“Our hearts are veiled against what you call us to, our ears are deaf, and between us and you is a barrier,” and, “They said, ‘O Shuayb, we do not understand much of what you say.’”

Likewise, these people say, “We do not understand much of what the Messenger says.” They speak like those who listen to the Messenger, then, upon leaving him, “say to those given knowledge, ‘What did he say just now?’”

They have become like those of whom it was said:

“When you recite the Quran, We place a hidden barrier between you and those who do not believe in the Hereafter.”

“And We place coverings over their hearts, preventing them from understanding it, and deafness in their ears. When you mention your Lord alone in the Quran, they turn their backs in aversion.”

Reflect, then, on what Allah has related about the enemies of the messengers—their claims not to understand and their rejection—and you will find something of this among those who turn away from Allah’s remembrance and from reflecting on His Book, and follow what the devils recite and inspire in their allies. May Allah guide us to a straight path.

For this reason, these Jahmiyyah, who negate the divine attributes and resemble the disbelievers and polytheists among the Sabians and others who deny the Creator’s existence or His attributes, sometimes accuse the people of knowledge and faith, who adhere to the Book and the Sunnah, of resembling the Jews because of what is in the Torah