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Who seals the hearts in al-Baqara 7? Al-Zamakhshari and Ibn al-Munayyir

Ideas Words

من الخاتم على القلوب في البقرة: 7؟ الزمخشري وابن المنير

Al-Zamakhshari, on the Mu'tazili view, holds that the sealing of hearts is figurative, and that ascribing it to God either signals how entrenched the trait is or ascribes the act to its enabler, the real sealer being Satan or the disbeliever — so as to keep God clear of doing what is evil; Ibn al-Munayyir answers, on the Sunni view, that refusing the truth is an event that occurs only by God's power and that the verse ascribes the sealing to God explicitly.

Depth

At a glance

Region
Persia & Central Asia · Egypt & Nile

Contested: This record includes matters on which scholars differ. The speaker's views are labelled as his, and other views are marked where no cited source yet exists.

Scripture and its sciences

Summary

On al-Baqara 7 al-Kashshaf stops at the meaning of the seal on hearts and hearing and the covering on sight; al-Zamakhshari says sealing and concealing are twins, since securing a thing by stamping a seal on it conceals and covers it. 1 In the edition's notes Ibn al-Munayyir remarks that this is the 'first' place in the book where al-Zamakhshari departs from the plain sense of the text. 2 The question is a branch of the question of the creation of human acts; see What is qadar?.

Disagreement and views

Notes for researchers

  • Pages are PDF pages of the Dar al-Ma'rifa edition (3rd ed., 1430 AH).
  • Ibn al-Munayyir quotes his grandfather on figurative attribution (p. 43); this is not used here.
  • Each side's hostile terms for the other belong to them and are not used in the museum's voice.

Opinions on the question

The question: The creation of human acts and the reading of the 'seal'

First opinion · Sunni tradition (the museum's frame) · Sunni (Maliki): Ibn al-Munayyir in al-IntisafMain reference

the seal is truly God's act; nothing happens but by His power, and the verse ascribes it to Him explicitly 2.
More opinions (1)

Other view (Mu'tazili): al-Zamakhshari in al-Kashshaf viewOther opinion

the seal is figurative; it is ascribed to God to show entrenchment or because He gave the power, the real sealer being Satan or the disbeliever 1 2 3.

Connections

Explore the connections

Subject of
al-Kashshaf 'an Haqa'iq al-Tanzil
Mentions
al-Kashshaf 'an Haqa'iq al-Tanzil· Mu'tazila

People and things also explored

Does 'You will not see Me' deny that God can be seen? Al-Zamakhshari and Ibn al-Munayyir· Ta'wil in the Qur'an· Al-Ash'ari publicly renounces Mu'tazilism in the Great Mosque of Basra, 300/912-13· Al-Ash'ari, al-Jubba'i's pupil at Basra, and the three brothers debate· Ibn al-Munayyir· How did Sunni scholars treat al-Kashshaf, given its Mu'tazili content?· Does Ibn Atiyya's commentary lean towards the Mu'tazila?· al-Farq bayn al-Firaq

Sources

  1. al-Kashshaf 'an Haqa'iq al-Tanzil — al-Zamakhshari, ed. Khalil Ma'mun Shiha (Dar al-Ma'rifa, 3rd ed., 2009) , p.41
  2. al-Kashshaf 'an Haqa'iq al-Tanzil — al-Zamakhshari, ed. Khalil Ma'mun Shiha (Dar al-Ma'rifa, 3rd ed., 2009) , p.42
  3. al-Kashshaf 'an Haqa'iq al-Tanzil — al-Zamakhshari, ed. Khalil Ma'mun Shiha (Dar al-Ma'rifa, 3rd ed., 2009) , p.43
Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “Who seals the hearts in al-Baqara 7? Al-Zamakhshari and Ibn al-Munayyir”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/questions/who-seals-the-hearts-in-al-baqara-7/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-11-06.

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Ideas

Beliefs, concepts, sciences and schools, explained in plain words. Related

Does 'You will not see Me' deny that God can be seen? Al-Zamakhshari and Ibn al-Munayyir

Commenting on Moses' request to see God in al-A'raf 143, al-Zamakhshari in al-Kashshaf, on the Mu'tazili view, holds that Moses asked in order to silence his people and that 'lan' strengthens the denial of what is incompatible with God's attributes; Ibn al-Munayyir answers in al-Intisaf, on the Sunni view, that seeing God is rationally possible, that Moses asked for himself knowing this, and that revelation ruled out its happening in this world.