Al-jibt: a term that can refer to an idol, a sorcerer, or a soothsayer. ʿUmar’s explanation that it means sorcery is an example of defining something by one of its particular instances.
aṭ-Tāghūt: derived from ṭughyān (to transgress); thus, anyone who oversteps the bounds in defiance is a tāghūt.
“The tāghūts are the soothsayers”: the intention is that soothsayers are included among the tāghūts—they are one subset of the broader meaning, not its exclusive referent.
“Upon whom a devil descends”: meaning devils in general, not Iblīs alone; the word shayṭān here is a collective noun.
“In every clan”: that is, in every tribe.
Overall meaning of the two verses: God—the Exalted—states that the Jews who exchanged following the messengers and faith in Allah for the practice of magic were fully aware that whoever preferred magic to the Book of Allah and obedience to His messengers would have no share in the Hereafter. In the second verse He tells us that the Jews affirm al-jibt, which includes sorcery.
Relevance of the two verses to this chapter: both demonstrate the prohibition of magic and show that it falls under the heading of al-jibt.
Lessons drawn from the two verses:
- Magic is forbidden.
- The magician is a disbeliever.
- A severe warning is issued to anyone who turns away from the Book of Allah and replaces it with something else.
- Magic constitutes shirk that nullifies true monotheism, for it entails employing the devils and relying on them.