: 23]

Allah Most High says in Sūrat Muhammad—peace and blessings be upon him:

“Among them are those who listen to you, but when they leave your presence, they ask those who were given knowledge, ‘What did he say just now?’ Those are the ones whose hearts Allah has sealed and who follow their own desires.” [Muhammad: 16]

He, Glorious and Exalted, says in Sūrat al-Munāfiqūn:

“That is because they believed and then disbelieved, so their hearts were sealed, and thus they do not understand.” [al-Munāfiqūn: 3]

Muhammad ibn al-Husayn, may Allah have mercy on him, said: Everything I have recited from these verses shows those of sound mind that Allah, Glorious and Exalted, has sealed the hearts of some people and set a seal upon them. He did not will those hearts for His worship, but willed them for disobedience to Him. He blinded them to the truth, so they did not see it; made them deaf to the truth, so they did not hear it; and disgraced them without purifying them. He does whatever He wills with His creation. No one may say, “Why did He do that to them?” Whoever says this has opposed Allah, Glorious and Exalted, concerning His action and has strayed from the path of truth.

Then, from among His servants, He singled out those whom He loved, opened their hearts to faith, and adorned it within their hearts:

“He has made disbelief, defiance, and disobedience hateful to you. Such are those who are rightly guided—a bounty and blessing from Allah. Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise.” [al-Hujurāt: 7]

Muhammad ibn al-Husayn, may Allah have mercy on him, said