The interpretation of the verse of Allah, the Exalted: ﴿And whoever was blind in this [Editor’s note: world], then he will be blind in the Hereafter and more astray in the path﴾ (72) has been subject to differing opinions among the exegetes. Some of them said that this refers to the blessings enumerated by Allah, the Exalted, when He said: ﴿Indeed, We have honored the children of Adam and carried them in land and sea and provided them with good things and preferred them over much of those whom We created, preferring them﴾. Thus, ﴿And whoever was blind in this [Editor’s note: world], then he will be blind in the Hereafter and more astray in the path﴾.

Those who claimed this said: Muhammad ibn al-Muthanna reported, saying: Abd al-A'la reported, saying: Dawud reported, from Muhammad ibn Abi Musa, who was asked about this verse: ﴿And whoever was blind in this [Editor’s note: world], then he will be blind in the Hereafter and more astray in the path﴾. He said: This refers to ﴿Indeed, We have honored the children of Adam and carried them in land and sea and provided them with good things and preferred them over much of those whom We created, preferring them﴾. He said: Whoever is blind to the gratitude for these blessings in this world, he will be blind and more astray in the path in the Hereafter.

Others said: Rather, the meaning is: whoever is blind in this world to the power of Allah and His proofs, he will be blind in the Hereafter. Those who claimed this said: Ali ibn Dawud reported, saying: Abd Allah reported, saying: Mu'awiyah reported, from Ali, from Ibn 'Abbas, regarding ﴿And whoever was blind in this [Editor’s note: world]﴾, he said: whoever is blind to the power of Allah in this world. Others said: Whoever is blind in this world to the signs of Allah and His proofs, he will be blind in the Hereafter.

Those who claimed this said: Muhammad ibn 'Amr reported, saying: Abu 'Asem reported, saying: 'Isa reported, and al-Harith reported, saying: al-Hasan reported, saying: Warqā' reported, all from Ibn Abi Najih, from Mujahid, regarding ﴿in this [Editor’s note: world] blind﴾, he said: the world. Others said: Bashr reported, saying: Yazeed reported, saying: Sa'id reported, from Qatada, regarding ﴿And whoever was blind in this [Editor’s note: world], then he will be blind in the Hereafter﴾, he said: whoever is blind in this world to what he has witnessed of Allah's blessings, creation, and wonders, then he will be blind and more astray in the path in the Hereafter, which he has not witnessed. Others said: Muhammad reported, saying: Muhammad ibn Thawr reported, from Ma'mar, from Qatada, regarding ﴿And whoever was blind in this [Editor’s note: world]﴾, he said: in this world, regarding what Allah shows him of His signs, the creation of the heavens and the earth, the mountains and the stars.

Then he will be blind in the Hereafter, which is unseen, and more astray in the path. Others said: Yunus reported, saying: Ibn Wahb reported, saying: Ibn Zaid was asked about the verse of Allah, the Exalted: ﴿And whoever was blind in this [Editor’s note: world], then he will be blind in the Hereafter and more astray in the path﴾. He recited: ﴿Indeed, in the heavens and the earth are signs for the believers﴾, ﴿And in your own selves, will you not see?﴾, and recited: ﴿And among His signs is that He created you from dust, then you became human beings spreading about﴾, until he reached: ﴿And to Him is all submission﴾.

He said: all are submissive to Him, except the son of Adam. He said: whoever is blind to these signs which he knows are from Us, and testifies to them while seeing Our power and blessings, he will be blind in the Hereafter, which he has not seen, and more astray in the path. The most correct interpretation, in my view, is the one that says: whoever is blind in this world to the proofs of Allah that He is the One who created and manages all things, and arranges what is in them, then he will be blind and more astray in the Hereafter, which he has not seen, and in what is happening there.

He said: more astray in the path than in the affairs of this world, which he has seen and witnessed. We said this is the most correct interpretation because Allah, the Exalted, did not specify in His statement ﴿And whoever was blind in this [Editor’s note: world]﴾ that the blindness of the disbeliever refers to some of His proofs upon him rather than others, but rather it refers to the blindness of the one who is unaware of His blessings, which He bestowed upon him by honoring the children of Adam, carrying them in land and sea, and what He enumerated in the verse where He mentioned His blessings upon them. Thus, they are as blind as Allah, the Exalted, has made them.

The reciters differed in the reading of ﴿then he will be blind in the Hereafter﴾. All reciters broke the first letter in ﴿And whoever was blind in this [Editor’s note: world]﴾. However, regarding ﴿then he will be blind in the Hereafter﴾, the majority of the Kufan reciters also made the same break, while some reciters from Basra opened it, interpreting it to mean: he will be more blind in the Hereafter.

They cited the verse ﴿and more astray in the path﴾ as evidence for the correctness of their reading.

This reading is more correct than the other in this matter, as stated by the witness we mentioned regarding the reader, and those who disliked this reading did so thinking that this was intended to mean the kind of blindness where one cannot be said to be more blind than another, since physical blindness does not vary in degree, and one cannot be more blind than the other unless something more severe or more evident is introduced. This is not the case here.

What we mean is that this refers to the blindness of the heart, in which there is a difference, for it refers to the blindness of the hearts of the disbelievers concerning the proofs of Allah which their eyes have witnessed. Therefore, this is permissible and appropriate.

In a manner similar to what we have stated, the interpreters said.

Those who said this reported:Ḥasan ibn Yحيى said: It was informed to us by ʿAbd al-Razāq, who said: It was informed to us by Sufyān, from Ibn Abī Najīḥ, from Mujāhid, regarding the verse: "He will be in the Hereafter more blind." Mujāhid said: Blind concerning his argument in the Hereafter.