It is therefore said that this was a test from Allah, and for that reason, whenever the two angels instructed the people they would declare, “We are but a trial, so do not disbelieve.” They were counseling the people, yet Allah tried them through this knowledge; as a result, the people began to learn from the two angels what is known as al-ʿaqd wa ʾl-ṣarf—binding and diversion spells—one of the most severe forms of sorcery: “They learned from them that by which they could separate a man from his wife.”
A sorcerer may approach a man whose life with his family is harmonious and pleasant, yet he will sow enmity between the husband and his wife—Allah’s refuge is sought. The wife begins to scream when her husband draws near, weeps and recoils from him, yet if he stays away she cries over their separation; thus she is harmed both in togetherness and in estrangement. The husband, too, may yearn intensely for his family, but when he comes home he finds their presence constricting, his chest tight, and he wishes for death—may Allah protect us. Such is the magnitude of this sorcery.
Allah the Exalted has said, “Yet they cannot harm anyone with it except by Allah’s permission.” Glory be to Allah, in whose hand lies the dominion of the heavens and the earth! However many sorcerers and devils conspire to harm you, if Allah does not will it they will never harm you: “They cannot harm anyone with it except by Allah’s permission.” Reflect on the wording: the statement here is nominal—“They are not causing harm to anyone”—which conveys permanence and totality, and the negation is reinforced by the prepositional bāʾ. That is, they can never harm anyone through their magic unless Allah decrees it, for Allah is capable of all things. If He so wills, He blocks every evil, for His is the sovereignty of the heavens and the earth; He is the Creator of causes and the One who withholds them, and He is over all things competent.
The verse then continues: “and yet they learn,” meaning those very people to whom the two angels were sent, “they learn what harms them and does not benefit them.” It is pure harm with no benefit whatsoever—harm to one’s religion, to one’s worldly life, and to one’s ultimate fate, in addition to the injustice inflicted upon the victim of sorcery.