وَجَعَلْنَا عَلَىٰ قُلُوبِهِمْ أَكِنَّةً أَن يَفْقَهُوهُ وَفِىٓ ءَاذَانِهِمْ وَقْرًا ۚ وَإِذَا ذَكَرْتَ رَبَّكَ فِى ٱلْقُرْءَانِ وَحْدَهُۥ وَلَّوْا۟ عَلَىٰٓ أَدْبَـٰرِهِمْ نُفُورًا 46
Translations
And We have placed over their hearts coverings, lest they understand it, and in their ears deafness. And when you mention your Lord alone in the Qur’ān, they turn back in aversion.
Transliteration
Wa ja'alna 'ala qulubihim akinnatan ay yafqahuhu wa fi adhanihim waqra. Wa idha dhakarta rabbaka fil-Qur'ani wahdahu wa wallaw 'ala adbarihim nufura.
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah describes how Allah has sealed the hearts and deafened the ears of those who reject the Qur'an, preventing them from understanding its message. When the Oneness of Allah is mentioned in the Qur'an, they turn away in aversion and rejection. Classical scholars like Ibn Kathir explain that this sealing is both a consequence of their persistent disbelief and a divine response to their willful rejection—a punishment that mirrors their own choice to turn away from truth.
Revelation Context
This ayah occurs in the context of Surah Al-Isra, which addresses the rejection faced by the Prophet Muhammad and the disbelievers of Quraysh who stubbornly refused to accept the message of monotheism and the Qur'an despite its clarity. The surah reflects the Meccan period when opposition to the Prophet's message was intense, and this ayah specifically illustrates the spiritual blindness that results from deliberate rejection.
Related Hadiths
The concept is reinforced in Sahih Bukhari where the Prophet (ﷺ) stated that hearts become hardened through sin and distance from remembrance of Allah. Additionally, Sahih Muslim contains hadith about how hearts can become sealed (tabaa'a), referenced in context of those who persistently reject guidance.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah teaches that the greatest barrier to faith is not intellectual incapacity but a hardened heart that willfully rejects truth; we must constantly guard our hearts against arrogance and stubbornness, and actively seek understanding of Allah's message with sincerity and openness.
Related Ayahs
۞ وَقَضَىٰ رَبُّكَ أَلَّا تَعْبُدُوٓا۟ إِلَّآ إِيَّاهُ وَبِٱلْوَٰلِدَيْنِ إِحْسَـٰنًا ۚ إِمَّا يَبْلُغَنَّ عِندَكَ ٱلْكِبَرَ أَحَدُهُمَآ أَوْ كِلَاهُمَا فَلَا تَقُل لَّهُمَآ أُفٍّ وَلَا تَنْهَرْهُمَا وَقُل لَّهُمَا قَوْلًا كَرِيمًا
And your Lord has decreed that you worship not except Him, and to parents, good treatment. Whether one or both of them reach old age [while] with you, say not to them [so much as], "uff," and do not repel them but speak to them a noble word.
وَلَقَدْ صَرَّفْنَا لِلنَّاسِ فِى هَـٰذَا ٱلْقُرْءَانِ مِن كُلِّ مَثَلٍ فَأَبَىٰٓ أَكْثَرُ ٱلنَّاسِ إِلَّا كُفُورًا
And We have certainly diversified for the people in this Qur’ān from every [kind of] example, but most of the people refused except disbelief.
وَمِنَ ٱلَّيْلِ فَتَهَجَّدْ بِهِۦ نَافِلَةً لَّكَ عَسَىٰٓ أَن يَبْعَثَكَ رَبُّكَ مَقَامًا مَّحْمُودًا
And from [part of] the night, pray with it [i.e., recitation of the Qur’ān] as additional [worship] for you; it is expected that your Lord will resurrect you to a praised station.
أَمْ أَمِنتُمْ أَن يُعِيدَكُمْ فِيهِ تَارَةً أُخْرَىٰ فَيُرْسِلَ عَلَيْكُمْ قَاصِفًا مِّنَ ٱلرِّيحِ فَيُغْرِقَكُم بِمَا كَفَرْتُمْ ۙ ثُمَّ لَا تَجِدُوا۟ لَكُمْ عَلَيْنَا بِهِۦ تَبِيعًا
Or do you feel secure that He will not send you back into it [i.e., the sea] another time and send upon you a hurricane of wind and drown you for what you denied? Then you would not find for yourselves against Us an avenger.