Translation of the Meanings of the Noble Qur'an - English Translation - Dr. Waleed Bleyhesh Omary * - Translations’ Index
Translation of the meanings Ayah: (25) Surah: Al-An‘ām
وَمِنۡهُم مَّن يَسۡتَمِعُ إِلَيۡكَۖ وَجَعَلۡنَا عَلَىٰ قُلُوبِهِمۡ أَكِنَّةً أَن يَفۡقَهُوهُ وَفِيٓ ءَاذَانِهِمۡ وَقۡرٗاۚ وَإِن يَرَوۡاْ كُلَّ ءَايَةٖ لَّا يُؤۡمِنُواْ بِهَاۖ حَتَّىٰٓ إِذَا جَآءُوكَ يُجَٰدِلُونَكَ يَقُولُ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوٓاْ إِنۡ هَٰذَآ إِلَّآ أَسَٰطِيرُ ٱلۡأَوَّلِينَ
(25) Some among them would listen to you; ˹but˺ We have put sheaths over their hearts, lest they would perceive it, and in their ears there is impairment[1331]. Even if they see every Sign, they would not Believe in it[1332]; so much so that when they come to dispute with you, the Deniers would ˹willingly˺ say: “This is nothing but merely ˹a retelling of the˺ scribbles of the ancients!”[1333]
[1331] This is the case of those among the Deniers who would not see the Truth no matter what they are being presented with. This is because they willingly and eagerly rushed into rejecting God’s Signs as a matter of principle and out of entrenched beliefs. They knew that Believing would dispossess them of their special privileges, status and prestige, as Islam aimed to build a fundamentally equalitarian society. They just could not bring themselves to Believe in all that leads to this new state of affairs: “Those who Denied said: “Do not listen to this Qur’ān. Drown it out so that hopefully you will gain the upper hand” (41: 26); “Some of them would listen to you and when they come out of your place they say: “What did he say earlier?”” (47: 16); “They said: “Our hearts are in sheaths regarding what you call us for, there is impairment in our ears and between us and you is a barrier. Do your best then because we will surely be doing our best!”” (41: 5).
Other ayas describe the same Denial: “And who is more unjust than those who, when reminded of their Lord’s Signs, turn away from them and forget what their own hands have done? We have certainly put sheaths over their hearts – leaving them unable to perceive this ˹Qur’an˺ – and impairment in their ears. And if you invite them to guidance, they will never be guided” (18: 57); “When you recite the Qur’ān, We place a hidden veil between you and those who Believe not in the Hereafter. *We have placed sheaths over their hearts, preventing them from perceiving it, and impairment in their ears. When you mention your Lord alone in the Qur’ān, they turn their backs and run away” (17: 45-46).
[1332] “Yet, whenever they see a Sign, they turn away, saying: “Same old sorcery!”” (54: 2).
[1333] This is a dynamic equivalence translation, reproducing a comparable affective import in the target language. Another translation would be: “This is nothing but myths of old!” Literally, asāṭīr, are written news and stories of ancient times, where fact and myth are inextricably intertwined (cf. Ibn Qutaybah, Gharīb al-Qur’ān, Ibn Fāris, Maqāyīs al-Lughah, al-Iṣfahānī, al-Mufradāt). This claim is a familiar ruse of the Deniers: “Whenever Our Signs are recited to them, they say: “We have already heard ˹the recitation˺. If we wanted, we could have easily produced something similar. This is nothing but scribbles of the ancients!” (8: 31); “They say: “This is nothing but scribbles of the ancients, which he had written down: they are dictated to him morning and evening”” (25: 5).
Other ayas describe the same Denial: “And who is more unjust than those who, when reminded of their Lord’s Signs, turn away from them and forget what their own hands have done? We have certainly put sheaths over their hearts – leaving them unable to perceive this ˹Qur’an˺ – and impairment in their ears. And if you invite them to guidance, they will never be guided” (18: 57); “When you recite the Qur’ān, We place a hidden veil between you and those who Believe not in the Hereafter. *We have placed sheaths over their hearts, preventing them from perceiving it, and impairment in their ears. When you mention your Lord alone in the Qur’ān, they turn their backs and run away” (17: 45-46).
[1332] “Yet, whenever they see a Sign, they turn away, saying: “Same old sorcery!”” (54: 2).
[1333] This is a dynamic equivalence translation, reproducing a comparable affective import in the target language. Another translation would be: “This is nothing but myths of old!” Literally, asāṭīr, are written news and stories of ancient times, where fact and myth are inextricably intertwined (cf. Ibn Qutaybah, Gharīb al-Qur’ān, Ibn Fāris, Maqāyīs al-Lughah, al-Iṣfahānī, al-Mufradāt). This claim is a familiar ruse of the Deniers: “Whenever Our Signs are recited to them, they say: “We have already heard ˹the recitation˺. If we wanted, we could have easily produced something similar. This is nothing but scribbles of the ancients!” (8: 31); “They say: “This is nothing but scribbles of the ancients, which he had written down: they are dictated to him morning and evening”” (25: 5).
Arabic explanations of the Qur’an:
Translation of the meanings Ayah: (25) Surah: Al-An‘ām
Translation of the Meanings of the Noble Qur'an - English Translation - Dr. Waleed Bleyhesh Omary - Translations’ Index
Translation of the meanings of the Noble Qur’an into English - in progress - translated by Dr. Walid Bleihesh Al-Omari.