Tafseer of The Cattle · Al-An'aam · 6:25
And among them are those who listen to you, but We have placed over their hearts coverings, lest they understand it, and in their ears deafness. And if they should see every sign, they will not believe in it. Even when they come to you arguing with you, those who disbelieve say, "This is not but legends of the former peoples."
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 discourse on the explanation of His saying: وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ يَسْتَمِعُ إِلَيْكَ وَجَعَلْنَا عَلَى قُلُوبِهِمْ أَكِنَّةً أَنْ يَفْقَهُوهُ وَفِي آذَانِهِمْ وَقْرًا ("And among them are those who listen to you, but We have placed coverings over their hearts so that they do not understand it, and in their ears deafness" (6:25)).
Abū Jaʿfar said: The Exalted, whose praise is proclaimed, says: And among these of your people who set up idols and graven images as equals to their Lord, O Muḥammad, ="there are those who listen to you," that is to say: there are those who listen to the Qurʾān from you, and who listen to that to which you call them, namely the oneness of their Lord, His command and His prohibition, yet they do not understand what you say, nor do they take it into their hearts, nor do they ponder it, nor do they lend their hearing to it so as to comprehend it, so that they might understand Allah's proofs against them in the revelation which He has sent down to you. They hear only your voice, your recitation and your words, but they do not understand from you what you say, for Allah has placed "coverings" (akinna) over their hearts.
* * *
= And that (akinna) is the plural of "kinān," which is the lid or covering, after the pattern of "sinān" and "asinna" (spearhead, spearheads). Of this one says: "aknantu al-shayʾa fī nafsī" (I concealed the matter within myself), with the alif, and "kanantu al-shayʾa" (I covered the matter), when you cover it over. And of this is also: بَيْضٌ مَكْنُونٌ ("well-guarded eggs") [Sūrah al-Ṣāffāt: 49], and that is the covered thing. And of this is the saying of the poet:
Beneath a cloud, our covering was the shade of a striped, adorned mantle.
He means: their covering that covers them over.
* * *
="and in their ears deafness (waqr)," the Exalted, whose praise is proclaimed, says: and He has placed in their ears heaviness and deafness, so that they do not understand what you recite to them, and so that they do not lend hearing to that to which you call them.
* * *
The Arabs pronounce the "wāw" of "al-waqr" in the ear with a fatḥa — that is the heaviness therein — but they pronounce it with a kasra in the case of carrying a load, and then they say: "huwa wiqru al-dābba" (that is the load of the beast of burden). And concerning carrying a load one says: "awqartu al-dābba fa-hiya mūqara" (I loaded the beast of burden, so it is loaded) =and concerning hearing: "waqartu samʿahu fa-huwa mawqūr" (I made his hearing deaf, so it is made deaf). And of this is the saying of the poet:
And I have a head whose striking has made the hearing deaf.
And there has been reported from them as heard transmission: "wuqirat udhunuhu" (his ear became deaf), when it becomes heavy, "fa-hiya mawqūra" (so it has become deaf) =and "awqarat al-nakhla, fa-hiya mūqir" (the date palm has borne much fruit, so it is bearing), just as one says: "imraʾa ṭāmith wa-ḥāʾiḍ" (a menstruating woman), because therein there is no share for the masculine. But when one intends that Allah has loaded it, then one says "mūqara" (loaded).
* * *
And the Exalted, whose praise is proclaimed, said: "and We have placed coverings over their hearts so that they do not understand it (an yafqahūhu)," in the meaning of: so that they may not understand it (an lā yafqahūhu), just as He said: يُبَيِّنُ اللَّهُ لَكُمْ أَنْ تَضِلُّوا ("Allah makes clear to you so that you do not go astray") [Sūrah al-Nisāʾ: 176], in the meaning of: so that you may not go astray (an lā taḍillū). For the "covering" (al-kinn) is placed upon the heart only so that it may not understand, not so that it may understand.
* * *
And in agreement with what we have said concerning this, the people of interpretation (ahl al-taʾwīl) spoke.
* Mention of who said that:
13152 — Al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā related to us, he said: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, he said: Maʿmar informed us, on the authority of Qatāda: "and We have placed coverings over their hearts so that they do not understand it, and in their ears deafness," he said: They hear it with their ears but take in nothing of it, like cattle that hear the call but do not know what is being said to them.
13153 — Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥusayn related to me, he said: Aḥmad ibn al-Mufaḍḍal related to us, he said: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī: "and We have placed coverings over their hearts so that they do not understand it, and in their ears deafness," as for "coverings" (akinna): that is the lid; it covered their hearts, so that they do not understand the truth =and "in their ears deafness," he said: deafness.
13154 — Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, he said: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, he said: ʿĪsā related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid concerning the saying of Allah: "and among them are those who listen to you," he said: the Quraysh.
13155 — Al-Muthannā related to me, he said: Ḥudhayfa related to us, he said: Shibl related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, the like of it.
* * *
The discourse on the explanation of His saying: وَإِنْ يَرَوْا كُلَّ آيَةٍ لا يُؤْمِنُوا بِهَا حَتَّى إِذَا جَاءُوكَ يُجَادِلُونَكَ يَقُولُ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا إِنْ هَذَا إِلا أَسَاطِيرُ الأَوَّلِينَ ("And even if they were to see every sign, they would not believe in it, until, when they come to you, they dispute with you; those who disbelieve say: this is nothing but fables of the ancients" (6:25)).
Abū Jaʿfar said: The Exalted, whose praise is proclaimed, says: And even if these who set up idols and graven images as equals to their Lord — those over whose hearts coverings have been placed so that they do not understand from you what they hear from you — =were to see "every sign," that is to say: every proof and sign that points the people of reason and understanding to the oneness of Allah, to the truthfulness of your word and to the reality of your prophethood =they "would not believe in it," that is to say: they do not believe it, and they do not acknowledge that it points to that to which it points =until, "when they come to you, they dispute with you," that is to say: until they come to you, after they have beheld the signs that point to the reality of that with which you have come to them =they "dispute with you," that is to say: they contend against you =the "disbelievers say," by which are meant those who denied the signs of Allah and rejected their reality; they say to the Prophet of Allah, Allah's blessing and peace be upon him, when they hear the proofs of Allah with which He argued against them, and His clarification which He made clear to them =this is "nothing but fables of the ancients," that is to say: this is nothing but fables of the ancients.
* * *
And "al-asāṭīr" is the plural of "isṭāra" and "usṭūra," after the pattern of "ufkūha" (jest) and "uḍḥūka" (object of laughter) =and it is possible that its singular is "asṭār," after the pattern of "abyāt" and "abābīt," and "aqwāl" and "aqāwīl," derived from the saying of Allah, the Exalted, whose praise is proclaimed: وَكِتَابٍ مَسْطُورٍ ("and a written book") [Sūrah al-Ṭūr: 2], from: "saṭara yasṭuru saṭran" (he wrote in lines).
* * *
If, then, it is from this: then its interpretation is: this is nothing but what the ancients have written down.
* * *
And it has been transmitted from Ibn ʿAbbās and others that they interpreted it according to this interpretation, and they said: its meaning is: this is nothing but the tales of the ancients.
13156 — Al-Muthannā ibn Ibrāhīm related that to me, he said: ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ṣāliḥ related to us, he said: Muʿāwiya related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭalḥa, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās.
13157 — Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥusayn related to me, he said: Aḥmad ibn Mufaḍḍal related to us, he said: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī: as for "fables of the ancients," those are the rhymed chants of the ancients.
* * *
And one of the people of knowledge — namely Abū ʿUbayda Maʿmar ibn al-Muthannā — concerning the language of the Arabs, said: "al-isṭāra" is a linguistic form, and its figurative meaning is that of nonsense talk.
* * *
And al-Akhfash used to say: Some said: its singular is "usṭūra." And others said: "isṭāra." He said: But I regard it only as belonging to the plural that has no singular, like "al-ʿabādīd" (scattered groups) and "al-madhākīr" and "al-abābīl." He said: And some said: the singular of "al-abābīl" is "ibbīl," and others said: "ibbawl," after the pattern of "ʿijjawl." But I have not known the Arabs to have a singular for it; it is only like "ʿabādīd," which has no singular. And as for "al-shamāṭīṭ," they claim that its singular is "shimṭāṭ." He said: And all of these have a singular, except that it has not been used and not been pronounced, because this pattern occurs only in the plural. He said: And I have heard the eloquent Arabs say: "arsala khaylahu abābīl" (he sent forth his horses in droves), by which they mean groups, and they do not use it in the singular. And their disputing with the Messenger of Allah, Allah's blessing and peace be upon him, which Allah has mentioned in this verse, was — according to what is reported — that which:
13158 — Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to me, he said: My father related to me, he said: My uncle related to me, he said: My father related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning his saying: "until, when they come to you, they dispute with you," the verse, he said: they are the polytheists (mushrikīn); they disputed with the Muslims over the slaughtered animal, and said: "What you have slaughtered and killed, that you eat, but what Allah kills, that you do not eat! And yet you follow the command of Allah, the Exalted, whose praise is proclaimed!"
