Tafseer of Muhammad · Muhammad · 47:24
Then do they not reflect upon the Qur'an, or are there locks upon [their] hearts?
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.
The statement concerning the explanation of His saying, exalted is He: أَفَلَا يَتَدَبَّرُونَ الْقُرْآنَ أَمْ عَلَىٰ قُلُوبٍ أَقْفَالُهَا (47:24)
Allah, exalted is His mention, says: Do these hypocrites then not ponder the admonitions of Allah with which He admonishes them in the verses of the Qurʾān which He has sent down upon His Prophet — peace and blessings be upon him —, and do they not reflect upon the proofs which He has made clear for them in His revelation, so that thereby they might recognize the error of that in which they persist? Or are there locks upon their hearts? He says: Or has Allah set locks upon their hearts, so that they do not understand the admonitions and lessons which Allah has sent down in His Book?
And as we have said concerning this, so have the people of interpretation (ahl al-taʾwīl) said.
* Mention of who said that:
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His saying Do they then not ponder the Qurʾān, or are there locks upon their hearts? : By Allah, they would find in the Qurʾān something that would restrain them from disobedience to Allah, if the people would ponder it and understand it; but they took the ambiguous (al-mutashābih) and thereby perished.
Ismāʿīl ibn Ḥafṣ al-Aylī related to us, saying: al-Walīd ibn Muslim related to us, on the authority of Thawr ibn Yazīd, on the authority of Khālid ibn Maʿdān, who said: There is no human being but he has four eyes: two eyes in his head for his worldly life and what serves his livelihood, and two eyes in his heart for his religion and for what Allah has promised of the unseen. When Allah wills good for a servant, then his two eyes that are in his heart see; and when Allah wills other than that for him, then He blinds them. That is His saying Or are there locks upon their hearts? .
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Yaḥyā ibn Wāḍiḥ related to us, saying: Thawr ibn Yazīd related to us, saying: Khālid ibn Maʿdān related to us, saying: There is no human being among the people but he has four eyes: two eyes in his face for his livelihood, and two eyes in his heart. And there is no one but he has a satan crouching hidden in the cavity of his backbone, his neck bent over his neck, his maw gaping wide toward the fruit of his heart. When Allah wills good for a servant, then his two eyes that are in his heart see what Allah has promised of the unseen, and he acts according to it — so, while it is unseen, he acts according to the unseen. And when Allah wills evil for a servant, then He leaves him to himself. Then he recited Or are there locks upon their hearts? .
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: al-Ḥakam related to us, saying: ʿAmr related to us, on the authority of Thawr, on the authority of Khālid ibn Maʿdān, in a similar manner, except that he said: He leaves the heart as it is, with what is in it.
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, saying: Ḥammād ibn Zayd related to us, saying: Hishām ibn ʿUrwa related to us, on the authority of his father, who said: "The Messenger of Allah — peace and blessings be upon him — one day recited Do they then not ponder the Qurʾān, or are there locks upon their hearts? , whereupon a young man from Yemen said: 'Nay, there are indeed locks upon them, until Allah, Mighty and Exalted, opens them or lightens them.' And that young man remained in the thoughts of ʿUmar — may Allah be pleased with him — until he attained authority and called upon him for aid."
