Translation:

As for the deniers, whether you warn them or not, they will not have faith. God has set a seal upon their hearts and ears, and on their eyes there is a covering. A grievous punishment awaits them.

Tafsir (Commentary):

If one closes one’s eyes, one will not be able to see. If one blocks one’s ears, one will not be able to hear. However clear the call of truth may be, it can be understandable and acceptable only if one opens one’s mind to it. God’s inaudible call in the universe, and the audible expression of that call by the preacher of God’s word, cannot touch those who have closed minds.

The call to truth is founded on reality; it accords with nature. When it is raised, no one can fail to recognize its truth. If one hears it with an open mind, one will know in one’s heart that it is true. But where society is rigidly bound by age-old convention, people are less concerned with opening their minds to divine realities than they are with supporting the vested interests of the existing regime; with attaining greatness by bowing to the accepted norms of fame and honour, and with entrenching themselves in key positions—both religious and secular—as a public expression of personal success. Where the material outcomes of practical situations are paramount, the preacher of God’s word is regarded as being out of place.

As God’s emissary, the preacher is neither a representative nor a supporter of the conventional set-up. His call, being new and unfamiliar, impinges as a threat to material security. Much as he urges people to submit to the will of God, they baulk at doing so, because it would mean demolishing the world they have made for themselves. It is difficult also for him to convey his message to highly placed individuals who are afraid that, if they follow an “insignificant” person, they will thereby suffer some elimination of their own personal glory. The two greatest obstacles then to the success of the preacher are worldliness and arrogance. Where the material outcomes of practical situations are paramount, the preacher of God’s word will be regarded as out of place.

It is these mental states which prevent people from accepting the truth; the Qur’an has called them ‘seals’ over people’s hearts. The minds of those who do not consider the true call seriously, who are proud and worldly in their attitude, are covered with an invisible veil which makes them impervious to the truth. When one is prejudiced against something, one cannot see its rationality, even if there are clear signs in support of it.

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