And they follow what the devils used to relate during the reign of Solomon: Solomon disbelieved not but the devils disbelieved and taught the people sorcery; and that which was revealed to the two angels in Babylon- Hārūt and Mārūt. They taught not any man without them saying “We are but a temptation; do not disbelieve.” From them they learned how they might cause division between a man and his wife yet they did not hurt any man thereby save by the leave of God; and they learned what hurt them and did not profit them. And surely they knew well that whoever buys it he shall have no share in the hereafter; Whoever is divided by his whims ahwāÌ falls into one state of heedless- ness ghafla after another so that every kind of ignorant affair welcomes him. Moreover those whose absence [from the Beloved] is prolonged become a warning to others and a temptation for whoever follows their path. Whoever emulates them in their transgression joins their commu- nity and becomes one of them. This is the case in the description of Hārūt and Mārūt and what happened to them-they became a temptation and a warning for men. One who listens to what they say and does not take into account their ignorance will share in their tribulation balāÌuhumā and suffer their distress ʿanāÌuhumā in the hereafter. The allusion in their story is to the one on this path Ṭarīqa who is inclined to affectation deception and pretension. He attracts followers whom he leads to hell by his falsehood and blocks them from the path of right direction by the evil of his darknesses. But those who take heed cross over to safety on its bridges and the one who is disgraced tahattaka by his inclinations to falsehoods-his veils astāruhu are torn tahattakat and his faults ʿawāruhu are exposed to anyone with eyes. When Hārūt and Mārūt were deceived by the disobedience to which they had become accustomed they blamed [their being deceived on] the disobedience of the children of Adam. Because of their tendencies toward carnal desires and the promptings to temptations and harmful things they plunged forward into disobedience. What happened to them is what the storytellers relate: they are hanging upside down until the Day of the Resurrection and if not for [God's] gentleness rifq toward them and their affair their punishment would not end then.
