heaviness in the ears
فِىٓ ءَاذَانِهِمْ وَقْرًا
fī ādhānihim waqran — in their ears a heaviness
Across six verses, a weight in the ears recurs as a fixed image of blocked hearing, paired in four verses with coverings on the hearts, and voiced in one of them by the speakers themselves as their own stated condition.
The expression joins the noun ādhān (ears) with waqar (heaviness, weight). In the verses given it appears in two grammatical shapes: as a prepositional phrase with the noun in the accusative (6:25, 17:46, 18:57), and as a nominal clause with the noun in the nominative (41:5, 41:44). In 6:25, 17:46 and 18:57 the phrase is embedded in an identical larger statement: "We have placed upon their hearts coverings so that they do not comprehend it, and in their ears a heaviness" — the Arabic of these clauses is identical in all three, with only the shift from wa-jaʿalnā (6:25, 17:46) to innā jaʿalnā (18:57). In each of these three the ear-heaviness stands as the counterpart of the heart-covering: two organs of reception, each blocked. 31:7 varies the construction: the singular addressee is described "as though there were a weight in his ears" (dual udhunayhi with 3MS pronoun), a simile explaining his turning away "as though he had not heard them". In 41:5 the phrase is put in the mouths of the speakers themselves: "in our ears is heaviness" (1P pronoun), listed by them alongside hearts in coverings and a barrier. 41:44 states it as a standing condition of "those who do not attain faith", paired with blindness upon them. Read together, the occurrences show the phrase functioning as a fixed figure for hearing that does not reach comprehension, whether attributed by the speaker (6:25, 17:46, 18:57, 41:44), imagined as simile (31:7), or claimed by the addressees as their own state (41:5).
Where it occurs
- 6:25 Paired with coverings on the hearts as what keeps the listener from comprehending what he hears attentively.
- 17:46 Paired with the same heart-coverings; the heaviness precedes the description of turning away when the Lord alone is mentioned.
- 18:57 Paired with the same heart-coverings, following the question about one who turned away from the signs of his Lord.
- 31:7 Used as a simile for one who turns away as though he had not heard the recited signs.
- 41:5 Voiced by the speakers themselves, first person, alongside their claim of hearts in coverings and a barrier.
- 41:44 Stated as the condition of those who do not attain faith, paired with blindness upon them.
All Qur'anic expressions