allowed to choose between a present or a future punishment. They elected to be punished here on earth. They were then suspended with their heads downwards in a well at Babel. Some say that angels came and whipped them with rods of fire, and that a fresh spring ever flowed just beyond the reach of their parched lips. The woman was changed to a star. Some assert that it was a shooting star which has now passed out of existence. Others say that she is the star Venus. It is only right to state that the Qazi 'Ayaz, Imam Fakhr-ud-din Razi (544-606 A.H.), Qazi Nasir-ud-din Baidavi (620-691 A.H.) and most scholastic divines deny the truth of this story. They say that angels are immaculate, but it is plain that this does not meet the difficulty which the Quran itself raises in connection with Harut and Marut. They want to know how beings in such a state can teach, and whether it is likely that men would have the courage to go near such a horrible scene. As to the woman, they think the whole story absurd, not only because the star Venus was created before the time of Adam, but also because it is inconceivable that one who was so wicked should have the honour of shining in heaven for ever. A solution, however, they are bound to give, and it is this. Magic is a great art which God must allow mankind to know. The dignity of the order of prophets is so great that they cannot teach men what is confessedly hurtful. Two angels were therefore sent, and so men can now distinguish between the miracles of prophets, the signs of {144} saints, the wonders of magicians and others. Then Harut and Marut always discouraged men from learning magic. They said to those who came to them: "We are only a temptation. Be not thou an unbeliever." Others assert that it is a Jewish allegory in which the two angels represent reason and benevolence, the woman the evil appetites. The woman's ascent to heaven represents death.