> What is the reason behind advancing hearing over sight in the Holy Quran?

[Nailah]

Allah the Almighty says; “And pursue not that you have no knowledge of; surely the hearing, the sight, the heart- all of those shall be questioned of.” (17:36),

(ولا تقف ما ليس لك به علم إن السمع والبصر والفؤاد كل أولئك كان عنه مسؤولا) الإسراء 36 .

and; “Not so did you cover yourselves, lest your hearing, your eyes and your skins should bear witness against you; but you thought that Allah would never know much of the things that you were working.” (41: 22),

( وَمَا كُنتُمْ تَسْتَتِرُونَ أَنْ يَشْهَدَ عَلَيْكُمْ سَمْعُكُمْ وَلَا أَبْصَارُكُمْ وَلَا جُلُودُكُمْ وَلَكِن ظَنَنتُمْ أَنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يَعْلَمُ كَثِيراً مِّمَّا تَعْمَلُونَ ). (22- فصلت)

and: “Say; ‘Think you, if Allah took away your hearing and your sight, and sealed up you hearts, who – a god other than Allah – could restore them to you?’” (6:46)

(قل أرأيتم إن أخذ الله سمعكم وأبصاركم وختم على قلوبكم من إله غير الله يأتيكم به) الأنعام 46 .

Hearing comes before sight in the vas majority of verses in Quran !

Why was sight mentioned in plural in Quran ?

What are the possible reasons behind advancing "hearing" over "sight" in Quran ?

• 1- Hearing develops before sight in the embryo stage , and it is the first sense that functions in life. The function of hearing starts immediately with the baby after deliver, in contrary to the eye which does not function the time the baby is brought to life. In other words, Allah the Almighty conveys to us that it is hearing that functions at first. If a disturbing sound is produced near the newly born baby, he/ she feels terrified and cries. But if a hand is approached near the same baby, he/ she does not move or sense any sort of danger.

• 2- Ear is preferred over and more superior than the eye, as it does not stop function by sleep. Since the very beginning of life, the ear functions at the first instance after delivery, while some other organs may wait days, or years to function. The eye needs light to see. Rays of light are reflected on things, then enter the eye to see things. If it is dark, the eye cannot function, but the ear can function day and night.

• 3- Ear is the link between man and the world. When Allah the Almighty decreed that the Men of the Cave sleep hundred of years, He said; “Then We smote their ears many years in the Cave.” (18 : 11)

فَضَرَبْنَا عَلَى آذَانِهِمْ فِي الْكَهْفِ سِنِينَ عَدَدا [الكهف: [11]

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[al-boriqee]

Asalamu alaikum

with all do respect, It does a diservice to dawah to make awkward tangents like this. This deduction has nothing remotely connected to these ayaat.

What happens when someone says that based on that deduction, then that means that the hearing is better than the "heart" since hearing comes before the heart. What will you say then. That means the whole deduction goes out the window particularly when it will be said that the heart is the home of faith.

Inalillahi wa Ina ilaihi raji'oon

[Nailah]

Brother, this article is not concentrating on the heart but more on why the hearing is before the sight and why the sight is in plural.
If it where to talk about the heart, the article would have been totally different.


Fi Amanillah

[salman]

ukthi, may Allah preserve you, try to stay away from these sorts of dubious explanations and specially from people who have no religious authority. In our times, some Muslims have gone to extreme by interpreting every ayah to show that there is some sort of wisdom or scientific miracle. If something is clear then Allahmdulillah otherwise we don't need to go our of our way and use this approach of "everything needs to be explained rationally and scientifically and there is some scientific/rational reason for everything in Islam". This is not our da'wah and this is not the way of a Muslim.

[Nailah]

Originally Posted by salman

ukthi, may Allah preserve you, try to stay away from these sorts of dubious explanations and specially from people who have no religious authority. In our times, some Muslims have gone to extreme by interpreting every ayah to show that there is some sort of wisdom or scientific miracle. If something is clear then Allahmdulillah otherwise we don't need to go our of our way and use this approach of "everything needs to be explained rationally and scientifically and there is some scientific/rational reason for everything in Islam". This is not our da'wah and this is not the way of a Muslim.

Jazakallah Khair borhther, I see what you mean.