The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 1) — Page 44
CH. 2 AL-BAQARAH 8. Allah has set a seal on their hearts and their ears, and over their is a covering; and for eyes them is a great punishment. 14 PT. 1 خَتَمَ اللهُ عَلى قُلُوبِهِمْ وَعَلَى سَمْعِهِمْ وَ عَلَى أَبْصَارِهِمْ غِشَاوَةٌ وَلَهُمْ عَذَابٌ عَظِيم "4:156; 6:26, 47; 7:102, 180; 10:75; 16:109; 45:24; 83:15. "disbelief" (Aqrab). When the word is used singly, without any qualifying word, it means the rejection of any fundamental object of faith, i. e. the Unity of God or the prophethood of the Holy Prophet, or the Holy Book, etc (Mufradāt). (whether thou warn them). نذر is derived from They say انذر. i. e الشيء he knew the danger underlying the thing and was on his guard against it. is the transitive form of ; so means, he warned him of a coming danger. means, a warner (Aqrab). The 8(hamzah) used in the beginning of the word does not give the meaning of interrogation. It is simply used to make the word infinitive, and the clause beginning with it would be taken to mean whether thou warn them or warn them not. It is a parenthetical clause which goes to qualify the words, those who have disbelieved (Mufradāt). Commentary: continues, they will not believe. The verse does not at all mean that no disbeliever will henceforward believe. The idea is not only repugnant to the teaching of the Quran but is also opposed to all established facts of history; for people continued to embrace Islam even after this verse was revealed. Again, it was after this verse that the Surah (Ch. 110) was revealed to the Holy Prophet, in which God spoke to him saying that people would soon begin to join Islam in very large numbers (110:3), and so it actually came to pass. In short, the words, they will not believe, refer only to such disbelievers as turn a deaf ear to the warnings of the Prophet, and to them also the words apply only so long as they do not change their present condition. A person who turns a deaf ear to a warning today but begins to heed it tomorrow does not, indeed cannot, come under the so-called ban. 14. Important Words: ختم (set a seal) means, he set a seal on; or he stamped a thing so that there should remain no likelihood of its being regarded as forged. means, a seal (Aqrab). The expression After speaking of the class of true believers and describing the high stage of faith, God now speaks of the extreme type of disbelievers who have become so indifferent to truth that it matters not whether they receive a warning or not. Of such aúl (lit. God has set a seal on disbelievers it has been declared that his heart) means, God made his heart as long as their present condition such that it could neither understand 44