Surah 30

Surah 30:52

"You cannot make the dead to hear, nor can you make the deaf to hear the call when they turn away, withdrawing."
The Disbelievers are like the Dead, Deaf and Blind Verses 30:52-53
Show Full Scripture Context (30:52-53) — 2 Verses
Verse 52

فَإِنَّكَ لَا تُسۡمِعُ ٱلۡمَوۡتَىٰ وَلَا تُسۡمِعُ ٱلصُّمَّ ٱلدُّعَآءَ إِذَا وَلَّوۡاْ مُدۡبِرِينَ

You cannot make the dead to hear, nor can you make the deaf to hear the call when they turn away, withdrawing.

Verse 53

وَمَآ أَنتَ بِهَٰدِ ٱلۡعُمۡيِ عَن ضَلَٰلَتِهِمۡۖ إِن تُسۡمِعُ إِلَّا مَن يُؤۡمِنُ بِـَٔايَٰتِنَا فَهُم مُّسۡلِمُونَ

You cannot guide the blind out of their straying, nor can you make (anyone) hear, except for those who believe in Our signs, and so they submit.

Allah says, ‘just as you are not able to make the dead hear in their graves, or to make your words reach the deaf who cannot hear and who still turn away from you, so too you cannot guide the blind to the truth and bring them back from their misguidance.’ That is a matter which rests with Allah, for by His power He can make the dead hear the voices of the living if He wills. He guides whom He wills and sends astray whom He wills, and no one but He has the power to do this. Allah says:

Quoted Scripture
"you can make to hear only those who believe in Our Ayat, and have submitted (to Allah in Islam)."

means, those who are humble and who respond and obey. These are the ones who will listen to the truth and follow it; this is the state of the believers; the former (being deaf and blind) is the state of the disbelievers, as Allah says:

It is only those who listen will respond, but as for the dead, Allah will raise them up, then to Him they will be returned.

‘A’ishah, the Mother of the faithful, may Allah be pleased with her, used this Ayah -

Quoted Scripture
"So verily, you cannot make the dead to hear"

as evidence against ‘Abdullah bin ‘Umar when he reported that the Prophet had addressed the slain disbelievers who had been thrown into a dry well three days after the battle of Badr, rebuking and reprimanding them, until ‘Umar said, “O Messenger of Allah, are you addressing people who are dead bodies?” He said:

«By the One in Whose Hand is my soul, you do not hear what

— from Tafsir Ibn Kathir (Vol. 7, Page 563)

About this Source & Scholarly Authority (Tafsir Ibn Kathir)

Universal Sunni Consensus: Tafsir al-Qur'an al-Azim by Hafiz Ibn Kathir (701–774 AH / 1301–1373 AD) is universally regarded across all major schools of Sunni Islam (traditional, Salafi, Ash'ari) as the most authoritative classical exegesis. It is prized because it relies on Tafsir bil-Ma'thur—interpreting the Quran using the Quran itself, authentic Hadiths of Prophet Muhammad, and recorded statements of the early Companions (Sahabah).

Standard English Edition: This text is from the standard 10-volume English abridgment published by Dar-us-Salam Publications (supervised by Shaykh Safiur-Rahman Al-Mubarakpuri), which is the official, most widely distributed English Quranic commentary in mosques and Islamic libraries worldwide today.