2:7

Salam all,

This is 2:7 from today

2:7 ختم الله علي قلوبهم وعلي سمعهم وعلي ابصارهم غشاوة ولهم عذاب عظيم
2:7]
Khatama Allahu AAala quloobihimwaAAala samAAihim waAAala absarihim ghishawatunwalahum AAathabun AAatheemun

Khatama Allahu: The GOD sealed shut/finished with.
Note: KH-T-M means to seal something shut. It is used often to mean that something is finished, since one seals something when it finished. As if GOD is saying “I am finished with and sealed shut” (suggesting that those people will never change)

AAala: On
Quloobihim: Their cores/hearts and minds
Note: QALB means heart and mind. Quloob is the plural. The root is Q-L-B and it means the heart of something. In the Qur’an, it used to mean the heart of the Self,that is the heart and mind. The Verb QALAB means to turn something 180 degrees, as if changing the heart of something. TAQALLUB means lots of changes (with a sense of instability).
waAAala: And on
samAAihim: Their hearing/ability to listen
waAAala: And on
absarihim: Their vision
ghishawatun: A membrane/a cover
Note: GHISHA’ is a cover or a membrane. Therefore GHiSHAWA is some sort of a cover that prevents clarity of perception.
Walahum: And to them
AAathabun: Suffering
Note: The word AAathb is a derivative of the same root and it means “Easy to eat/take/swallow”. It is used in the Qur’an in 25:53 and 35:12. AAathab is a verb that means Avoided to eat, or other functions due to some problematic factor (usually not pleasant as in pain, severe thirst...etc). AAaTHAAB ,with a longer second syllable, is the problematic factor that made a person not want to eat or do other functions. It is generally used to mean Sufferring since it blocks one’s appetite.
AAatheemun: Great/Hard/Firm/Strong
Note: In order to explain this word I will use the concrete word that comes from the same root. It is AAathm which means the Hard/firm core of a structure. It is used to mean bones but it is not limited to bones. This Hard/firm core is viewed as a symbol of strength/greatness/firmness/hardness since it is the great support of the structure that holds it together.

My Note:
This Ayah means the following “We have finished with and sealed shut their hearts (The hearts of those who chose to disbelieve through burying their heads in the ground of their own biased ideas), and on their abilities to listen and to see, there is a membrane that will make perception unclear, and belongs to them great, (hard to swallow) suffering.

Note on the Ayat 2:6 and 2:7

One may think that predestination is mentioned here, since GOD seals the hearts of those who disbelieve. My personal view is otherwise. In 2:6 GOD talks about those who chose to disbelieve (Bury their head in the ground of their biased and wrong ideas). Therefore this was a choice that those people made. In 2:7 GOD says I am finished and now sealed their hearts (as if saying, I worked on it, but there is no hope in them). People of this sort will go deeper in their refusal.

The Qur’an keeps on pointing that GOD is merciful who treats us as (The womb treats the fetus) 1:3. The Qur’an reiterates that, in order to be given the gift of guidance (Huda), we have to ask for it 1:6. And in this 2:6 The Qur’an emphasizes the importance for man to have AN OPEN MIND in order to receive the words of GOD.

Salam

Hussein