Lahiyatan quloobuhum waasarroo annajwa allatheena thalamoo hal hatha illa basharun mithlukum afata'toona (surah Anbiya: 3)

Tafseer Tafheem-ul-Quran by Syed Abu-al-A'la Maududi

(21:3) And the unjust people whisper to one another, saying, "This man is no more than a human being like yourselves. What ! will you, then, be enticed by his sorcery while you perceive it ?" *5

Laahiyatan quloobuhum; wa asarrun najwal lazeena zalamoo hal haazaa illaa basharum mislukum afataa toonas sihra wa antum tubsiroon

*5) This may also be translated as: "What, are you then being ensnared by his magic?"
The disbelievers, who were the chiefs of Makkah, whispered to one another to this effect: "Anyhow this man cannot be a Prophet because he is a human being like us and eats and drinks and has wife and children like us. We see nothing unusual about him that might distinguish him from us and make him worthy of the office of Prophethood. We, however, admit that there is some magic in his talk and personality. That is why any one who listens to him or goes near Him is charmed. Therefore, the best thing for you is not to listen to him at all, nor go near him, for listening to him or going near him will only be involving yourselves intentionally in his snare."
The reason why they accused the Holy Prophet of practising magic was that even his antagonists were "charmed" by his personality. when they met him. Muhammad bin Ishaq (d. 152 A.H.) says, "Once `Utbah bin Rabi`ah, the father-in-law of Abu Sufyan, said to the chiefs that he wanted to see Muhammad and give him counsel. They said, `We have full confidence in you; you may go and have a talk with him.' Accordingly, he went to the Holy Prophet and said, `Dear nephew, you know that you were held in great honour here before this and you belong to a noble family. Why have you then brought this affliction to your people? You have caused discard among them: you consider your people to be fools: you speak ill of their religion and deities, and you declare their deceased forefathers to be disbelievers. My dear nephew, if your object is to become a rich man, we can give you so much wealth that you will become the richest man among us: if you are seeking a high rank, we will make you our chief, even our king, if you so like. But if you are suffering from a mental illness which makes you see illusions, we will have you treated by the best physicians.' He went on talking in this strain and the Holy Prophet remained silent. When he had a long talk, the Holy Prophet said, `Abul Walid, have you had your say or do you want to say anything more?' He replied that he had said what he had to say. Then the Holy Prophet said, `Now listen to me'. And he began to recite Surah Ha Mim Sajdah (Chapter XLI) after Bismillah and `Utbah listened to him as if he had been charmed. When the Holy Prophet came to v. 38, he fell down in prostration. Then raising his head, he said, 'O Abul Walid, I have said whatever I had to say, and you have heard it. Now I have nothing more to say'. After this `Utbah walked back towards the chiefs who perceived him to be a changed man, and remarked, `By God ! his face shows that he is not the same man that he was when he went from here.' When he came to them, they asked, `What has been the result of your mission'? He answered, `By God, today I have heard a thing the like of which I had never heard before. By Allah! It is not poetry nor sorcery nor divination. O people of Quraish, I advise you to leave him to himself. From what I have heard from him, I conclude that his Message is going to bring about a great revolution here. If the Arabs overcome him, you will stand absolved from the charge of murdering your own brother, and if he over-powers the Arabs, his sovereignty will be your own sovereignty and his honour your own honour.' The people answered, `By God! you, too, O Abul Walid, have been charmed by him'. To this he replied, `I have expressed my opinion. Now it is for you to accept or reject it'." (Ibn Hisham, Vol. I, pp. 313-314). Baihaqi, in his narration of the above event, makes this addition: "When the Holy Prophet recited v. 13: `If they turn away from your Message, say to them, I have warned you of the coming of a thunderbolt like the thunderbolt that visited the `Ad and the Thamud', `Utbah placed his hand on the mouth of the Holy Prophet, saying, `For God's sake, have mercy on your own people'."
In this connection, ibn Ishaq has cited another event. Once a man from the clan of Arash came to Makkah with some camels and Abu Jahl bought them. When he demanded their price, he put him off by lame excuses. At last the man came to the Sanctuary of the Ka`bah and began to bewail publicly the dishonesty of Abu Jahl. The Holy Prophet was also sitting in a corner of the Sanctuary. The chiefs of the Quraish said to the man, "We cannot help you in any way in this matter; look, there is a man sitting: go to him and he will get you your money." Accordingly the Arashi went towards the Holy Prophet and the chiefs began to whisper jokingly, "Today there will be great fun!" When the man expressed his complaint before the Holy Prophet, he at once stood up and accompanied him to the house of Abu Jahl, followed by an informer of the chiefs. The Holy Prophet knocked at Abu Jahl's door, who asked from inside, "Who is there"? He answered, "Muhammad". Hearing this, he at once came out and the Holy Prophet said to him, "Pay this man his dues." Accordingly, Abu Jahl went in without uttering a word, brought the price of the camels and paid the man. At this the informer ran back to the Quraish and told them the whole story and said, "By God, today I have seen something which I had never seen before. When Abu Jahl came out, Muhammad asked him to pay the dues, and he obeyed him as if he were spell bound." (Ibn Hisham, Vol. II, pp. 29-30).
It was this "charm" of the personality, character and words of the Holy Prophet which these people considered to be the effects of "charm" and warned the people not to go near him for fear of his "magic."