Transliteration:( Wa laqad zara'naa li jahannama kaseeran minal jinni wal insi lahum quloobul laa yafqahoona bihaa wa lahum a'yunul laa yubisiroona bihaa wa lahum aazaanul laa yasma'oona bihaa; ulaaa'ika kal an'aami bal hum adall; ulaaa'ika humul ghaafiloon )
179. Certainly, We have created many from the jinn [410] and men for Hell. They have hearts but do not understand with them, and they have eyes but do not see with them, and they have ears but do not hear with them [411]. They are like cattle; rather, they are more misguided [412]. They are indeed the heedless.
This verse confirms that many jinn and humans are created with the eventual outcome of Hell, due to their misuse of divine faculties. Infidel jinns will certainly be punished in Hell. However, there is no clear Qur'anic declaration that any jinn will be admitted to Paradise. Pious jinns will likely share the fate of animals in the Hereafter—turned to dust, spared from punishment but not granted Paradise. Their salvation lies in this very exemption.
Although such people and jinn have hearts, eyes, and ears, they fail to use them for truth. A tongue that does not praise Allah or His Messenger ﷺ is mute in reality. Ears that ignore Qur’anic truth are deaf, and eyes blind to signs of guidance serve no purpose. These faculties were granted to understand divine revelation, but when misused or ignored, they become spiritually void.
According to narrations, on the Day of Judgement, Allah will say to Hazrat Adam (peace be upon him), “Out of every thousand of your children, take only one to Paradise, while 999 along with animals will be consigned to Hell.” This shows the rarity of true salvation and the majority’s heedlessness.
If humans live righteously, they can rise above angels. But if they embrace disobedience, they fall below animals. Even animals have an instinctual awareness of harm—a dog smells before eating, discerning clean from foul. Yet many humans consume what is lawful or unlawful alike, without any concern. Hence, they are more misguided than beasts, because animals at least follow their instinctive boundaries, while man knowingly transgresses divine ones.
179. And surely, We have created many of the Jinn and mankind for Hell. They have hearts wherewith they understand not, and they have eyes wherewith they see not, and they have ears wherewith they hear not (the truth). They are like cattle, nay even more astray; those! They are the heedless ones.
Allah said,
(And surely, We have created for Hell) We made a share in the Fire for,
(many of the Jinn and mankind) We prepared them for it by their performance of the deeds of its people. When Allah intended to create the creation, He knew what their work will be before they existed. He wrote all this in a Book, kept with Him, fifty thousand years before He created the heavens and earth. Muslim recorded that `Abdullah bin `Amr narrated that the Messenger of Allah said,
(Verily, Allah decided the destination and due measurement of the creation fifty thousand years before He created the heavens and earth, and His Throne was over the water.) There are many Hadiths on this subject, and certainly, the matter of Al-Qadar is of utmost importance, yet this is not where we should discuss it. Allah said,
(They have hearts wherewith they understand not, and they have eyes wherewith they see not, and they have ears wherewith they hear not.) meaning, they do not benefit from these senses that Allah made for them as a means of gaining guidance. Similarly, Allah said,
(And We had assigned them the (faculties of) hearing, seeing, and hearts; but their hearing, seeing, and their hearts availed them nothing since they used to deny the Ayat.) ﴿46:26﴾. Allah also said about the hypocrites,
((They are) deaf, dumb, and blind, so they return not (to the right path)) ﴿2:18﴾, and about the disbelievers,
((They are) deaf, dumb and blind. So they do not understand.) ﴿2:171﴾ However, they are not deaf, dumb or blind, except relation to the guidance. Allah said;
(Had Allah known of any good in them, He would indeed have made them listen; and even if He had made them listen, they would but have turned away with aversion (to the truth).) ﴿8:23﴾,
(Verily, it is not the eyes that grow blind, but it is the hearts which are in the breasts that grow blind.) ﴿22:46﴾, and,
(And whosoever turns away blindly from the remembrance of the Most Gracious (Allah), We appoint for him Shaytan to be an intimate companion to him. And verily, they hinder them from the path, but they think that they are guided aright!)﴿43:36-37﴾ Allah’s statement,
(They are like cattle), means, those who neither hear the truth, nor understand it, nor see the guidance, are just like grazing cattle that do not benefit from these senses, except for what sustains their life in this world. Allah said in a similar Ayah,
(And the example of those who disbelieve is as that of one who shouts to those who hear nothing but calls and cries.) ﴿2:171﴾ meaning, their example, when they are called to the faith, is the example of cattle that hear only the voice of their shepherd, but cannot understand what he is saying. Allah further described them
(nay even more astray), than cattle, because cattle still respond to the call of their shepherd, even though they do not understand what he is saying. As for the people described here, they are unlike cattle, which fulfill the purpose and service they were created for. The disbeliever was created to worship Allah alone in Tawhid, but he disbelieved in Allah and associated others in His worship. Therefore, those people who obey Allah are more honorable than some angels, while cattle are better than those who disbelieve in Him. So Allah said;
(They are like cattle, nay even more astray; those! They are the heedless ones.)
(7:179) And certainly We have created for Hell many of the jinn and mankind;[140] they have hearts with which they fail to understand; and they have eyes with which they fail to see; and they have ears with which they fail to hear. They are like cattle – indeed, even more astray. Such are utterly heedless.
140. This does not mean that God has created some people for the specific purpose of fuelling Hell. What it does mean is that even though God has bestowed upon men faculties of observation, hearing and reasoning, some people do not use them properly. Thus, because of their own failings, they end up in Hell.
The words employed to give expression to the idea are ones which reflect deep grief and sorrow. This can perhaps be grasped by the occasional outbursts of sorrow by human beings. If a mother is struck by the sudden death of her sons in a war, she is prone to exclaim: ‘I had brought up my sons that they might serve as cannon fodder!’ Her exclamatory, utterance does not mean that that was the real purpose of the upbringing. What she intends to convey by such an utterance is a strong condemnation of those criminals because of whom all her painful efforts to bring up her sons have gone to waste.
[424]- The reference is to their inability (i.e., refusal) to think and reason, while blindly following (as they are accustomed).
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