وَحَسِبُوٓا۟ أَلَّا تَكُونَ فِتْنَةٌ فَعَمُوا۟ وَصَمُّوا۟ ثُمَّ تَابَ ٱللَّهُ عَلَيْهِمْ ثُمَّ عَمُوا۟ وَصَمُّوا۟ كَثِيرٌ مِّنْهُمْ ۚ وَٱللَّهُ بَصِيرٌۢ بِمَا يَعْمَلُونَ 71
Translations
And they thought there would be no [resulting] punishment, so they became blind and deaf. Then Allāh turned to them in forgiveness; then [again] many of them became blind and deaf. And Allāh is Seeing of what they do.
Transliteration
Wa hasiboo allaa takoona fitnatun fa'amoo wa sammoo thumma taba Allahu 'alayhim thumma 'amoo wa sammoo katheerun minhum wa-Allahu baseerun bima ya'maloona
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah describes the spiritual condition of those who persist in turning away from divine guidance despite repeated opportunities for repentance. The phrase 'they thought there would be no trial' refers to those who believed they could ignore God's signs without consequence, leading them to become spiritually blind and deaf. Ibn Kathir and Al-Qurtubi note that though Allah extended mercy and repentance to them, many chose to revert to their willful blindness and deafness—a metaphor for rejecting truth and closing one's heart to guidance—and Allah is fully aware of all their deeds and their ultimate fate.
Revelation Context
This ayah appears in the context of Surah Al-Ma'idah's discussion of the People of the Book and their inconsistencies in faith. The broader passage (5:71-72) addresses the cyclical pattern of those who reject clear signs; the specific context relates to communities who witnessed miracles and divine favor yet repeatedly turned away, exemplified historically by certain groups among the Jews and Christians who rejected prophetic guidance.
Related Hadiths
Hadith from Tirmidhi and others: 'When a person is given knowledge and then acts against it, Allah seals their heart.' Also relevant is the hadith in Sahih Bukhari regarding the consequences of persistent rejection: 'The worst of people is he who knows the truth but rejects it.' These support the ayah's theme of willful rejection after knowledge.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah warns against complacency in faith and the danger of repeatedly rejecting guidance; it teaches that turning away from truth, even after receiving it, leads to spiritual hardening of the heart. For modern readers, it emphasizes the importance of sincerely accepting and acting upon knowledge of Islam, as mere intellectual acknowledgment without genuine submission leads to spiritual ruin.