الم
Alif. Lām. Mīm. (1)
ذَٰلِكَ الْكِتَابُ لَا رَيْبَ فِيهِ هُدًى لِلْمُتَّقِينَ
THIS DIVINE WRIT – let there be no doubt about it – is [meant to be] a guidance for all the God-conscious (2)
الَّذِينَ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِالْغَيْبِ وَيُقِيمُونَ الصَّلَاةَ وَمِمَّا رَزَقْنَاهُمْ يُنْفِقُونَ
who believe in [the existence of] that which is beyond the reach of human perception, and are constant in prayer, and spend on others out of what We provide for them as sustenance; (3)
وَالَّذِينَ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِمَا أُنْزِلَ إِلَيْكَ وَمَا أُنْزِلَ مِنْ قَبْلِكَ وَبِالْآخِرَةِ هُمْ يُوقِنُونَ
and who believe in that which has been bestowed from on high upon thee, [O Prophet,] as well as in that which was bestowed before thy time: for it is they who in their innermost are certain of the life to come! (4)
أُولَٰئِكَ عَلَىٰ هُدًى مِنْ رَبِّهِمْ وَأُولَٰئِكَ هُمُ الْمُفْلِحُونَ
It is they who follow the guidance [which comes] from their Sustainer; and it is they, they who shall attain to a happy state! (5)
إِنَّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا سَوَاءٌ عَلَيْهِمْ أَأَنْذَرْتَهُمْ أَمْ لَمْ تُنْذِرْهُمْ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ
BEHOLD, as for those who are bent on denying the truth – it is all one to them whether thou warnest them or dost not warn them: they will not believe. (6)
خَتَمَ اللَّهُ عَلَىٰ قُلُوبِهِمْ وَعَلَىٰ سَمْعِهِمْ وَعَلَىٰ أَبْصَارِهِمْ غِشَاوَةٌ وَلَهُمْ عَذَابٌ عَظِيمٌ
God has sealed their hearts and their hearing, and over their eyes is a veil; and awesome suffering awaits them. (7)
- God; has sealed their hearts and their hearing, and over their eyes is a veil;7 and awesome suffering awaits them.
- 7 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.
- Allah hath set a seal31 on their hearts and on their hearing, and on their eyes is a veil; great is the penalty they (incur)32.
- 31 All actions are referred to Allah. 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 Allah (Cf. n. 1460, n. 2146, and n. 3577).
- 32 The penalty here is the opposite of the prosperity referred to in 2:5. 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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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).
— Abdullah Yusuf Ali -
Allah hath sealed their hearing and their hearts, and on their eyes there is a covering. Theirs will be an awful doom.
— Marmaduke Pickthall -
Allah has set a seal upon their hearts and upon their hearing and there is a covering over their eyes, and there is a great punishment for them.
— M. Habib Shakir -
Allah has set a seal on their hearts and on their hearings, (i.e. they are closed from accepting Allah's Guidance), and on their eyes there is a covering. Theirs will be a great torment.
— Taqiuddin Hilali and M. Mohsin Khan -
Allah hath set a seal upon their hearts and upon their hearing, and over their sights is a covering; and unto them shall be a torment mighty.
— Abdul-Majid Daryabadi -
Allah has set a seal upon their hearts and ears; their sight is dimmed and for them is a great punishment.
— Hasan Qaribullah and Ahmed Darwish -
God has set a seal on their hearts and on their ears; and there is a covering on their eyes; and for them shall be a big punishment.
— Ayub Khan -
God has set a seal on their hearts and their ears, and over their eyes is a covering; and for them is a grievous chastisement.
— Sher Ali -
God has sealed their hearts and their hearing, and over their eyes is a veil; and awesome suffering awaits them.
— Muhammad Asad -
God has set a seal on their hearts and on their hearing, and on their eyes is a covering, and there awaits them a mighty chastisement.
— Arthur Arberry -
Allah has sealed up their hearts and ears and a covering has fallen over their eyes,{{10}} and they have incurred the severest punishment.
— Abu'l Ala Maududi