revealed it to thy heart by Allāh’s command” (2:97); and the angel, though he may come in the shape of a man, is not seen by the physical eye of the prophet but by his spiritual eye. Therefore, if the guests spoken of were angels, their appearance to both Abraham and Lot must have been in vision, in which state it is that revelation comes to the prophets of God; but if it was with the physical eye that Abraham and Lot beheld them, then they were men and not angels. The fact that they did not take any food when it was offered by Abraham merely shows that they did not need it, or that they were fasting at the time. Abraham had received the news of a son independently of them and Lot had also been informed of the impending fate of his people without their agency.5

Hārūt and Mārūt

The other case is that of Hārūt and Mārūt. Special stress has been laid on this point by Western writers generally, and by the Christian missionaries in particular, and the inference is drawn, from what is related of them in the Holy Qur’ān, that angels are not immaterial creatures and that they have desires like human beings; and thus it is sought to contradict the whole teaching of the Holy Qur’ān on angels by a story which is based neither on the Holy Qur’ān nor on any authentic ḥadīth. In fact, the Holy Qur’ān rejects the story which was current among the Magi and the Jews about these two angels. According to Sale, the Persian Magi “mention two rebellious angels of the same names, now hung up by the feet, with their heads downwards, in the territory of Babel.” And he adds: “The Jews have something like this, of the angel Shamhozai, who, having debauched himself with women, repented, and by way of penance hung himself up between heaven and earth.” These stories, and others ascribing evil practices to Solomon, were rejected by the Holy Qur’ān in the following words: “And Solomon disbelieved not, but the devils disbelieved, teaching men enchantment. And it was not revealed to the two angels in Babel, Hārūt and Mārūt. Nor did they teach it to anyone, so that they should have said, We are only a trial, so disbelieve not” (2:102). The statement made here amounts to this. The Jews instead of following the word of God went after certain evil