to them and solicited them, but she said: "I am of a religion that does not permit me to come to anyone unless he is of the same [religion]." They said: "And what is your religion?" She said: "Magianism (Zoroastrianism)." They said: "Polytheism! This is something we do not approach."

She left them for as long as Allah willed, then she approached them again. They solicited her, and she said: "As you wish, but I have a husband, and I dislike that he should discover this about me and I be disgraced. If you acknowledge my religion and agree to what I ask, you will ascend to the heaven and do it." So they acknowledged her religion, and they came to her in the manner they envisioned, then they ascended with her to the heaven. When they reached the heaven with her, she was snatched away from them, and her wings were clipped. They fell down, fearful and remorseful, weeping. On earth, there was a prophet who would pray between the two Fridays, and when Friday arrived, he would be answered.

They said: "If we went to so-and-so and asked him to seek repentance for us..." So they went to him, and he said: "May Allah have mercy on you! How can the people of the earth seek [forgiveness] for the people of the heaven?!"

They said: "We have been tested." He said: "Come to me on the day of Friday." They went to him, and he said: "I have not received any response regarding you; come to me on the second Friday." They went to him, and he said: "Choose, for you have been given a choice: if you wish, [have] the punishment of the world and [avoid] the punishment of the hereafter, and if you wish, [take] the punishment of the world and on the Day of Resurrection, you will be subject to the judgment of Allah." One of them said: "The world has little of it left." The other said: "Woe to you! I have obeyed you in the first matter, so obey me now. A punishment that vanishes is not like a punishment that remains, and we shall be subject to the judgment of Allah on the Day of Resurrection. I fear He may punish us [in both]." He said: "No, I hope that if Allah knows that we have chosen the punishment of the world for fear of the punishment of the hereafter, He will not combine them against us."

He said: "They chose the punishment of the world, and they were placed in iron pulleys within a pit filled with fire, with their lower parts above them."

1008 - My father narrated to us, Muslim narrated to us, al-Qasim ibn al-Fadl al-Huddani narrated to us, Yazid—meaning al-Farisi—narrated to us, from Ibn 'Abbas, who said: "The people of the lowest heaven looked down upon the people of the earth and saw them committing sins. They said: 'O Lord, the people of the earth are committing sins.' Allah the Almighty said: 'You are with Me, while they are absent from Me.' It was said to them: 'Choose three from among you.' They chose three from among them to descend to the earth to judge between the people of the earth, and He placed within them the desires of humans. They were commanded not to drink wine, not to kill a soul, not to commit adultery, and not to prostrate to an idol. One of them requested to be excused, and he was excused, so two descended to the earth. A woman from the most beautiful of people, called Manahid, came to them, and they both desired her. Then they came to her house and gathered with her and solicited her, and she said: "No, not until you drink my wine, kill my neighbor's son, and prostrate to my idol." They said: "We will not prostrate." Then they drank the wine, then they killed, then they prostrated. The people of the heaven looked down upon them. She said to them: "Tell me the word that, when you say it, you will fly." They told her, so she flew and was metamorphosed into a glowing star (jamra), and it is this Venus (al-Zuhrah). As for the two, Solomon son of David was sent to them, and he gave them the choice between the punishment of the world and the punishment of the hereafter. They chose the punishment of the world, and they are suspended between the heaven and the earth."

1009 - Al-Husayn ibn al-Hasan narrated to us, Ibrahim ibn 'Abd Allah al-Harawi narrated to us, Hajjaj narrated to us, from Ibn Jurayj, who said: Mujahid said: "The affair of Harut and Marut is that the angels were amazed at the sins of the children of Adam despite the messengers having brought them the Scriptures. Their Lord said to them: 'Choose two from among you; I will send them down to judge on earth.' So they were Harut and Marut. They judged and were just until Venus was sent down to them in the form of the most beautiful woman involved in a dispute. They said to her: 'Come to us in the house.' They uncovered their private parts and were seduced. Venus flew away and returned to where she was. They ascended to the heaven, were rebuked, and sought intercession through a man from the children of Adam."

His saying: "And they do not teach anyone"

1010 - 'Isam ibn Rawwad al-'Asqalani narrated to us, Adam narrated to us, Abu Ja'far narrated to us, al-Rabi' ibn Anas narrated to us, from Qays ibn 'Abbad, from Ibn 'Abbas regarding His saying: "And they do not teach anyone until they say: 'We are only a test, so do not disbelieve.'" This is because they knew good and evil, disbelief and faith, and they recognized that magic is part of disbelief.

1011 - Al-Hasan ibn Ahmad narrated to us, Ibrahim ibn 'Abd Allah ibn Bashar narrated to us, Surur ibn al-Mughirah narrated to me, from 'Abbad ibn Mansur, from al-Hasan.

His saying: "And they do not teach anyone until they say: 'We are only a test, so do not disbelieve.'" He said: "Yes, He sent down the two angels with magic so they could teach the people the tribulation with which Allah wanted to test the people. He took from them a covenant that they would not teach anyone until they said: 'We are only a test, so do not disbelieve.' They act accordingly; they do not teach anyone until they say: 'We are only a test, so do not disbelieve.'"

His saying: "Until they say: 'We are only a test, so do not disbelieve.'"

1012 - 'Isam ibn Rawwad narrated to us, Adam narrated to us, Abu Ja'far narrated to us, from Qatadah, who said: "It was taken from them that they would not teach anyone until they said: 'We are only a test,' meaning a tribulation with which we have been tested, 'so do not disbelieve.'"