Tafsir of Al-Baqarah 2:74

"Then your hearts hardened" Hardness, in its essence, is dryness and rigidity. The state of their hearts—their aversion to reflection—is here likened to the hardness of stones, in that neither can be permeated by a gentle effect. Thus, in "hardened" (qasat) there is a metaphorical dependency or an allegorical representation.

"Then" (thumma) It is used here to denote the distance/implausibility of such hardness occurring after witnessing that which should have removed it. It is also said that it denotes a delay in time, for their hearts hardened after a period, when they claimed that the deceased (who was revived) had lied to them; or it refers to the hardening of those who succeeded them.

The pronoun in "your hearts" refers to the heirs of the slain man, according to Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both). According to Abu al-Aliyah and others, it refers to the Children of Israel after that event—meaning, after the revival of the slain man. It is also said it refers to his speech, or to the preceding verses they had witnessed, such as their transformation into apes and swine, the raising of the mountain, the gushing of water, and the revival of the dead. Al-Zajjaj adopted this view; on this basis, "Then your hearts hardened" is a conjunction added to the content of all the previous stories and signs mentioned. According to the former view, it is a conjunction following the story of "And when you killed..."

"They are like stones" That is, in their hardness and lack of receptivity. The plural "hearts" is used to match the plurality of the hearts, and to indicate that they vary in hardness just as stones vary in rigidity. The "Kaf" is for comparison; it is a particle according to Sibawayh and the majority of grammarians, though al-Akhfash argued it is a noun. It is connected here to a deleted predicate, meaning: "Existing like stones," contrary to Ibn Asfur, who claimed that the "Kaf" of comparison cannot be connected to anything.

"Or even harder" Meaning: harder than stones. They are like iron, for instance, or like something that is not affected at all, even by a phantom perception. The "Or" (aw) is for the sake of offering the listener a choice between levels of intensity, as is done after a command; or for categorization, meaning some are "like stones" and some are "harder"; or for ambiguity/repetition, meaning the validity of both states regardless of the other; or it carries the meaning of "rather" (bal). If we interpret it as "rather," it requires the estimation of a subject if we claim that the ambiguity is restricted to the sentences. It may also mean "and," or imply doubt; however, since doubt is impossible for Allah the Exalted, it is diverted to the listener. Al-Allama (al-Alusi) does not favor this, as it leads to the permissibility of meanings of particles being determined by the listener, which removes words from their established positions—for they were set so that the speaker might express what is in his conscience. The truth is that it is permissible to consider the listener in the meanings of words when the original intended meaning, relative to the speaker, cannot be maintained. Thus, there is no harm in "Or" (aw) being used to express doubt in the same way "perhaps" (la'alla) is used for hope in the speech of Allah the Exalted; this is a path traveled by the People of the Sunnah.

"Harder" It is a conjunction on "like stones," a case of a singular joined to a singular, as when you say, "Zayd is traveling or staying." Some estimate it as "or it is harder," making it a conjunction of clauses. Others estimate a deleted addition, meaning "like that which is harder," making it a conjunction on the "Kaf" (if a noun) or on the entire prepositional phrase (if a particle). When the addition is deleted, the genitive takes its place and is inflected accordingly. It is evident that considering the comparison in the conjoined part without connecting it to the prepositional phrase is highly implausible. Al-A'mash read "or harder" (aw ashadda) with a fatha, as it is diptote due to being an adjective and on the pattern of a verb; it is a conjunction on "stones," and considering the comparison is then clear.

Why did Allah the Exalted not say aqsa (harder) when the verb "to harden" is such that the form af'al can be derived from it, and it is more concise and found in eloquent speech? It is because ashadd (intense) signifies an intensification in both its essence and its form, whereas aqsa signifies it only in its form. It implies the intensity of two types of hardness. If it were aqsa, it would denote that hearts and stones share the quality of hardness, with the hearts containing an excess of hardness, not an intensity of hardness. This is not like saying "Zayd is more generous than 'Amr," for they do not mean that both share generosity and Zayd’s generosity exceeds 'Amr’s, but rather that the intensity of Zayd's generosity exceeds the intensity of 'Amr's. The objection that "harder" (ashadd) is predicated on the hearts and not on the hardness is invalid, for it is predicated on it by meaning, as it acts as a specifier (tamyiz) transformed from the subject or moved from the predicate.

It is possible to say: Allah the Exalted displayed this hardness as a manifest flaw to warn that it is one of the faults; indeed, the greatest of all faults is that which bars one from the Knower of the Unseen: "For indeed, it is not the eyes that are blind, but blind are the hearts which are within the breasts."

"And indeed, there are stones out of which rivers gush forth, and there are those of them that split open and water comes out, and there are those of them that fall down for fear of Allah" This is a concluding clause to explain the superiority of hearts over stones, or an interjection between His saying "Then your hearts hardened" and the description of the hearts, which is "And Allah is not unaware of what you do," to explain the reason for that hardness. Because it is strange, it requires an explanation of the cause. To make it a circumstantial clause implying causation is rejected by refined taste, as there is no meaning for the restriction. It being an explanation and confirmation in terms of meaning while being grammatically conjoined to the sentence "like stones or harder" is something whose justification does not appear clear, because if it were an explanation in meaning, how could it be properly conjoined while leaving it as an explanation?

The meaning is that stones are affected and react, while the hearts of these people are not affected and do not react to the command of Allah the Exalted at all. Allah the Exalted has ascended in the explanation of superiority, as if He first explained the superiority of their hearts in hardness over stones that are affected in a way that leads to great benefit (the gushing of rivers), then over stones that are affected in a way that leads to little benefit (the outflowing of water), then over stones that are affected without any benefit. As if He said: The hearts of these people are harder than stones because they are not affected in a way that leads to great benefit, nor even trivial benefit, but rather they are not affected at all.

Many have said the verse is in the manner of tatmim (complementation) rather than taraqqi (ascending order). Its benefit is to encompass all reactions that are contrary to the nature of this substance, which is more eloquent than ascending order.

"And Allah is not unaware of what you do" A threat regarding what has been mentioned, as if it were said: Allah the Exalted is lying in wait for these whose hearts are hardened, guarding their deeds and counting them, so He will recompense them for them in the world and the Hereafter.