Tafseer of The Criterion · Al-Furqaan · 25:73
And those who, when reminded of the verses of their Lord, do not fall upon them deaf and blind.
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
Allah the Exalted says: the servants who, when an admonisher reminds them of the signs of Allah, do not fall down upon them like the deaf who do not hear, nor like the blind who do not see them, but rather like vigilant hearts and discerning minds — they understand from Allah what He reminds them of and grasp what He impresses upon them; thus they retain His admonitions in ears that have heard it and hearts that have preserved it.
In accordance with what we said about this, the exegetes also spoke.
— Mention of who said that:
Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us; and al-Ḥārith related to me, saying: al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: Warqāʾ related to us — both on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning His word لَمْ يَخِرُّوا عَلَيْهَا صُمًّا وَعُمْيَانًا — they do not hear, do not see, and do not understand any truth.
Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning His word وَالَّذِينَ إِذَا ذُكِّرُوا بِآيَاتِ رَبِّهِمْ لَمْ يَخِرُّوا عَلَيْهَا صُمًّا وَعُمْيَانًا — he said: they do not understand, do not hear, and do not see.
Yaʿqūb ibn Ibrāhīm related to me, saying: Ibn ʿUlayya related to us, on the authority of Ibn ʿAwn, who said: I said to al-Shaʿbī: "I saw people falling down in sujūd but I did not know for what they did so — should I then also fall down?" He answered: وَالَّذِينَ إِذَا ذُكِّرُوا بِآيَاتِ رَبِّهِمْ لَمْ يَخِرُّوا عَلَيْهَا صُمًّا وَعُمْيَانًا .
Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said concerning His word وَالَّذِينَ إِذَا ذُكِّرُوا بِآيَاتِ رَبِّهِمْ لَمْ يَخِرُّوا عَلَيْهَا صُمًّا وَعُمْيَانًا — he said: this is a parable that Allah struck for them; they did not abandon them in favor of anything else; and he recited the word of Allah: إِنَّمَا الْمُؤْمِنُونَ الَّذِينَ إِذَا ذُكِرَ اللَّهُ وَجِلَتْ قُلُوبُهُمْ ... the verse.
If someone then asks: "What is the meaning of His word لَمْ يَخِرُّوا عَلَيْهَا صُمًّا وَعُمْيَانًا ? Do the unbelievers then fall down like the deaf and blind when they are reminded of the signs of Allah, such that this is denied of these people while it is a characteristic of the unbelievers?" — then the answer is: yes, the unbeliever, when the verses of Allah are recited to him, falls down deaf and blind; his falling down therein as such is his persistence in unbelief. This is like the usage of the Arabs to say: "I rebuked someone and he stood up weeping" — in the meaning of: he continued weeping — while there is no rising; he perhaps wept while seated. And as one says: "I forbade someone this and he sat down reviling me" — in the meaning of: he began reviling me and he continued reviling me, while there is no sitting. But this usage has become established among the Arabs until its meaning is understood. Al-Farrāʾ has mentioned that he heard the Arabs say: "He sat down reviling me" — as one says: "He stood up reviling me" and "He came along reviling me." He said: and a member of Banū ʿĀmir recited:
"A maiden is not satisfied by henna — nor by the two adorning sashes, nor by the outer garment — without the thighs touching one another — and the manhood falling down so that she has saliva."
— in the meaning of: she becomes. Likewise His word لَمْ يَخِرُّوا عَلَيْهَا صُمًّا وَعُمْيَانًا — its meaning is only: they did not become deaf to it nor blind to it, and they did not become deaf and blind at the door of their Lord — as the poet said in the verse "falling down it seeks" in the meaning of: she becomes.
