Surah Al-Baqarah 2:7

خَتَمَ ٱللَّهُ عَلَىٰ قُلُوبِهِمْ وَعَلَىٰ سَمْعِهِمْ ۖ وَعَلَىٰٓ أَبْصَـٰرِهِمْ غِشَـٰوَةٌۭ ۖ وَلَهُمْ عَذَابٌ عَظِيمٌۭ

2:7 Khatama خَتَمَ means to set a seal. After setting a seal, nothing goes inside. The statement in this verse, “Allâh has set a seal upon their hearts and upon their hearings and on their eyes is a covering” does not mean that Allâh has pre-emptively prevented some people from understanding His message by setting a seal on their hearts, eyes and ears. We read elsewhere, “Then because of their breaking of covenant and their denial of the Messages of Allâh and their antagonizing the Prophets without a just cause and their saying, Our hearts are uncircumcised, Allâh has set a seal upon their hearts.” (4:155) And again, “Those who dispute concerning the Messages of Allâh without any proof and authority having come to them. This is extremely abhorrent to Allâh and to those who believe. That is how it is! Allâh sets a seal upon the heart of every arrogant (and) haughty person.”(40:35). Thus, there is a precondition involving human choice before Allâh sets a “seal upon their hearts”. These verses have been stated to show that Allâh has not created these individuals differently from others, but they do not use the faculties of reason and intellect bestowed on them. Allâh says, فَلَمَّا زَاغُوا أَزَاغَ اللَّهُ قُلُوبَهُمْ -“When they deviated from the right course, Allâh let their hearts deviate.” (61:5). Imâm Râghib explains that the words of this verse mean, “they dispute concerning the Messages of Allâh without any proof and authority having come to them.”

Allâh has instituted all the paths of nature and every cause is followed by its natural effect; thus the sealing (خَتَمَ) is the consequence of a choice and not predestined. We are told, بَلْ رَانَ عَلَىٰ قُلُوبِهِم مَّا كَانُوا يَكْسِبُونَ - “Their evil deeds have rusted their hearts.” (83:14). The rusting of the heart refers to the natural law that we also know from medicine; when an organ is not used, it becomes gradually weaker and finally useless. When one eye for example is covered for long with a patch, it loses its vision. The disbelievers do not use their power of reasoning to understanding and accept the Truth. Such people are spoken of as such:لَهُمْ قُلُوبٌ لَّا يَفْقَهُونَ بِهَا وَلَهُمْ أَعْيُنٌ لَّا يُبْصِرُونَ بِهَا وَلَهُمْ آذَانٌ لَّا يَسْمَعُونَ بِهَا - “They have hearts wherewith they do not understand and they have eyes but they do not see with them (the truth), and they have ears but they do not hear (the Messages) with them” (7:179)

The Bible says: “Hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand, and seeing ye shall see and not perceive. For the hearts of this people are waxed gross and their ears are dull of hearing and their eyes have they closed” (Ac. 28.25-27); and “They have not known nor understood for He has shut their eyes that they cannot see; and their hearts, that they cannot understand” (Is 44.18). Verse 2:7 can therefore be taken to mean that because of misuse or lack of use of the spiritual and physical faculties of seeing, hearing, and understanding, people lose these God-given faculties and become صُمٌّ بُكْمٌ عُمْيٌ - “deaf and dumb and blind” (2:18).

Qalûb قلوُب is the plural form of qalb قلب, which means heart. In the Holy Qur’ân the word is always used as an allusion. Allâh says, فَلَمَّا زَاغُوا أَزَاغَ اللَّهُ قُلُوبَهُمْ - “But when they deviated from the right course, Allâh let their hearts deviate (as they were)”. Qalb has a broad meaning; we read, “The Holy Qur’ân has been revealed for healing of the diseases of the heart” (10:57), and “It is he (Gabriel) who has brought down this (Qur’ân) on your heart” (2:97), as well as "Allâh guides the heart of a person who believes in Him” (64:11). Hafiz said, “All I know is Love, and my heart finds Him Infinite and Everywhere”. Thus qalb conveys a different sense than fuâd فؤاد, which is more literally the heart that pumps blood inside the chest.