[2:7] God has set a seal on their hearts, and on their hearing; and on their eyes is a covering; and for them will be a mighty chastisement.
The seal on something prevents anything from entering it or coming out. Similarly, the Real (s) has determined that the ignorance and error in the hearts of His enemies will not be removed, nor will any insight or guidance enter into them. There is a covering of forsakenness over the hearing of their hearts. The faculties of hearing have been blocked from receiving the speech of the Real with respect to belief, so the whisperings of Satan and the murmurings (hawājis) of their lower selves distract [the heart] from listening to the intuitions (khawā?ir) that come from the Real. As for the elect, the intuitions that come from different kinds of knowledge (ʿulūm) and preoccupation with the results to questions in their hearts distract their hearts from the secrets of the Real coming to them without intermediary. That is only for the elect of the elect. For this reason the Messenger of God (ṣ) said, 'There have been inspired men (muḥaddatḥūn) in communities and if there is any in my community, it is ʿUmar'. This inspired one is singled out from the elect just as the possessor of different types of knowledge is singled out from among ordinary people. There is a covering over the eyes of outsiders so they will not see either by the 'sight' (baṣar) of different kinds of knowledge or by the insight (baṣīra) of realities. And for them will be a mighty chastisement because of their supposing that they have something and their forgetfulness of what they have been given in tribulation in the present and the end, which is their separation (furqa) in the here and now, and their burning (ḥurqa) in what is to come.