وَقَالُوا۟ قُلُوبُنَا غُلْفٌۢ ۚ بَل لَّعَنَهُمُ ٱللَّهُ بِكُفْرِهِمْ فَقَلِيلًا مَّا يُؤْمِنُونَ 88
Translations
And they said, "Our hearts are wrapped." But, [in fact], Allāh has cursed them for their disbelief, so little is it that they believe.
Transliteration
Wa qāloo qulūbunā ghulfun, bal la'anahumu Allāhu bikufrihim faqalīlan mā yu'minūn
Tafsir (Explanation)
The Jews claimed their hearts were sealed and impervious to the message of the Qur'an, but Allah corrected them, stating that it was rather His curse upon them due to their disbelief that prevented them from believing. Ibn Kathir explains that 'ghulf' (sealed/wrapped) refers to their arrogance and spiritual obstruction, not a literal sealing—their persistent rejection of truth had hardened their hearts. This ayah emphasizes that the barrier to faith is not imposed by Allah arbitrarily, but is a consequence of their own choice to reject guidance.
Revelation Context
This ayah is part of the discourse in Surah Al-Baqarah addressing the People of the Book, particularly the Jews of Medina who made excuses for not accepting the Prophet Muhammad's message. The context is Allah's refutation of their claim that their hearts were naturally closed to understanding, clarifying instead that their disbelief itself became the cause of their spiritual blindness.
Related Hadiths
The hadith in Sahih Bukhari (3:49:129) regarding the sealing of hearts: 'The Prophet said: When a slave commits a sin, a black dot appears on his heart. If he repents and seeks forgiveness, his heart is polished clean.' This relates to the principle that hearts become sealed through persistent rejection of truth.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah teaches that spiritual blindness and inability to accept truth are not random acts of God, but natural consequences of choosing disbelief and arrogance; it serves as a warning that persistent rejection of guidance gradually hardens the heart, making faith increasingly difficult. For modern readers, it emphasizes personal responsibility in seeking truth and the danger of allowing ego and prejudice to close one's heart to divine signs.