Surah 2. Al-Baqara, Ayah 104

This admonition, addressed in the first instance to the contemporaries of the Prophet, has - as so often in the Qur'an - a connotation that goes far beyond the historical circumstances that gave rise to it. The Companions were called upon to approach the Prophet with respect and to subordinate their personal desires and expectations to the commandments of the Faith revealed through him: and this injunction remains valid for every believer and for all times.

 Some of the disbelievers used to  play with words when they addressed the Prophet (ﷺ) in order to ridicule him. So instead of saying, râ’ina “listen to us,” they would say, râ’îna “our shepherd” or “the foolish among us.” They would say loudly, “We listen,” then whisper, “but we disobey!” and say, “Hear us,” then, “may you never hear!” They used to say to each other, “If he had truly been a prophet of Allah, he would have known that we are mocking him.” Therefore, this verse (along with  4:46) was revealed commanding the believers to avoid such words altogether. Better words are recommended.

What the evil ones learnt from Harut and Marut (see last note) they turned to evil. When mixed with fraud and deception, it appeared as charms and spells of love potions. They did nothing but cause discord between the sexes. But of course their power was limited to the extent to which God permitted the evil to work, for His grace protected all who sought His guidance and repented and returned to Him. But apart from the harm that these false pretenders might do to others, the chief harm which they did was to their own souls. They sold themselves into slavery to the Evil One, as is shown in the allegory of Goethe's Faust. That allegory dealt with the individual soul. Here the tragedy is shown to occur not only to individuals but to whole groups of people, for example, the People of the Book. Indeed the story might be extended indefinitely.