they intended to ascend to heaven, but their wings would no longer obey them. They then realized what wrath had befallen them (1), so they went to the Prophet Idris, peace be upon him, informed him of their plight, and asked him to intercede with Allah for them. They said to him, “We have seen acts of worship ascend from you in a measure equal to what ascends from all the people of the earth, so seek intercession for us with your Lord.” Idris, peace be upon him, did so, and Allah gave them the choice between the punishment of this world and the punishment of the Hereafter. Knowing that the punishment of this world would come to an end, they chose it. Thus, they are being punished in Babylon.
They differed regarding the nature of their punishment. Abdullah ibn Masud said, “They are suspended by their hair until the Hour is established.” Ata ibn Abi Rabah said, “Their heads are bent down beneath their wings.” Qatadah said, “They were shackled (2) from their feet to the upper parts of their thighs.” Mujahid said, “They were placed in a pit filled with fire.” Umar ibn Sad said, “They are hung upside down and struck with whips of iron.”
It is related that a man went to Harut and Marut to learn magic and found them suspended by their feet, their eyes blue and their skins black. There was only the width of four fingers between their tongues and the water, while they were tormented by thirst. When he saw this, their condition horrified him, and he said, “There is no god but Allah.” When they heard his words, they asked him, “Who are you?” He replied, “A man from among the people.” They asked, “From which community are you?” He replied, “From the community of Muhammad, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him.” They asked, “Has Muhammad, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him, already been sent?” He said, “Yes.” They said, “Praise be to Allah,” and showed their joy. The man asked, “What is the reason for your joy?” They replied, “He is the Prophet of the Hour, and the end of our punishment has drawn near.”
Allah Most High says: “They did not teach anyone”—that is, anyone at all; the word “from” is supplementary—“until they first counselled him, saying, ‘We are only a trial, so do not disbelieve.’” That is, do not learn magic and then practise it, thereby disbelieving. The root meaning of trial is testing and examination, as in the expression, “I assayed gold and silver,” when I melted them in fire so that the good might be distinguished from the bad. Although there were two of them, the word “trial” is singular because it is a verbal noun, and verbal nouns are neither made dual nor plural. It was also said that they would say, “We are only a trial, so do not disbelieve,” seven times.
Ata and al-Suddi said: If he nevertheless persisted in seeking to learn, they would tell him, “Come to this ash (and approach it) (3).” Then a brilliant light would rise from it into heaven; that was the light of knowledge. Something black, like smoke, would descend and enter his ears; that was the wrath of Allah Most High. Mujahid said: No one reaches Harut and Marut; rather, for each question, a devil goes back and forth between them only once. “Then they learned from them that by which they could separate a man from his wife”: that each one be taken away from— (4)