﴿ وَمِنْهُم مَّن يَسْتَمِعُ إِلَيْكَ ۖ وَجَعَلْنَا عَلَىٰ قُلُوبِهِمْ أَكِنَّةً أَن يَفْقَهُوهُ وَفِىٓ ءَاذَانِهِمْ وَقْرًۭا ۚ وَإِن يَرَوْا۟ كُلَّ ءَايَةٍۢ لَّا يُؤْمِنُوا۟ بِهَا ۚ حَتَّىٰٓ إِذَا جَآءُوكَ يُجَٰدِلُونَكَ يَقُولُ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوٓا۟ إِنْ هَٰذَآ إِلَّآ أَسَٰطِيرُ ٱلْأَوَّلِينَ ﴾

“And there are among them such as [seem to] listen to thee [O Prophet]: but over their hearts We have laid veils which prevent them from grasping the truth, and into their ears, deafness. And were they to see every sign [of the truth], they would still not believe in it-so much so that when they come unto thee to contend with thee, those who are bent on denying the truth say, "This is nothing but fables of ancient times!"”

And there are some of them who listen to you when you recite and We have placed veils covers upon their hearts so that they do not understand it so that they do not comprehend the Qur’ān; and in their ears a heaviness a deafness so that they do not hear it with a willingness to accept it. And if they were to see every sign they would not believe in it so that when they come to you to argue with you the disbelievers say ‘This Qur’ān is nothing but the fables the lies of the ancients’ similar to their jokes and strange tales asātīr ‘fables’ is the plural of ustūra.