The Quran

وَقالوا قُلوبُنا في أَكِنَّةٍ مِمّا تَدعونا إِلَيهِ وَفي آذانِنا وَقرٌ وَمِن بَينِنا وَبَينِكَ حِجابٌ فَاعمَل إِنَّنا عامِلونَ

Muhammad Asad

and so they say, [as it were:] "Our hearts are veiled from whatever thou callest us to, [O Muhammad,] and in our ears is deafness, and between us and thee is a barrier.¹ Do, then, [whatever thou wilt, whereas,] behold, we shall do [as we have always done]!"

For this rendering of the term hijab, see note 36 on the first sentence of 7:46. See also 6:25. The "saying" of those who turn away from the message of the Qur'an is, of course, figurative, describing only their attitude.