سورة فصلت

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): It has been narrated by Abu al-Jarud: Imam Baqir (peace be upon him), regarding the verse: "They have hearts (intellects) with which they do not [think and] understand" (al-A'raf/179), said: This means Allah has set a seal upon their hearts and therefore they do not reflect; "and they have eyes" (al-A'raf/179) upon which a veil against [seeing] guidance has been placed, so with them they do not see; "and ears with which they do not hear" (al-A'raf/179). Allah has placed heaviness in their ears, and therefore they do not hear [the call of] guidance.

Ali ibn Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him): أَكِنَّةٍ means covering. فَهُمْ لَا يَسْمَعُونَ* وَقَالُوا قُلُوبُنَا فِي أَكِنَّةٍ مِمَّا تَدْعُونَا إِلَيْهِ وَفِي آذَانِنَا وَقْرٌ وَمِنْ بَيْنِنَا وَبَيْنِكَ حِجَابٌ فَاعْمَلْ إِنَّنَا عَامِلُونَ [So they do not hear. And they said: Our hearts are under coverings from that to which you call us, and in our ears is heaviness, and between us and you is a veil; so work, we too are working] means that you are calling us to something we do not understand and do not comprehend.

Imam Askari (peace be upon him): They believe in some of what Allah has sent down and disbelieve in some. When they deny Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) regarding the rest of his sayings, their denial becomes more than their affirmation. But if it is recited as غُلْفٌ, they mean: our hearts are behind a veil, and we do not understand your speech and hadith. This is similar to the verse where Allah says: وَ قالُوا قُلُوبُنا فِی أَکِنَّةٍ مِمَّا تَدْعُونا إِلَیْهِ وَ فِی آذانِنا وَقْرٌ وَ مِنْ بَیْنِنا وَ بَیْنِکَ حِجابٌ [And they say: Our hearts are under coverings from that to which you call us, and there is a heaviness in our ears, and a veil hangs between us and you]. Both recitations are correct; they have claimed both.