Harut and Marut

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Harut and Marut ( Arabic هاروت وماروت) are two angels named in the Koran .

The Koranic story

According to the Koran, Harut and Marut teach the people of Babel magic. This is used, for example, to divide spouses. However, Harut and Marut incite people that they are a temptation and that people should not lose their faith. The Quran verse (2: 102) reads:

And they followed what the satans recited under the rule of Solomon (the people). It was not Solomon who disbelieved, but Satans, teaching people magic. And (they followed) what was revealed (from heaven) to the two angels in Babylon, Hārūt and Mārūt. And they did not teach anyone (in magic) without saying: "We are only a temptation (for men). Therefore do not become unbelieving! And so they learned from them the (means) that one uses between a man and his wife causes a rift. And they do not harm anyone unless with God's permission. And they learned what harms and does not benefit them. And they knew well that whoever negotiates such a thing has no part in the hereafter. They have themselves Truly engaged in a bad deal, if only they only knew!

Islamic exegesis

Islamic exegesis explains the presence of the two angels in Babel as follows: The angels make derogatory remarks about the sinfulness of people. God challenges the angels to do better and sends Harut and Marut to earth to test. They are given the task of resisting sins such as polytheism, murder, fornication and drinking of wine, but succumb to the charms of a woman and kill the witness to her offense. Given the choice of serving their sentence in hell or on earth, they choose earth and dwell in torment in Babel.

According to Islamic commentators, the purpose of the Koranic Surah is to make clear to people the difference between simple sorcery and divine power. The story of the sinful angels also illustrates the difficulties people experience when they try to resist their instincts, because even angels can fail this challenge under the same circumstances.

origin

The model and source of the legend of fallen angels are various biblical ( 2nd letter of Peter : 2,4; letter of Jude : 6) and extra-biblical traditions such as the apocryphal books of Enoch or the Midrash Abkir. Namesake Haruts and Maruts are two Amshaspand of Zoroastrianism : Haurvatāt (integrity) and Ameretāt (immortality). It is unclear how the synthesis of Zoroastrian and Judeo-Christian traditions came about and how they got to Arabia.

literature

Individual evidence

  1. See Adel Theodor Khoury , Ludwig Hagemann , Peter Heine : Islam-Lexikon AZ. History, ideas, design . Herder, Freiburg / B. 1999, ISBN 3-451-04036-0 , p. 162.
  2. ^ Patricia Crone : The Book of Watchers in the Qurʾān. In: Exchange and Transmission across Cultural Boundaries: Philosophy, Mysticism and Science in the Mediterranean (Proceeding of a Workshop in Memory of Prof. Shlomo Pines, the Institute for Advanced Studies, Jerusalem.) February 28 to March 2, 2005, pp. 11
  3. Josef Horovitz: Koranische inquiries (studies on the history and culture of the Islamic Orient; vol. 4). DeGruyter, Berlin 1926, pp. 146-148.
  4. ^ Georges Vajda: Harut Wa-Marut . In: Bernard Lewis et al. (Ed.): The Encyclopaedia of Islam. New Edition , Volume 3. Brill, Leiden