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thumma baʿathnā min baʿdihī rusulan ʾilā qawmihim fa-jāʾūhum bi-l-bayyināti fa-mā kānū li-yuʾminū bi-mā kadhdhabū bihī min qablu ka-dhālika naṭbaʿu ʿalā qulūbi l-muʿtadīna
Then after him We sent [other] apostles to their people. They brought them manifest proofs, but they would not believe something they had denied before. Thus do We seal the hearts of the transgressors.
— Ali Quli Qarai
Surah Yunus – Verse 74
74. “Then, after him, We sent messengers to their people; they brought them the clear evidences, but they would not believe in what they had already rejected beforehand. Thus do We seal up the hearts of the transgressors.”
In these verses, Allah, the Gracious, recounts the stories of those prophets who had been appointed after Noah (as). After Noah and the annihilation of his people, several prophets were dispatched to their peoples who, as a result of marriage and reproduction, had multiplied by that time. The purpose here is prophets ’Ibrahim, Hud, Saleh, Lot, and Shu‘ayb (Jethro). These prophets went to those people with clear proofs and miracles that testified to their prophecy and provided reasons for their truthfulness.
The verse says:
“Then, after him, We sent messengers to their People; they brought them the clear evidences...”
However, none of them any longer believed in what their divinely guided forefathers had believed. Just like the idol worshippers before them, they were also rebellious and stood in opposition to Divine guidance. The verse continues saying:
“…but they would not believe in what they had already rejected beforehand...”
The holy phrase saying: ‘Thus do We seal the hearts of the transgressors’ means that Allah (s.w.t.) impresses the symbol of infidelity upon the hearts of those who do injustice against themselves and violate the Divine limits and laws laid down by the Almighty, so that they become condemned to reprimand, and are recognized by the angels. The verse says:
“…Thus do We seal up the hearts of the transgressors.”