Quran Universe
2:88

وَقَالُواْ قُلُوبُنَا غُلۡفُۢۚ بَل لَّعَنَهُمُ ٱللَّهُ بِكُفۡرِهِمۡ فَقَلِيلٗا مَّا يُؤۡمِنُونَ

Waqaloo quloobuna ghulfun bal laAAanahumu Allahu bikufrihim faqaleelan ma yuminoona

And they said, "Our hearts are wrapped." But, [in fact], Allah has cursed them for their disbelief, so little is it that they believe.

Word by word
  1. وَقَالُواْAnd they said
  2. قُلُوبُنَاOur hearts
  3. غُلۡفُۢۚ(are) wrapped
  4. بَلNay
  5. لَّعَنَهُمُhas cursed them
  6. ٱللَّهُAllah
  7. بِكُفۡرِهِمۡfor their disbelief
  8. فَقَلِيلٗاso little
  9. مَّا(is) what
  10. يُؤۡمِنُونَthey believe
Al-Baqarah · 2:88Madinah

Our hearts are wrapped, they said. It was not an excuse.

Calling a closed heart a full one

Their claim
our hearts are coveredwe cannot take it in
or: already fullwe need nothing from you
but
it was their disbeliefthat closed them
Cause and effect
I was made this way
refusal closes the heart

They said their hearts were wrapped. Ibn Abbas and Mujahid said: covered, screened. Another reading from Ibn Abbas: our hearts are full of knowledge and need nothing from you. The verse replies that it was their disbelief that sealed them, so little did they believe.

I am just not a spiritual person. I already know all this. That is not for someone like me. They sound like humility or honesty, but they can be doors we close ourselves. A closed heart usually started as a no.

Religion just does not reach me, that is how I am.

A heart closes from repeated refusals. It can open with small yeses.

Try this

Next time you think that is not for me, try one small piece of it anyway.

Related41:54:155
Simplified reflection. Read the tafsir for scholarship.draft
Tafsir Ibn Kathir

And they say, "Our hearts are Ghulf." Nay, Allah has cursed them for their disbelief, so little is that which they believe (88)

Muhammad bin Ishaq reported that Ibn 'Abbas said that,

وَقَالُوا قُلُوبُنَا غُلْفٌ

(And they say, "Our hearts are Ghulf."), means, "Our hearts are screened." Mujahid also said that,

وَقَالُوا 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,

فَقَلِيلًا مَّا يُؤْمِنُونَ

(So little is that which they believe.) means, "Only a few of them believe." Allah's statement,

وَقَالُوا قُلُوبُنَا غُلْفٌ

(And they say, "Our hearts are Ghulf.") is similar to His statement,

وَقَالُوا قُلُوبُنَا فِي أَكِنَّةٍ مِّمَّا 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 فَلَا يُؤْمِنُونَ إِلَّا قَلِيلًا

(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,

فَقَلِيلًا مَّا يُؤْمِنُونَ

(So little is that which they believe.) and His statement,

فَلاَ يُؤْمِنُونَ إِلَّا 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 ﷺ brought them. Some scholars said that the Jews did not actually believe in anything and that Allah said,

فَقَلِيلًا 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."