The verse in question:
"As for the unbelievers, it is the same whether or not you forewarn them; they will not have faith. God has set a seal upon their hearts and ears; their sight is dimmed and grievous punishment awaits them." (Surah 2 verses 6 and 7)
Firstly the context of the verses should be made clear. They were revealed at a time when the Prophet had just delivered the message of Islam to the people, and new Muslims were facing persecution and violence. Along with this there were a lot of political conversions from people who aimed to destroy Islam from within before it started spreading. These people were referred to as hypocrites.
There is a hadith on this issue:
"When a sin is committed for the first time, a black point, that is, a black stain occurs in the heart. If the person repents and asks forgiveness from Allah, the heart shines again. I the person does not repent and he repeats the sin, the stain becomes larger; in time, it becomes so large that it covers all of the heart like a cover."
It is what is mentioned in the following verse in Chapter al-Mutaffifin:
"By no means! But on their hearts is the stain of the (ill) which they do!" (al-Mutaffifin, 83/14). It is the stain mentioned in the verse."
There are a number of verses that show that their disbelief came about by their own choice and volition such as His sayings:
"But they preferred blindness over guidance." (41:17)
"Those are they who have purchased misguidance at the price of guidance, torment at the price of forgiveness." (2:175)
"Then whosoever wills let him believe, and whosoever wills let him disbelieve." (18:29)
"This is because of the (evil) which your hands have sent before you." (3:182)
"Evil indeed is that which their own selves have sent forward." (5:80)
The reconciliation between these verses lies in the fact that
the seal and covering placed upon their ears, eyes and hearts is done as punishment from Allaah for their insisting upon disbelief and their denying the Messengers out of their own choice. So Allaah punished them for their doing this in a fitting and reciprocal way as He has clarified with His sayings:
"
Allaah has set a seal upon their hearts because of their disbelief." (4:155)
"That is because they believed, then disbelieved, therefore their hearts are sealed so they understand not." (63:3)
"And We shall turn their hearts and their eyes away (from guidance), as they refused to believe therein for the first time" (6:110)
"So when they turned away (from the Path), Allaah turned their hearts away." (61:5)
"In their hearts is a disease and Allaah has increased their disease." (2:10)
"Nay! But on their hearts is the covering of sins which they used to earn." (83:14)
However the word
veil mention in this verse (ghishawah) is
the veil that you still can see through, it is temporary and can be removed. You would say what does that matter, but arabic is a rich language with several words for the one equivalent word in english so the choice of word is key and is for a specific reason. This is emphasised by a number of other verses that prove that
some of the disbelievers did believe in Allaah and His Messenger (and hence became Muslims) such as His sayings:
"Say to those who have disbelieved, if they cease (from their disbelief) their past will be forgiven." (8:38)
"So were you yourselves in the past (i.e. disbelievers) until Allaah conferred upon you His Favours." (4:94)
"And some of these (disbelievers) believe therein." (29:47)
Their hearts are only sealed for as long as they wish to keep themselves in denial and ignorance.
So, if a person wishes to open his eyes and learn, his seal will be removed. The seal is dependent on the actions and intentions of the person in question. So despite the verse in question, some individuals could be preached to and in fact were preached to successfully.
Just like the strengthening of one's heart and belief is attributed to Allah 8:10-11,10:57,18:14,48:4,57:27 the natural phenomenon of sealing of the hearts, ears, and eyes exists with the will of Allah, like each and every natural phenomenon such as rain etc., this is why it is attributed to Allah.
Everything that occurs is within the boundary of the divine laws created and designed by God.
We must not think that "either I did it or God did it." Both did it. What do I mean? Let's say you choose to burn your hand with fire. Did you burn yourself? Yes
However, the existence of fire, the physical laws that surround the fire, the biological properties of your body and etc., are all created by God. So, your action was/is/ and always will be based on God's divine/universal laws.
You yourself seal your own heart by rejecting the message of God, but God says that He seals your heart because your heart is sealed by the laws created by God. Everything is within the knowledge of God and hence everything happening in the scheme of things is due to God's will, but this does not negate your own free will. You still have consequences for your actions.
It may sound slightly confusing but it is linked into the larger topic of predestination which is a different discussion entirely.
So again for this specific verse, you commit the misdeed and as a result and based on God's divine laws, your misdeeds will lead to the sealing of your heart.
This occurs because that is how God created and designed the laws. This and other verses similar to this show the consequences of negative actions. It is similar to the rusting of the iron, to the rotof a tree or to the smutting of the mirror out of negligence, because the human decay is similar to the decay of the nature
In other words, Divine destiny and decree are but a part and parcel of the regulations governing the cosmos and the necessity of an effect following its complete cause. And in the case of the volitional acts of the human being, will, decision, and intention are among the essential components of the complete cause and hence are necessary to bring about his volitional acts.
When the human being performs a certain action, its effects inescapably leave their impression on the human soul and psyche. In this light, if the human being himself prepares the grounds for God sealing his heart, by the Law of the cosmos, its effects will haunt him.
In the light of what has been said the following points can be highlighted:
1. God sealing of the heart is the direct outcome of the volitional conduct of the human being.
2. As the sealing of the heart is part of the cosmic scheme of Divine destiny and decree, it is attributed to God
3. The human being whose heart has been tainted by the dross of sin can add to his spiritual contamination by repeating the past mistakes. It should be noted that this perpetuation of sin is on his own accord.
4. Although it is very difficult for the sinful human being whose heart is covered with the dross of sin to return to the path of righteousness and is very unlikely, it is not impossible.
He can choose with a firm resolution to embark on purging his heart of the darkness of sin.....
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