Al Baqarah, 2:88
Translation:
Yusuf Ali: They say "Our hearts are the wrappings (which preserve Allah's word we need no more)." Nay Allah's curse is on them for their blasphemy; little is it they believe.
Dr. Mohsin: And they say, "Our hearts are wrapped (i.e. do not hear or understand Allâh's Word)." Nay, Allâh has cursed them for their disbelief, so little is that which they believe.
Arabic:
Transliteration:
Wa Qālū Qulūbunā Ghulfun Bal La`anahumu Al-Lahu Bikufrihim Faqalīlāan Mā Yu'uminūna
Tafsir al-Jalalayn:
And they say, to the Prophet mockingly: ‘Our hearts are encased’ (ghulf is the plural of aghlaf), that is to say, wrapped up in covers and cannot comprehend what you say; God, exalted be He, says: Nay (bal introduces the rebuttal), but God has cursed them, removed them far from His mercy and degraded them when they rejected [the messengers], for their unbelief, which is not the result of anything defective in their hearts; and little will they believe (fa-qalīlan mā yu’minūn: the mā here is extra, emphasising the ‘littleness’ involved): that is, their belief is minimal.
Tafsir ibn Kathir:
(88. And they say, "Our hearts are Ghulf.'' Nay, Allah has cursed them for their disbelief, so little is that which they believe.)
Muhammad bin Ishaq reported that Ibn `Abbas said that,
﴿وَقَالُواْ قُلُوبُنَا غُلْفٌ﴾
(And they say, "Our hearts are Ghulf.''), means, "Our hearts are screened.'' Mujahid also said that,
﴿وَقَالُواْ قُلُوبُنَا غُلْفٌ﴾
(And they say, "Our hearts are Ghulf.''), means, "They are covered.''`Ikrimah said, "There is a stamp on them.'' Abu Al-`Aliyah said, "They do not comprehend.'' Mujahid and Qatadah said that Ibn `Abbas read the Ayah in a way that means, "Our hearts contain every type of knowledge and do not need the knowledge that you (O Muhammad) have.'' This is the opinion of `Ata' and Ibn `Abbas.
﴿بَل لَّعَنَهُمُ اللَّهُ بِكُفْرِهِمْ﴾
(Nay, Allah has cursed them for their disbelief) meaning, "Allah expelled them and deprived them of every type of righteousness.'' Qatadah said that the Ayah,
﴿فَقَلِيلاً مَّا يُؤْمِنُونَ﴾
(So little is that which they believe.) means, "Only a few of them believe.'' Allah's statement,
﴿وَقَالُواْ قُلُوبُنَا غُلْفٌ﴾
(And they say, "Our hearts are Ghulf.'') is similar to His statement,
﴿وَقَالُواْ قُلُوبُنَا فِى أَكِنَّةٍ مِمَّا تَدْعُونَا إِلَيْهِ﴾
(And they say: "Our hearts are under coverings (screened) from that to which you invite us) (41:5).
This is why Allah said here,
﴿بَل لَّعَنَهُمُ اللَّهُ بِكُفْرِهِمْ فَقَلِيلاً مَّا يُؤْمِنُونَ﴾
(Nay, Allah has cursed them for their disbelief, so little is that which they believe.) meaning, "It is not as they claim. Rather, their hearts are cursed and stamped,'' just as Allah said in Surat An-Nisa' (4:155),
﴿وَقَوْلِهِمْ قُلُوبُنَا غُلْفٌ بَلْ طَبَعَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهَا بِكُفْرِهِمْ فَلاَ يُؤْمِنُونَ إِلاَّ قَلِيلاً﴾
(And of their saying: "Our hearts are wrapped (with coverings, i.e. we do not understand what the Messengers say) ـ nay, Allah has set a seal upon their hearts because of their disbelief, so they believe not but a little.)
There is a difference of opinion regarding the meaning of Allah's statement,
﴿فَقَلِيلاً مَّا يُؤْمِنُونَ﴾
(So little is that which they believe.) and His statement,
﴿فَلاَ يُؤْمِنُونَ إِلاَّ قَلِيلاً﴾
(So they believe not except a few). Some scholars said that the Ayat indicate that a few of them would believe, or that their faith is minute, because they believe in Resurrection and in Allah's reward and punishment that Musa foretold. Yet, this faith will not benefit them since it is overshadowed by their disbelief in what Muhammad brought them. Some scholars said that the Jews did not actually believe in anything and that Allah said,
﴿فَقَلِيلاً مَّا يُؤْمِنُونَ﴾
(So little is that which they believe), meaning, they do not believe. This meaning is similar to the Arabic expression, "Hardly have I seen anything like this,'' meaning, "I have never seen anything like this.''
Translation:
Yusuf Ali: They say "Our hearts are the wrappings (which preserve Allah's word we need no more)." Nay Allah's curse is on them for their blasphemy; little is it they believe.
Dr. Mohsin: And they say, "Our hearts are wrapped (i.e. do not hear or understand Allâh's Word)." Nay, Allâh has cursed them for their disbelief, so little is that which they believe.
Arabic:
وَقَالُواْ قُلُوبُنَا غُلْفٌ بَل لَّعَنَهُمُ ٱللَّهُ بِكُفْرِهِمْ فَقَلِيلاً مَّا يُؤْمِنُونَ
Transliteration:
Wa Qālū Qulūbunā Ghulfun Bal La`anahumu Al-Lahu Bikufrihim Faqalīlāan Mā Yu'uminūna
Tafsir al-Jalalayn:
And they say, to the Prophet mockingly: ‘Our hearts are encased’ (ghulf is the plural of aghlaf), that is to say, wrapped up in covers and cannot comprehend what you say; God, exalted be He, says: Nay (bal introduces the rebuttal), but God has cursed them, removed them far from His mercy and degraded them when they rejected [the messengers], for their unbelief, which is not the result of anything defective in their hearts; and little will they believe (fa-qalīlan mā yu’minūn: the mā here is extra, emphasising the ‘littleness’ involved): that is, their belief is minimal.
Tafsir ibn Kathir:
(88. And they say, "Our hearts are Ghulf.'' Nay, Allah has cursed them for their disbelief, so little is that which they believe.)
Muhammad bin Ishaq reported that Ibn `Abbas said that,
﴿وَقَالُواْ قُلُوبُنَا غُلْفٌ﴾
(And they say, "Our hearts are Ghulf.''), means, "Our hearts are screened.'' Mujahid also said that,
﴿وَقَالُواْ قُلُوبُنَا غُلْفٌ﴾
(And they say, "Our hearts are Ghulf.''), means, "They are covered.''`Ikrimah said, "There is a stamp on them.'' Abu Al-`Aliyah said, "They do not comprehend.'' Mujahid and Qatadah said that Ibn `Abbas read the Ayah in a way that means, "Our hearts contain every type of knowledge and do not need the knowledge that you (O Muhammad) have.'' This is the opinion of `Ata' and Ibn `Abbas.
﴿بَل لَّعَنَهُمُ اللَّهُ بِكُفْرِهِمْ﴾
(Nay, Allah has cursed them for their disbelief) meaning, "Allah expelled them and deprived them of every type of righteousness.'' Qatadah said that the Ayah,
﴿فَقَلِيلاً مَّا يُؤْمِنُونَ﴾
(So little is that which they believe.) means, "Only a few of them believe.'' Allah's statement,
﴿وَقَالُواْ قُلُوبُنَا غُلْفٌ﴾
(And they say, "Our hearts are Ghulf.'') is similar to His statement,
﴿وَقَالُواْ قُلُوبُنَا فِى أَكِنَّةٍ مِمَّا تَدْعُونَا إِلَيْهِ﴾
(And they say: "Our hearts are under coverings (screened) from that to which you invite us) (41:5).
This is why Allah said here,
﴿بَل لَّعَنَهُمُ اللَّهُ بِكُفْرِهِمْ فَقَلِيلاً مَّا يُؤْمِنُونَ﴾
(Nay, Allah has cursed them for their disbelief, so little is that which they believe.) meaning, "It is not as they claim. Rather, their hearts are cursed and stamped,'' just as Allah said in Surat An-Nisa' (4:155),
﴿وَقَوْلِهِمْ قُلُوبُنَا غُلْفٌ بَلْ طَبَعَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهَا بِكُفْرِهِمْ فَلاَ يُؤْمِنُونَ إِلاَّ قَلِيلاً﴾
(And of their saying: "Our hearts are wrapped (with coverings, i.e. we do not understand what the Messengers say) ـ nay, Allah has set a seal upon their hearts because of their disbelief, so they believe not but a little.)
There is a difference of opinion regarding the meaning of Allah's statement,
﴿فَقَلِيلاً مَّا يُؤْمِنُونَ﴾
(So little is that which they believe.) and His statement,
﴿فَلاَ يُؤْمِنُونَ إِلاَّ قَلِيلاً﴾
(So they believe not except a few). Some scholars said that the Ayat indicate that a few of them would believe, or that their faith is minute, because they believe in Resurrection and in Allah's reward and punishment that Musa foretold. Yet, this faith will not benefit them since it is overshadowed by their disbelief in what Muhammad brought them. Some scholars said that the Jews did not actually believe in anything and that Allah said,
﴿فَقَلِيلاً مَّا يُؤْمِنُونَ﴾
(So little is that which they believe), meaning, they do not believe. This meaning is similar to the Arabic expression, "Hardly have I seen anything like this,'' meaning, "I have never seen anything like this.''