His saying, the Almighty: "And they followed what the devils recited," He says: They cast aside the Book of Allah and followed what the devils recited during the reign of Solomon.
Muhammad said: "Recited" (tatlu), meaning: narrated; recitation and narration are the same thing.
His saying: "And Solomon did not disbelieve, but the devils disbelieved, teaching the people magic." Al-Kalbi said: When Allah (Mighty and Majestic is He) tested Solomon (peace be upon him) with the matter that occurred involving the devils, the devils wrote a great deal of magic and buried it under his throne. Then, when Allah took Solomon, the devils came to their allies among mankind and said: "Shall we not guide you to that by which Solomon used to rule mankind, the jinn used to submit to him, and the winds were subjected to him?" They said: "Yes." They said: "Dig under his throne." They did so and extracted many books. When they read them, they turned out to be polytheism toward Allah. The righteous ones of the Children of Israel said: "We seek refuge in Allah from learning this." However, the base ones among the Children of Israel learned it, and the claim against Solomon spread among the Children of Israel, until Allah exonerated him upon the tongue of Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), saying: "And Solomon did not disbelieve, but the devils disbelieved, teaching the people magic and that which was sent down to the two angels." He says: They followed what the devils recited during the reign of Solomon, and they followed what was sent down to the two angels in Babylon, Harut and Marut.
(ل ١٥) قَوْله تَعَالَى: ﴿وَاتَّبَعُوا مَا تَتْلُوا الشَّيَاطِين﴾ يَقُولُ: نبذوا كتاب اللَّه، وَاتبعُوا مَا تَتْلُوا الشَّيَاطِينُ عَلَى مُلْكِ سُلَيْمَان.
قَالَ مُحَمَّد: ((تتلوا))؛ أَي: تروي التِّلَاوَة وَالرِّوَايَة شَيْء وَاحِد.
قَوْله: ﴿وَمَا كَفَرَ سُلَيْمَانُ وَلَكِنَّ الشَّيَاطِينَ كَفَرُوا يُعَلِّمُونَ النَّاسَ السحر﴾ قَالَ الْكَلْبِيّ: لما ابتلى اللَّه ﷿ سُلَيْمَان عليه السلام بِمَا كَانَ من أَمر الشَّيَاطِين، كتبت الشَّيَاطِين سحرًا كثيرا، ودفنوه تَحت كرسيه، ثمَّ لما قبض اللَّه سُلَيْمَان أَتَت الشَّيَاطِين إِلَى أَوْلِيَائِهِمْ من الْإِنْس، فَقَالُوا: أَلا ندلكم عَلَى مَا كَانَ سُلَيْمَان يملك بِهِ الْإِنْس، وَتَدين لَهُ بِهِ الْجِنّ، وتسخر لَهُ [بِهِ] الرِّيَاح؟ قَالُوا: بلَى. قَالُوا: احفروا تَحت كرسيه، فَفَعَلُوا وَاسْتَخْرَجُوا كتبا كَثِيرَة، فَلَمَّا قرءوها فَإِذا هِيَ الشّرك بِاللَّهِ؛ فَقَالَ صلحاء بني إِسْرَائِيل: معَاذ اللَّه من هَذَا أَن نتعلمه، وتعلمه سفلَة بني إِسْرَائِيل [وفشت الْكَلِمَة] لِسُلَيْمَان فِي بني إِسْرَائِيل حَتَّى عذره اللَّه على لِسَان مُحَمَّد ﷺ، فَقَالَ: ﴿وَمَا كَفَرَ سُلَيْمَانُ وَلَكِنَّ الشَّيَاطِينَ كَفَرُوا يُعَلِّمُونَ النَّاسَ السِّحْرَ وَمَا أُنْزِلَ عَلَى الْملكَيْنِ﴾ يَقُول: اتبعُوا مَا تَتْلُوا الشَّيَاطِينُ عَلَى مُلْكِ سُلَيْمَان، وَاتبعُوا مَا أنزل على الْملكَيْنِ بِبَابِل هاروت وماروت.
