communication of the will of God to God’s apostles and the destruction of their opponents.

2. Michael - In charge of the nourishment and the natural supplies.

3. Israpheel - In charge of giving forms and shapes and the assimilation in nature.

4. Izrael - In charge of the detachment of beings from one state preparatory to their initiation into the other state of existence.

These are in fact the general functions of the ‘Rububiyah’ i.e., the Cherishing aspect of God’s grace, and God alone knows how many angelic beings are in charge of each function under these Arch - Angels. For the names of a few of the principal angels or the angelic forces see - Surahs 37,51,77,794. The various angelic functions are so interwoven that one cannot function without the other. These are the various phases of the functioning of the one and same Supreme Will and the Single and Exclusive Authority of God. Therefore, to think in the sense of the favour of one angel and the disfavour of the other against it, or to think that the angels act Otherwise, than they had been commanded by God, will be foolish 5. As a matter of fact or as per the universal principle that when various beings represent one and the same authority, the enmity towards any one will naturally be towards the source and consequently towards every one of the others. Hence the Holy Qur’an condemns the partial tendency of the Jewish nature towards the angels and the apostles of God6. (A.P.)

Verse 98

It is to be noted here that enmity of man to God brings in consequence the enmity of God to man and the enemies of God, the angels and of His apostles are termed by God as ‘Kafirs’ or the disbelievers or the infidels. This section is logically and definitely applicable to everyone who is proved as the enemy of any of the apostles of God and similarly to the enemies of the Last Apostle Muhammad, whoever they may be. This verse of the Holy Qur’an definitely determines the position of the enemies of the Holy Prophet Muhammad as the Kafirs or the disbelievers or the infidels. In judging the position of the people with regard to the Holy Prophet, one has to be dispassionate and strictly impartial. Those who have teased, disregarded, hurt, tortured, and murdered the beloved one’s of the Holy Prophet, can never in any sense be the friends of the Apostle of God. When the Holy Prophet was about to meet his physical death then some people deserted him and assembled at the ‘Saqeefa’ to gain the hold upon the Muslim Empire forgetting what was told by him about his son - in - law and his Vicegerent, Ali, son of Abu Talib. His daughter, the Lady of Light Hazrat Fatimah was subjected to merciless treatment. She was deprived of her legitimate rights to her property the Fadak. Ali was arrested and dragged to the court of the self-assumed Khalifate.

Fatimah was killed by the fall of the door of her house, caused by an atrocious misbehaviour of an aggressor. Ali was murdered while in prayer in the Mosque at Kufa. Hasan, the grandson of the Holy Prophet and the first son of Ali and Fatimah, was poisoned to death, and Husayn, with his children and his nearest kith and kin was butchered along with the band of his godly and faithful supporters at Karbala, and the godly ladies of the Holy family of the Holy Prophet were taken captives and were torturously imprisoned for a long time. And the nine holy Imams in the seed of Husayn were one after another martyred. Besides the godly members of the family of the Holy Prophet called ‘Sayyids’ were hunted and tortured.

Those responsible for all the above and the similar hostile treatment to the family of the Holy Prophet can never sensibly be imagined to be the friends of the Holy Prophet. They can be no other than the enemies of the Apostle of God and God Himself and thus, they are definitely under this verse of the Holy Qur’an, ‘Kafirs’ i.e. disbelievers or the infidels.

Verse 33:57 openly declares curse of God upon those who displease God or hurt the Holy Prophet Muhammad. The Holy Prophet Muhammad has said about Ali.

“O’ Ali Thy fight is my fight, thy flesh is my flesh, thy blood is my blood. He who fought with thee has fought with me and fought with God”

Thus, the verse of the Holy Qur’an and the saying of the Holy Prophet unanimously declare that those who displease the Holy Prophet, His Vicegerent Ali and those dear to the Apostle of God, are the targets of God’s curse. These are the ones that one has to be always away from referred to in Verse 1:7.

Verse 99

‘Ayaat’ mean signs. It is the plural of ‘Ayat’ meaning sign. The verses as a whole means open signs i.e. the verses of the Holy Qur’an or the miracles. Every apostle of God had been endowed with powers to work miracles when he deemed necessary to prove the disbelievers that he was from God whose authority or control none other than Him could ever defy and whatever He caused to effect none could ever undo. The Ahmadi Commentator in order to deny the working of any miracles by any apostle of God seems to purposefully take the meaning of the word ‘Ayat’ as communication and not miracle.

Verse 100

This verse condemns the people who were given scriptures breaking the covenant they had made with God through His apostles who were sent towards the people. The same condemnation would naturally be drawn against those who break the Covenant made with the Holy Prophet Muhammad at ‘Ghadir Khumm’ (i.e. those who defy the apostle’s teachings and those who displease him by going against his expressed will and his given commandments). All those who acted with selfish motives to usurp the political power or to gain material benefits after the departure of the Holy Prophet, logically come under this verse.

Verse 101

In the previous verse reference is made to the Isra’ilites casting aside the covenant and their throwing the Book behind their backs. Both the charges refer to the Jews paying no heed to the prophecy made in Deuteronomy. 18/18 about the advent of the one like Moses.

“I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him” Deuteronomy. 18/18.

The truth in this prophecy was proved in the advent of the Holy Prophet Muhammad. The prophecy in Deuteronomy. 18/18 is so definite and clear a guidance to mankind and yet the Isra’ilites pay no heed to it. It is repeatedly mentioned against the arrogance of the Isra’ilites in disbelieving the ministry of the Holy Prophet Muhammad, which was nothing, but the fulfilment of the Covenant of God given out in the prophecy in Deuteronomy, 18/187.

Verse 102

Tales had been spread by the devils that the wonderful power which the apostle of God, Solomon, had over the realms of nature, was through witchcraft, and they had forged a book in the name of Solomon on the art of Sorcery. The book was taken out and shown to the people to prove that Solomon had become an infidel as sorcery demands belief in ungodly powers or false deities. It was a blasphemy and God in this verse of the Holy Qur’an indicates that it was not Solomon who disbelieved in God but the devils who did it. Solomon never mistook in the worship of the only true God ‘Yahewe’ (Jehovah). The fact that the Good and Evil spirits being capable of corporeal manifestations has an amount of evidence in the present days of advanced knowledge of the realm of the spiritual world, but it falls short only of direct personal observation.

Anything actuated by invoking the agency of evil spirits or anything done in the intimation of it, is condemned by Islam as ‘Sihr’ or Magic. It is infidelity. Since the use of any magical devices means infidelity and the charge was against the apostle of God Solomon, it is emphatically refuted.

Fascination of the lower kind of initiative and spiritualistic type had been much advanced in Babylonia and the other centres of old civilization. This was also used to delude people from the truth and the people could not distinguish genuine miracles from sorcery and were consequently deluded. To counter this move from the devils’ forces two angels Harut and Marut were deputed by God, to the prophet of that age to equip him with the means to counter and undo the acts of sorcery exposing the hollowness and the false nature of the devilish act and to help people to discriminate between the right and the wrong, between truth and falsehood.

During the time of the Holy Prophet Muhammad, the Jews also had set aside the holy Book Torah and had been totally engaged in sorcery and treated it as their creed. The hollowness of the claim of the Jews in this regard has been declared in this verse.

The statement of the Old Testament regarding Solomon I. Kings 11/1-11. This statement of the Qur’an shows:

1. That sorcery is not totally ineffective

2. That it cannot do any harm to any if God does not allow it.

3. To learn things like these is of no profitable use but rather harmful.

4. Those who go after such sort of practices lose their share of the bliss in the hereafter as the bent of mind gets mischief - mongering. But to learn to counter the effects of such wicked practices (the witchcraft) as an art of defence is allowed. (A.P.)

Verse 103

This verse implies that most of the people had fallen a prey to the belief in sorcery.

• 1. Vide: - Dan. 12/1
• 2. Vide: - 8/16 to 9/1 - 10/13, 14 etc
• 3. Vide: Luke 1/19
• 4. Angels are mentioned in various contexts. They are mentioned in general in the following Verses: 2:30; 2:31; 2:34; 2:98; 2:161; 2:177; 2:210; 2:248; 2:285; 3:18; 3:39; 3:42; 3:45; 3:80; 3:87; 3:124; 3:125; 4:97; 4:136; 4:166; 4:172; 6:8; 6:9; 6:50; 6:93; 6:111; 6:158; 7:11; 7:20; 8:9; 8:12; 13:11; 13:13; 13:23; 15:7; 15:28; 16:2; 16:32; 16:33; 16:49; 17:40; 17:61; 17:92; 17:95; 20:116; 21:103; 22:75; 23:24; 25:21; 25:22; 25:25; 33:43; 33:56; 35:1; 37:150; 38:71; 38:73; 41:14; 42:5; 43:19; 43:53; 43:60; 47:27; 51:4; 53:26; 66:6; 69:17; 78:3.
  Anglel Jibr’il (Gabriel) and Mika’il (Michael) are mentioned by name: 2:97; 2:98; 66:4. [Note Al-Islam.org]
• 5. Vide: 66:6.
• 6. Vide: 4:150-152.
• 7. See also Gen. 21/1 John 14/16, John 16/7-13.