(And follow that which the devils falsely related against the kingdom of Solomon…) [2:102].
Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz al-Qantari informed us> Abu'l-Fadl al-Haddadi> Abu Yazid al-Khalidi> Ishaq ibn Ibrahim> Jarir> Husayn ibn 'Abd al-Rahman> 'Imran ibn al-Harith who said: “Once as we were sitting with Ibn 'Abbas when he said: 'The devils used to eavesdrop on heaven. One of them would bring a word of truth from therein, and when he is trusted for telling the truth, he would add to it seventy lies with which he earns the hearts of people. When Solomon came to know about it, he took it and buried it beneath his throne. When he died, a devil stood in the street and said: 'Shall I guide you to Solomon's guarded treasure, the like of which he does not have?' They said: 'Yes, do'. He said: 'It is under his throne; go and unearth it'. They said: 'This is magic'. Different nations then copied it from them. And thus Allah, exalted is He, revealed Solomon's excuse (And follow that which the devils falsely related against the kingdom of Solomon. Solomon disbelieved not.)' ”.
Said al-Kalbi: “The devils wrote down magic and talismans (niranjiyyat) and attributed them to Asaf ibn Barakhiya. They wrote: 'This is what Asaf ibn Barakhiya has taught the king Solomon' and they buried it in the place where Solomon worshipped without him realizing it. This happened when Solomon was stripped of his kingdom. When Solomon died, they unearthed it from under his place of worship and said to people: 'Solomon left this in your possession so that you learn it'. As for the scholars of the Children of Israel, they said: 'Allah forbid that this be the knowledge of Solomon'. The lowly among people said: 'This is Solomon's knowledge', and therefore sought its knowledge and rejected the scriptures of their prophets. Solomon was later blamed for this and this remained the case until Allah sent Muhammad, Allah bless him and give him peace. Allah revealed Solomon's excuse was revealed in His own words. He showed his innocence from what he was blamed for (And follow that which the devils falsely related against the kingdom of Solomon…)”.
Sa'id ibn al-'Abbas al-Qurashi informed us in his epistle that al-Fadl ibn Zakariyya informed them> Ahmad ibn Najdah> Sa'id ibn Mansur> 'Itab ibn Bashir> Khusayf who said: “Solomon used to ask any newly grown tree: 'Which disease can you cure?' The tree would say: 'This and that!' When the Carob tree (al-Khurnubah) grew, he asked it: 'What are you for?' it replied: 'I am for the purpose of destroying your sanctuary!' He said: 'Would you really destroy it?' 'Yes', came the reply. 'What an evil tree you are', said Solomon. Shortly after this he died. People began to say regarding their own sick ones: 'If only we had someone like Solomon'. The devils then wrote a book and buried it under the place where Solomon used to worship. After which they said [to the people]: 'We will direct to that with which Solomon used to treat others'. They then proceeded and unearthed that book which contained magic and spells. Allah, exalted is He, therefore revealed (And follow that which the devils falsely related against the kingdom of Solomon) up to His saying (therefore disbelieve not) [2:102]”.
Said al-Suddi: “People in Solomon's time wrote magic from each other and devoted themselves to learning it. Solomon took all that which was written of magic, put it in a chest and buried it under his throne after he warned them against it. When Solomon died and all those who knew the incident of burying these writings then passed away after him, a devil appeared in the shape of a human and went to a group among the Children of Israel. He said to them: 'Shall I direct you to an inexhaustible treasure?' When they answered in the affirmative, he said: 'Dig under the throne [of Solomon]'. When they did, they found those writings. Upon unearthing them, the devil said: 'It is by means of these that Solomon controlled the jinn, humans, devils and birds'. The children of Israel used those writings from then on, and it is for this reason that one finds magic more widespread among the Jews. Allah, gloried and exalted is He, absolved Solomon of this deed and revealed this verse”.
Asbab Al-Nuzul by Al-Wahidi , trans. Mokrane Guezzou