سُوْرَةُ فُصِّلَتۡ
Surah Fussilat (41) — Ayah 5
وَقَالُوا۟ قُلُوبُنَا فِىٓ أَكِنَّةٍ مِّمَّا تَدْعُونَآ إِلَيْهِ وَفِىٓ ءَاذَانِنَا وَقْرٌ وَمِنۢ بَيْنِنَا وَبَيْنِكَ حِجَابٌ فَٱعْمَلْ إِنَّنَا عَـٰمِلُونَ ﴿5﴾
Translation by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan & Dr. Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali
And they say: "Our hearts are under coverings (screened) from that to which you invite us; and in our ears is deafness, and between us and you is a screen: so work you (on your way); verily, we are working (on our way)."
Word by Word — Arabic, Transliteration & Meaning
وَقَالُوا۟
waqālū
And they say
قُلُوبُنَا
qulūbunā
Our hearts
فِىٓ
fī
(are) in
أَكِنَّةٍۢ
akinnatin
coverings
مِّمَّا
mimmā
from what
تَدْعُونَآ
tadʿūnā
you call us
إِلَيْهِ
ilayhi
to it
وَفِىٓ
wafī
and in
ءَاذَانِنَا
ādhāninā
our ears
وَقْرٌۭ
waqrun
(is) deafness
وَمِنۢ
wamin
and between us
بَيْنِنَا
bayninā
and between us
وَبَيْنِكَ
wabaynika
and between you
حِجَابٌۭ
ḥijābun
(is) a screen
فَٱعْمَلْ
fa-iʿ'mal
So work
إِنَّنَا
innanā
indeed, we
عَـٰمِلُونَ
ʿāmilūna
(are) working
Tafsir Taiseer ul-Quran — Maulana Abdul Rahman Kilani
Tafsir Taiseer ul-Quran (Facilitation of the Quran) is a comprehensive Quran commentary by Maulana Abdul Rahman Kilani, a renowned Salafi (Ahl al-Hadith) scholar from Pakistan. Known for his eloquent and accessible writing style, Kilani authored this tafsir with a focus on clarity — making Quranic meanings understandable to the common reader. The tafsir provides detailed historical context for verses related to battles and expeditions, and firmly refutes modernist ideologies using strong scriptural evidence. It is widely regarded as an invaluable resource for understanding the Quran and countering deviant interpretations. The tafsir is originally written in Urdu, translated to English by tohed.com.
5. And they say, "Our hearts are veiled from that to which you call us, our ears are deaf to it, and between us and you is a barrier [3]. So do your work, and we will do ours [4]."
[3] Despite these various excellences of the Quran, most people have resorted to opposing it; far from accepting its verses, they do not even tolerate listening to them. Then they even take pride in this trait of theirs and say that its teachings can have absolutely no effect on our hearts. Our hearts are completely protected from accepting such effects. In fact, we cannot even tolerate listening to these verses. Our ears have become weary of hearing such things. Therefore, they do not even bother to listen and say: O Muhammad ﷺ! A wall of enmity has now come between us and you because of your call, and this call has created a separation between us and you. Therefore, we are not prepared to accept your call at any cost.
[4] This sentence has two meanings: one is that now we have nothing to do with you, nor do you have anything to do with us, and we can never sit together; and the second meaning is that if you do not desist from your call, then keep doing your work. We too will never desist from opposing you. From this sentence, it is evident that despite the opponents’ persecutions and hostile activities, the progress of the call of Islam had reached such a stage that the opponents were compelled to converse on an equal footing.
[3] Despite these various excellences of the Quran, most people have resorted to opposing it; far from accepting its verses, they do not even tolerate listening to them. Then they even take pride in this trait of theirs and say that its teachings can have absolutely no effect on our hearts. Our hearts are completely protected from accepting such effects. In fact, we cannot even tolerate listening to these verses. Our ears have become weary of hearing such things. Therefore, they do not even bother to listen and say: O Muhammad ﷺ! A wall of enmity has now come between us and you because of your call, and this call has created a separation between us and you. Therefore, we are not prepared to accept your call at any cost.
[4] This sentence has two meanings: one is that now we have nothing to do with you, nor do you have anything to do with us, and we can never sit together; and the second meaning is that if you do not desist from your call, then keep doing your work. We too will never desist from opposing you. From this sentence, it is evident that despite the opponents’ persecutions and hostile activities, the progress of the call of Islam had reached such a stage that the opponents were compelled to converse on an equal footing.
