Exegesis of the saying of Allah the Exalted: "Indeed, you cannot make the dead hear"
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The Shaykh:
May Allah greet you and bless you.
The questioner:
This questioner says: I hope you will explain this verse in the saying of Allah the Exalted: I seek refuge[An-Nahl 16:98] [An-Naml 27:80-81].
The Shaykh:
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, and may peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah, and upon his family and all his Companions. Allah the Exalted said to His Messenger Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), when it was distressing to him (peace and blessings be upon him) that the polytheists turned away from accepting the call, because he desired their salvation and desired good for them, so it was distressing to him (peace and blessings be upon him) that they did not respond to it, out of concern for them and love for their guidance, as Allah the Exalted said:[Ash-Shu'ara 26:3] regarding [Ash-Shu'ara 26:3], meaning killing himself out of the intensity of his (peace and blessings be upon him) eagerness for the guidance of creation. So Allah the Exalted informed him that they will not respond no matter how much the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) does; you do not hear the dead. These are like the dead in the graves, because their hearts have died and their understanding has become hardened, so they have become dead while they are alive, dead in a spiritual sense, as Allah the Exalted said: or one [Al-An'am 6:122]. This is like the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), whom Allah brought to life through revelation, light, and Islam; He brought his heart to life and brought his understanding to life, peace and blessings be upon him. So this is reassurance for the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) not to grieve over their not accepting the truth, [An-Naml 27:80], meaning those who do not hear, even if they hear with natural hearing, there is no defect in their hearing, but they do not hear with the hearing of acceptance, guidance, and desire, [An-Naml 27:80]. So [Ar-Rum 30:52-53], guidance is in the hand of Allah the Exalted; guidance of success and acceptance is in the hand of Allah, while guidance of indication and direction is in the hand of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him); indication, direction, and explanation are in the hand of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), but indication of acceptance and action is not in the hand of anyone except Allah the Exalted. He guides whom He wills and misguides whom He wills, and He does not misguide except one who turns away and does not desire the truth and opposes the truth, like the state of the polytheists. So Allah punishes them, the Exalted, because they do not accept the revealed revelation and do not accept the call of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). Allah punished them because of their turning away: [As-Saf 61:5]. They turned away first, so Allah turned their hearts away as a punishment for them and a recompense for them. Yes.
May Allah greet you and bless you.
The questioner:
This questioner says: I hope you will explain this verse in the saying of Allah the Exalted: I seek refuge
in Allah from Satan, the expelled [from His mercy].
بِاللَّهِ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ الرَّجِيمِ(80) Indeed, you will not make the dead hear, nor will you make the deaf hear the call when they have turned their backs retreating. (81) And you cannot guide the blind away from their error. You will only make hear those who believe in Our verses so they are Muslims [submitting to Allah].
إِنَّكَ لَا تُسْمِعُ الْمَوْتَىٰ وَلَا تُسْمِعُ الصُّمَّ الدُّعَاءَ إِذَا وَلَّوْا مُدْبِرِينَ وَمَا أَنتَ بِهَادِي الْعُمْيِ عَن ضَلَالَتِهِمْThe Shaykh:
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, and may peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah, and upon his family and all his Companions. Allah the Exalted said to His Messenger Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), when it was distressing to him (peace and blessings be upon him) that the polytheists turned away from accepting the call, because he desired their salvation and desired good for them, so it was distressing to him (peace and blessings be upon him) that they did not respond to it, out of concern for them and love for their guidance, as Allah the Exalted said:
Perhaps, [O Muhammad], you would kill yourself
لَعَلَّكَ بَاخِعٌ نَّفْسَكَthat they will not be believers.
أَلَّا يَكُونُوا مُؤْمِنِينَone who was dead and We gave him life and made for him light by which to walk among the people like one who is in darkness, never to emerge therefrom
كَانَ مَيْتًا فَأَحْيَيْنَاهُ وَجَعَلْنَا لَهُ نُورًا يَمْشِي بِهِ فِي النَّاسِ كَمَن مَّثَلُهُ فِي الظُّلُمَاتِ لَيْسَ بِخَارِجٍ مِّنْهَاIndeed, you will not make the dead hear, nor will you make the deaf hear
إِنَّكَ لَا تُسْمِعُ الْمَوْتَىٰ وَلَا تُسْمِعُ الصُّمَّIndeed, you will not make the dead hear, nor will you make the deaf hear the call
إِنَّكَ لَا تُسْمِعُ الْمَوْتَىٰ وَلَا تُسْمِعُ الصُّمَّ الدُّعَاءَ(52) So indeed, you will not make the dead hear, nor will you make the deaf hear the call when they turn their backs, retreating. (53) And you cannot guide the blind away from their error. You will only make hear those who believe in Our verses so they are Muslims [in submission to Allah].
إِذَا وَلَّوْا مُدْبِرِينَ وَمَا أَنتَ بِهَادِ الْعُمْيِ عَن ضَلَالَتِهِمْAnd when they deviated, Allah caused their hearts to deviate.
فَلَمَّا زَاغُوا أَزَاغَ اللَّهُ قُلُوبَهُمْ
Source
نور على الدرب - الفوزان - 03/075 — archive.org (0:55)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.