1. Quranic Narrative

In the Quran, the two angels are briefly mentioned as follows:^[1][2]

They followed what the Shayāṭīn (devils) gave out, in the Mulki Sulaymān (مُلْكِ سُلَيْمَان, Kingdom of Solomon). Sulaymān did not disbelieve, but the Shayāṭīn disbelieved, teaching men magic and such things that came down upon the two Angels in Babylon, Hārūt and Mārūt, but neither of these two taught anyone, till they had said, "We are only a Fitnah (trial), so do not disbelieve." And from these, people learn that by which they cause separation between a man and his wife, but they could not thus harm anyone except by the Leave of Allāh. And they learn that which harms them and profits them not. And indeed they knew that the buyers of it (magic) would have no share in the Ākhirah (Hereafter). And how bad indeed was that for which they sold their own selves, if they but knew!

—The Qur'an, 2: 102.

2. Tafsir

Harut and Marut in Their Forever Well (1703). https://handwiki.org/wiki/index.php?curid=1960793

Tabari

Tabari offers different narrations linking back to the sahaba.^[3] Although differing in detail, the story can be summarized as follows:

The angels were astonished at the acts of disobedience committed by the human beings on earth, claiming they would do better than them. Therefore, God challenged the angels to choose two representatives among them, who would descend to earth and be endowed with bodily desires. During their stay on earth, they fell in love with a woman named Zohra (often identified with Venus). She told them she would become intimate with them if they joined her in idolatry and tell her how to ascend to heaven. The angels refused and remained pious. Later they met her again and the woman this time stated she would become intimate with them if they drank alcohol. The angels thought that alcohol could not cause great harm and therefore, they accepted the condition. After they were drunk, they became intimate with her and after noticing a witness, they killed them. On the next day, Harut and Marut regretted their deeds but could not ascend to heaven anymore due to their sins, as their link to the angels was broken. Thereupon, God asked them, either their punishment shall be in this world or in the hereafter. They chose to be punished on earth and therefore were sent to Babel as a test, teaching humans magic but not without warning them that they were just a temptation.^[4]

Ibn Kathir

The 14th-century scholar Ibn Kathir gives an alternative version of Harut and Marut. Although regarding their story as sound in chain of narrations, but since it goes back to Ibn Abbas and not to Muhammad himself, he asserts Muslims should not follow this narrative.^[5] Instead he goes into depth about what exactly the angels had taught to the people in his book, Stories of the Qur'an:

Narrated Al-`Ufi in his interpretation on the authority of Ibn `Abbas (May Allah be pleased with him) pertaining to Allah's Statement {They followed what the Shayatin (devils) gave out (falsely of the magic) in the lifetime of Sulaiman (Solomon). Sulaiman did not disbelieve, but the Shayatin (devils) disbelieved, teaching men magic and such things that came down at Babylon to the two angels, Harut and Marut but neither of these two (angels) taught anyone (such things) till they had said, "We are only for trial, so disbelieve not (by learning this magic from us)." ...} When Sulaiman lost his kingdom, great numbers from among mankind and the jinn renegaded and followed their lusts. But, when Allah restored to Sulaiman his kingdom and the renegade came to follow the Straight Path once again, Sulaiman seized their holy scriptures which he buried underneath his throne. Shortly after, Sulaiman (Peace be upon him) died. In no time, the men and the Jinn uncovered the buried scriptures and said: This was a book revealed by Allah to Sulaiman who hid it from us. They took it as their religion and Allah the Almighty revealed His Saying: {And when there came to them a Messenger from Allah confirming what was with them, a party of those who were given the Scripture threw away the Book of Allah behind their backs as if they did not know!}. (Al-Baqarah, 101) and they followed what the devils gave out, i.e. all that blocks the remembrance of Allah.^[6]

3. Problem of Angelic Impeccability

Harut and Marut in Arabic calligraphy. https://handwiki.org/wiki/index.php?curid=2013555

The story of Harut and Marut posed a major problem for the doctrine of infallible angels. Although angels are not necessarily impeccable in Islam,^[7][8] many scholars teach that angels are mere messengers of God without free-will, thus unable to err.^[9]

Some Islamic exegetes deny that Harut and Marut were angels at all and prefer to regard them as ordinary men rather than angels, who learned magic from devils.^[10] In Hasan al-Basri's view, it was impossible that angels would teach sins like magic.^[11] Others accept Harut and Marut as angels, but reject their associated story. Hasan ibn Ali ibn Muhammad, the 11th Imam of the Twelver Shi'ah, after being asked about the truth of the story, refuted the belief that angels may emerge as transgressors, because, he reasoned, they lack freedom to act upon their will and just rely on the Will of God. Pertaining to the Quran's statement: "To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and the earth, and those who are near Him do not disdain to worship Him, nor do they become weary. They glorify [Him] night and day, and they do not flag,"^[12] he argued that if Harut and Marut had committed oppression and injustice, how could they have been God's representative or messenger on earth?^[13]

On the other hand, the story seems to be accepted by Ahmad ibn Hanbal (780–855 CE), and especially due to the obedience of angels, they begin to oppose the children of Adam, leading to their fall, in the first place, thus combining the Quranic statement about angels complaining over the creation of Adam, with the verse concerning Harut and Marut.^[2][14] Al-Kalbi (737 AD – 819 AD) reconciled the Quranic narrative with earlier non-Islamic sources, mentioning three angels descending to earth, and giving them the names from the Third Book of Enoch. He explained that one of them returned to heaven, because he repents his sin and the other two changed on earth their names to Harut and Marut.

Al-Taftazani (1322 AD –1390 AD) states in his 'Aqaid al-Nasafi that angels might inadvertently fall into error, but can not become unbelievers. He affirms that Harut and Marut are indeed angels, who taught magic, but they never approved it, therefore have not sinned. He rejects Iblis's angelic nature however. Harut and Marut are not described as fallen but rebuked.^[15] Al-Damiri (1341–1405) argues, that the story of Harut and Marut were unreliable and supports his view by statements from Hasan Al Basri and Ibn Abbas. He uses this argument to refute the claim that the Jurhum were descendants of a fallen angel.^[16] In Rumis major work Masnavi, the reader is recommended to remember the story of Harut and Marut, and how their self-righteousness led to their demise.^[17]

Most Salafi-scholars reject the notion that Harut and Marut have been punished by God.^[2]

According to Muslim scholar Ansar Al-'Adl, many interpretations of the verse originated from alleged Judeo-Christian sources that came to be recorded in some works of Quranic exegesis, called Tafsir. Numerous stories have been transmitted about these verses, yet all center around the same basic story. Abdullah Yusuf Ali, translator of the Qur'an into English, asserts that the source of this story may be the Jewish Midrash:

Among the Jewish traditions in the Midrash was a story of two angels who asked Allah's permission to come down to earth but succumbed to temptation, and were hung up by their feet at Babylon for punishment. Such stories about sinning angels who were cast down to punishment were believed in by the early Christians, also (see II Peter 2:4, and Epistle of Jude, verse 6).^[18]

Contrary, most recent research in the field of Islamic Studies has established that the earliest possible date for the Midrash dealing with the Harut & Marut narrative, dates from the 11th century and thus postdates the advent of Islam by more than 400 years:

Careful comparison of the developed narratives of the "Tale of Harut and Marut" and the Midrash amid the larger literary corpora within which they are embedded suggests that the Muslim Harut wa-Marut complex both chronologically and literarily precedes the articulated versions of the Jewish Midrash. What is likely the oldest Hebrew form of the story dates from approximately the eleventh century, several hundred years after the bulk of the Muslim evidence.^[19]

Similarly, Patricia Crone argues, that the Midrash actually adapted the story from Muslims,^[20] but the names were changed to Azazel and Samyaza, terms for fallen angels in other earlier Jewish scriptures, however, regarded as unauthentic by Rabbinic Judaism.

Sadr al-Din al-Shirazi believes that angels are regarded as mujarradat who are "intrinsically intelligible" and free from the limitations of material existence. A mujarrad being, as described by Shirazi, is not necessarily something "that exists as an abstraction in the mind". It can be a concrete reality as in the case of God, the angels or the intellect.^[21]