His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "Indeed, the worst of creatures in the sight of Allah are the deaf and dumb who do not understand." "And if Allah had known any good in them, He would have made them hear; and if He had made them hear, they would have turned away while they were refusing." "O you who have believed, respond to Allah and to the Messenger when he calls you to that which gives you life. And know that Allah intervenes between a man and his heart, and that to Him you will be gathered."

The intended meaning of this verse is to clarify that this arrogant category of disbelievers is the worst of people in the sight of Allah, exalted and majestic is He, and that they hold the lowest rank with Him. He referred to them as creatures to emphasize their blameworthiness, and to show that the vicious dog and the pig are preferred over them among the beasts and the five vile creatures and others. The term "creatures" encompasses all that crawls, thus including all animals in general. His saying, exalted is He: "the deaf and dumb" is an expression of what is in their hearts and the lack of openness in their chests and the understanding of their minds. Therefore, He described them as deaf and dumb and stripped them of reason. It has been narrated that this verse was revealed about a group from Banu Abd al-Dar, but its apparent meaning is general to them and to others who possess these attributes. Then Allah informed that their lack of hearing and guidance is due to what Allah knows of them and what has been decreed for them. This is expressed in a powerful phrase in His saying, glorified is He: "And if Allah had known any good in them, He would have made them hear," and the intended meaning is: He would have made them hear in a way that brings understanding and guidance. Then He, exalted and majestic is He, began the news about them with what is decreed for them regarding disbelief, saying: "And if He had made them hear," meaning: if He had made them understand, "they would have turned away" by the judgment of the previous decree concerning them, and they would have turned away from what has become clear to them of guidance. Al-Tabari reported from a group that they said: the intended meaning of this verse is the hypocrites, but Al-Tabari weakened this view, and it is indeed weak.

And His saying, exalted is He: "O you who have believed, respond to Allah and to the Messenger," this verse is an address to the believers who affirm without dispute, and "respond" means answer. However, it is customary in speech that "responded" takes a preposition (to) while "answered" does not take a preposition. It may also occur that "responded" takes no preposition, and the proof is the poet's saying:

"And a caller called, O you who responds to the call, But no responder answered him at that time."

And His saying: "to that which gives you life" Mujahid and the majority said: the meaning is for obedience and what the Qur'an contains of commands and prohibitions. This is a borrowed life, as it is from the death of disbelief and ignorance. It is said: Islam, and this is similar to the first and is weak from the perspective that one who believes is not told: enter into Islam. It is said: "to that which gives you life" means for war and striving against the enemy, and it gives life through honor, victory, and triumph. Thus, it is called life, as you say: the condition of so-and-so has revived when it has elevated. It also gives life just as Islam and obedience do, and others, in that it leads to everlasting life in the Hereafter. Al-Naqqash said: the intended meaning is: when he calls you to witness.

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

So this is the connection of the life of this world with the life of the Hereafter. And His saying, the Most High: ﴿And know that Allah intervenes between a man and his heart﴾ has several meanings. One of them is that when He commanded them to respond in obedience, He urged them to hasten and be quick, so He said: And know that Allah intervenes between a man and his heart by death and seizing the soul, meaning: So hasten to good deeds. This aligns with His saying: ﴿And that you will be gathered to Him﴾, meaning: So hasten to good deeds and prepare for the Day of Gathering. Another meaning is that He intends by His saying: ﴿And know that Allah intervenes between a man and his heart﴾ to inform them that Allah's power, encompassing knowledge, and awareness are present between a man and his heart, creating a barrier between him and his heart.

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: It is as if this meaning encourages vigilance and fear of Allah, who is aware of the innermost thoughts. This interpretation resembles His saying, the Most High: ﴿And We are closer to him than his jugular vein﴾ [Qaf: 16]. This interpretation has been reported from Qatadah.

It is also possible that He intends to frighten them if they do not comply with the acts of obedience and respond to Allah and the Messenger, by what has befallen the disbelievers, whom He refers to in His saying: ﴿And if He had made them hear, they would have turned away while they were aversive﴾. For His decree upon them that if they had heard and understood, they would not have benefited implies that He had intervened between them and their hearts. It is as if He said to the believers in this other context: Respond to Allah and the Messenger and do not feel secure that what befell the disbelievers will not befall you, as a barrier between them and their hearts. He alerted them to what happened to the disbelievers with the most eloquent expression and connected it to the soul.

Another meaning could be a reassurance for them that Allah changes the fear in their hearts due to the abundance of the enemy, turning it into courage and strength. Conversely, the disbelievers experience the opposite. For indeed, Allah is the Turner of hearts, as was the oath of the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him. Some people said: And from it: "There is no power and no strength except by Allah," meaning: There is no power against disobedience nor strength for obedience except by Allah.

And the interpreters have mentioned in this various opinions that are foreign to the words of the verse, as reported by Al-Tabari. Among them is that Allah intervenes between the believer and the disbeliever, and between the disbeliever and faith, and similar to this.

Ibn Abi Ishaq read: "between a man" with a kasrah on the meem, as mentioned by Abu Hatim. Abu Al-Fath said: And Al-Hasan and Al-Zubaidi read: "between the man" with a fathah on the meem and a shaddah on the broken ra.

And ﴿You will be gathered﴾ you will be resurrected on the Day of Resurrection. It has been narrated through the route of Malik ibn Anas and an-Nasa'i that "the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, called Ubayy ibn Ka'b while he was in prayer, but he did not respond and hurried in the remainder of his prayer. When he came to him, the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, said to him: 'Did you not hear in what is revealed to me ﴿O you who have believed, respond to Allah and the Messenger when he calls you to that which gives you life﴾?' Ubayy said: 'Certainly, O Messenger of Allah, I will never be called by you without responding to you.'" The hadith is lengthy and has variations in wording. In al-Bukhari and Muslim, it is mentioned that this occurred with Abu Sa'id ibn al-Mu'alla, and it has been narrated that a similar incident occurred with Hudhayfah ibn al-Yaman during the Battle of the Trench.