24أَفَلا يَتَدَبَّرونَ القُرآنَ أَم عَلىٰ قُلوبٍ أَقفالُهاAli UnalDo they not meditate earnestly on the Qur’ān, or are there locks on the hearts (that are particular to them, so that they are as if deaf and blind, and incapable of understanding the truth)?1The persons mentioned are the hypocritical ones among the believers. Hypocrisy arises from a sickness in the center of the heart which dries up the source of spiritual life, extinguishing the power of understanding, and corrupting character (See: 2: 10). The main reason for the “spiritual” sense of hearing being lost in deafness, or the “spiritual” sense of seeing being lost in blindness, is this sickness in the heart: For indeed it is not the eyes that have become blind, it is rather the hearts in the breasts that are blind (22: 46). So verse 24 in this sūrah also interprets the verse before it, explaining why God makes the ears deaf and the eyes blind. The locks on the heart must be those put on the senses or faculties of the heart, such as hearing, seeing, thinking, and understanding, etc. (Also, see verse 26 and the corresponding note 10 below.)