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
وَإِذْ قُلْنَا لِلْمَلَـٰٓئِكَةِ ٱسْجُدُوا۟ لِـَٔادَمَ فَسَجَدُوٓا۟ إِلَّآ إِبْلِيسَ قَالَ ءَأَسْجُدُ لِمَنْ خَلَقْتَ طِينًا
And [mention] when We said to the angels, "Prostrate to Adam," and they prostrated, except for Iblees. He said, "Should I prostrate to one You created from clay?"
۞ أَوَلَمْ يَرَوْا۟ أَنَّ ٱللَّهَ ٱلَّذِى خَلَقَ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضَ قَادِرٌ عَلَىٰٓ أَن يَخْلُقَ مِثْلَهُمْ وَجَعَلَ لَهُمْ أَجَلًا لَّا رَيْبَ فِيهِ فَأَبَى ٱلظَّـٰلِمُونَ إِلَّا كُفُورًا
Do they not see that Allāh, who created the heavens and earth, is [the one] Able to create the likes of them? And He has appointed for them a term, about which there is no doubt. But the wrongdoers refuse except disbelief.
أَقِمِ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ لِدُلُوكِ ٱلشَّمْسِ إِلَىٰ غَسَقِ ٱلَّيْلِ وَقُرْءَانَ ٱلْفَجْرِ ۖ إِنَّ قُرْءَانَ ٱلْفَجْرِ كَانَ مَشْهُودًا
Establish prayer at the decline of the sun [from its meridian] until the darkness of the night and [also] the Qur’ān [i.e., recitation] of dawn. Indeed, the recitation of dawn is ever witnessed.
سُنَّةَ مَن قَدْ أَرْسَلْنَا قَبْلَكَ مِن رُّسُلِنَا ۖ وَلَا تَجِدُ لِسُنَّتِنَا تَحْوِيلًا
[That is Our] established way for those We had sent before you of Our messengers; and you will not find in Our way any alteration.