Tafseer of The Ant · An-Naml · 27:80
Indeed, you will not make the dead hear, nor will you make the deaf hear the call when they have turned their backs retreating.
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.
His statement: إِنَّكَ لا تُسْمِعُ الْمَوْتَى — "Indeed, you cannot make the dead hear" — that is to say: O Muḥammad, you are not able to make him comprehend the truth whose heart Allah has sealed and whom He has thereby caused to die, for Allah has decreed concerning him that he shall not comprehend it. وَلا تُسْمِعُ الصُّمَّ الدُّعَاءَ — "and you cannot make the deaf hear the call" — that is to say: nor are you able to make that heard by him whose hearing Allah has made deaf to the listening of it. إِذَا وَلَّوْا مُدْبِرِينَ — "when they turn away and turn their backs" — that is to say: when they turn around and refrain from it without listening to it, because of the dominance of unbelief (kufr) over their hearts. They do not listen to the truth, they do not reflect upon it nor pause over it, they lend no ear to the one who utters it. On the contrary, they turn away from it, rejecting the word concerning it and the listening to it.
