أَمْ تَحْسَبُ أَنَّ أَكْثَرَهُمْ يَسْمَعُونَ أَوْ يَعْقِلُونَ ۚ إِنْ هُمْ إِلَّا كَٱلْأَنْعَٰمِ ۖ بَلْ هُمْ أَضَلُّ سَبِيلًا
7:180.
Commentary:
The verse purports to say that when in spite of his being endowed with the faculties of intellect and hearing which should help him to recognize and realize truth, man refuses to make proper use of these God-given faculties to see light, and instead chooses to grope in darkness, he comes down to the level of cattle, even lower than that, because cattle are not given the gift of discretion and discrimination while man is.
The verse also implies an allusion to the great reformation brought about by the Holy Prophet in the lives of his people. They were no better than animals and beasts. They worshipped images and held foolish and superstitious ideas. They gambled and drank and indulged in extreme sexual excesses and depleted and destroyed their manhood by fighting for generations about trivialities. They had no idea of moral virtues or at best had a very low concept of them and did not know economics or statecraft. Such were the people among whom the Holy Prophet Muhammad was raised and history bears witness to the fact that he wrought a wonderful reformation among them. From the dregs of humanity they rose to be its cream.
7:180.
It is his own desires, fancies and preconceived ideas, more than anything else, that man generally adores and it is these that stand in the way of his accepting the truth. Intellectually man may have advanced far enough so as not to bow before stones and stars, but he has not outgrown the worship of his false ideals, prejudices and preconceived ideas. It is these idols that lie enthroned in his heart whose worship is condemned here. When instead of making use of his God-given faculties of intellect and hearing, which should help man to recognise and realize truth, he chooses to grope in darkness, he comes down to the level of cattle, even lower than that, because cattle are not given the gift of discretion and discrimination while man is.