Surah 2. Al-Baqara, Ayah 7
| خَتَمَ اللَّهُ عَلَىٰ قُلُوبِهِمْ وَعَلَىٰ سَمْعِهِمْ ۖ وَعَلَىٰ أَبْصَارِهِمْ غِشَاوَةٌ ۖ وَلَهُمْ عَذَابٌ عَظِيمٌ |
| Asad | : | God has sealed their hearts and their hearing, and over their eyes is a veil;7 and awesome suffering awaits them. |
| Malik | : | Allah has sealed their hearts and their hearing, their eyes are covered, and there is a grievous punishment for them. |
| Pickthall | : | Allah hath sealed their hearing and their hearts, and on their eyes there is a covering. Theirs will be an awful doom. |
| Yusuf Ali | : | Allah hath set a seal on their hearts and on their hearing and on their eyes is a veil; great is the penalty they (incur). 31 32 |
| Transliteration | : | khatama 'allaah calaa qulob -him wa- calaa samc -him wa- calaa abs.aar -him ghishaawah wa- la- -hum cadhaab caz.em |
Note - 7A reference to the natural law instituted by God, whereby
a person who persistently adheres to false beliefs and
refuses to listen to the voice of truth gradually loses
the ability to perceive the truth, "so that finally, as
it were, a seal is set upon his heart" (Raghib). Since it
is God who has instituted all laws of nature - which, in
their aggregate, are called sunnat Allah ("the way of
God") - this "sealing" is attributed to Him: but it is
obviously a consequence of man's free choice and not an
act of "predestination". Similarly, the suffering which,
in the life to come, is in store for those who during
their life in this world have wilfully remained deaf and
blind to the truth, is a natural consequence of their
free choice - just as happiness in the life to come is
the natural consequence of man's endeavour to attain to
righteousness and inner illumination. It is in this sense
that the Qur'anic references to God's "reward" and
"punishment" must be understood.
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Note - 31All actions are referred to God. Therefore, when we get
the penalty of our deliberate sin, and our senses become
impervious to good, the penalty is referred to the
justice of God.
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Note - 32The penalty here is the opposite of the prosperity
referred to in n 5. As we go down the path of sin, our
penalty gathers momentum, just as goodness brings its own
capacity for greater goodness.
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A reference to the natural law instituted by God, whereby a person who persistently adheres to false beliefs and refuses to listen to the voice of truth gradually loses the ability to perceive the truth, "so that finally, as it were, a seal is set upon his heart" (Raghib). Since it is God who has instituted all laws of nature - which, in their aggregate, are called sunnat Allah ("the way of God") - this "sealing" is attributed to Him: but it is obviously a consequence of man's free choice and not an act of "predestination". Similarly, the suffering which, in the life to come, is in store for those who during their life in this world have wilfully remained deaf and blind to the truth, is a natural consequence of their free choice - just as happiness in the life to come is the natural consequence of man's endeavour to attain to righteousness and inner illumination. It is in this sense that the Qur'anic references to God's "reward" and "punishment" must be understood. |
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All actions are referred to God. Therefore, when we get the penalty of our deliberate sin, and our senses become impervious to good, the penalty is referred to the justice of God. |
