Tafsir of Al-Mulk 67:10

And they also said, acknowledging that they were not among those who hear or reason, when the keepers—in the midst of rebuking them—said to them, "Did you not hear the verses of your Lord and did you not reason their meanings?" They answered them saying, "Had we been listening to speech or reasoning something, we would not have been among the companions of the Blaze," meaning, among their number and group.

Regarding who is meant by them, it is said they are the devils, due to His saying, "And We have prepared for them the punishment of the Blaze." It is also said they are the disbelievers in general. The claim that the preparation of the Blaze is exclusive to devils is rejected, due to His saying, "Indeed, We have prepared for the disbelievers chains and shackles and a Blaze," and the verse does not indicate exclusivity—though there is a subtlety in this which you will perhaps recognize soon, God willing, so do not be heedless.

Their denial of hearing and reason is because they treat the capacity they possess, due to their failure to benefit from it, as if it were non-existent. In this, while considering the universality of what is heard and reasoned, there is a clear hyperbole. Some eminent scholars considered them specific, saying: "Had we been listening to the speech of the warner and accepting it entirely without debate or investigation, relying on what appeared of his truthfulness through miracles, or had we been reasoning, meaning reflecting on his wisdom and meanings as the insightful reflect, we would not have been..." and so on.

In this, there is an indication that hearing and reason here imply acceptance and reflection. The "or" is for alternative, as the absence of either is sufficient for their salvation from the Blaze, or it is for classification, which does not negate their combination. It is said that it refers to the two categories of faith: imitative and investigative, or to devotional rulings and others.

The verse has been used as evidence—as Ibn al-Sam‘ani mentioned in al-Qawati‘—by those who advocate for the authority of reason. You know that the furthest it suggests is that reason guides to the correct beliefs through which one is saved from the Blaze, but that it indicates reason is a "legislator" (in the sense used by the Mu‘tazila) is not true.

It has also been used as evidence—as transmitted from Ibn al-Munayyir—that hearing is superior to sight. Among the strange claims is that of some who use it as evidence that a disbeliever should not be called "rational."