الآية رقم (109) - وَأَقْسَمُواْ بِاللّهِ جَهْدَ أَيْمَانِهِمْ لَئِن جَاءتْهُمْ آيَةٌ لَّيُؤْمِنُنَّ بِهَا قُلْ إِنَّمَا الآيَاتُ عِندَ اللّهِ وَمَا يُشْعِرُكُمْ أَنَّهَا إِذَا جَاءتْ لاَ يُؤْمِنُونَ

(109) - (And they swear by Allah their strongest oaths that if a sign came to them, they would surely believe in it. Say, "The signs are only with Allah." And what will make you perceive that even if a sign came, they would not believe.)

(… وَأَقْسَمُوا بِاللَّهِ جَهْدَ أَيْمَانِهِمْ لَئِن جَاءَتْهُمْ آيَةٌ لَّيُؤْمِنُنَّ بِهَا) (And they swear by Allah their strongest oaths that if a sign came to them, they would surely believe in it. Say,): They took pains to swear that if a sign were to come to them, they would believe in Allah (swt). For example, they said: ‘Send down to us a sign from the sky so that we can see it!’, and ‘Speak to the dead!’, and ‘Do anything that is miraculous, so that we will believe’.

Here, you find yourself looking at a scene portraying those who had associated others in worship with Allah (swt), and those whose eyes and hearts had been shut off from believing in Allah (swt). It is as if Allah (swt) is saying to them here, we do not want necks which surrender, but we want hearts which submit.

(  وَمَا يُشْعِرُكُمْ أَنَّهَا إِذَا جَاءَتْ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ… ) (…And what will make you perceive that even if a sign came, they would not believe): Observe the precision of Allah’s Words here, and the difference between them and the words of human beings. Allah (swt) said: they would not believe, instead of saying: they would believe?

This is because, since the Quran is the Word of Allah (swt), and He is not subjected to time, He willed firstly to provide answers to both the groups; the disbelievers who would not believe, and the believers who said: ‘Maybe Allah Most High will send down verses and miracles so that these people would believe’. So, Allah (swt) answered them: These people will not believe from the very start, as He says in this verse at the beginning of Surah Al-Baqarah: 

 إِنَّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ سَوَاءٌ عَلَيْهِمْ أَأَنذَرْتَهُمْ أَمْ لَمْ تُنذِرْهُمْ لاَ يُؤْمِنُونَ

(As for those who persist in disbelief, it is the same whether you warn them or not—they will never believe) (Al-Baqara: 6)

Why is this so? The answer:

 خَتَمَ اللّهُ عَلَى قُلُوبِهمْ وَعَلَى سَمْعِهِمْ وَعَلَى أَبْصَارِهِمْ غِشَاوَةٌ وَلَهُمْ عَذَابٌ عظِيمٌ

(Allah has sealed their hearts and their hearing, and their sight is covered. They will suffer a tremendous punishment) (Al-Baqara: 7)

Therefore, there are seals which are stamped on their hearts. So, Allah (swt) gives the believers the result – that these disbelievers would not believe. So, they should beware of saying: ‘If a sign was sent down, some of them would believe’. This is because, they will not believe, even if a miracle from the sky came down upon them. Allah (swt) knows what goes on in their hearts; that they will not believe.

Therefore, this phrasing: (they will never believe) is an answer to both the disbelievers and believers alike.

Allah (swt) knows that from the very beginning, they had shut off their hearts from believing in Allah (swt). So, He gave a decisive, factual and permanent answer.