But this condition may cease. In the description of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, it says:

“Indeed, We have sent you as a witness, a bearer of glad tidings, and a warner, and as a safeguard for the unlettered. You are My servant and My Messenger. I have named you ‘the one who relies upon Allah.’ You are neither harsh nor hard-hearted, nor loud in the marketplaces. He does not repay evil with evil, but pardons and forgives. I shall not take his soul until, through him, I have set the crooked faith straight and opened blind eyes, deaf ears, and closed hearts.”

He has also said:

“So that you may warn a people whose forefathers were not warned, and who are therefore heedless. The word has indeed been fulfilled against most of them, so they will not believe.”

This indicates that some of them will believe. He then said:

“Indeed, We have placed shackles around their necks,”

continuing to His words:

“You can only warn those who follow the Reminder and fear the Most Merciful unseen.”

This is warning that takes full effect: warning that the person warned accepts and benefits from. His words,

“It makes no difference to them whether you warn them or not,”

refer to the act of warning itself. Similarly, one might say of someone who is dull-witted or whose mind is preoccupied with worldly concerns and desires: “It makes no difference whether you teach him or not: he does not learn or accept guidance.” Of an intelligent person whose mind is free of distractions, one says: “Only someone like this learns.”

Yet someone who is preoccupied may become free of distractions. A mind may become sound after being corrupt, and become corrupt after being sound, depending on the corruption or soundness of the heart.

Most of the explanations transmitted from the early generations accord with this view, as recorded by Ibn Ishāq and related by Ibn Abī Hātim and others. Ibn Ishāq said: “I was told by Muhammad ibn Abī