Quran corpus - Surraiya Encyclopaedia of Quran

Ears can be purposely turned deaf as if heavy load is deposited therein - acoustic impedance;

Allah the Exalted has inserted faculties of learning and acquiring knowledge which Man lacks on birth:

The ascending order of placement of words representing faculties-senses [not organs] might be of interest for scholars and researchers who are interested in examining questions like the encoding, store, retrieval information, development of discrimination abilities, perceptual and conceptual category formation, problem solving, recognition and recall memory, language comprehension, and reasoning about the physical and social worlds, etc.

The first faculty is mentioned by definite Verbal Noun:

followed by a plural Noun:

. The use of this pair of a verbal noun and plural noun signifying two distinct sensory faculties is quite reflective and meaningful. A verbal noun signifies state or an act without time reference. Man is in a state of hearing sounds, voices all the time, whether or not he is wilfully interested in percipient listening of something. Therefore, sounds arriving in brain may remain just as "hearing" of pleasant or annoying noises; or may cause conceptual perception: knowledge when these are "listened". However, the brain does hear and analyze the incoming sound during sleep without person's conscious-voluntary effort.

The perception and meaning signified by Verbal Noun:

as either "hearing sound-noise" or "listening as thought" depicts that the first is just automatic-machine operated function while other is an operation done by someone of free will.

At nine weeks, the embryo's ballooning brain allows it to bend its body, hiccup, and react to loud sounds. At week ten, it moves its arms, "breathes" amniotic fluid in and out, opens its jaw, and stretches. Before the first trimester is over, it yawns, sucks, and swallows, as well as feels and smells. By the end of the second trimester, it can hear; toward the end of pregnancy, it can see. [Fetal Psychology]. In the same order words are mentioned in Qur’ān

The existence of sensory memory was demonstrated in 1960 in an experiment by American psychologist George Sperling. Bringing in and retention of information by the senses is what is known as sensory memory. Ears have Echoic memory.

This experiment only confirmed the characteristic of Ears mentioned in Qur’ān long before:

[فعل مضارع منصوب بأن مضمرة] Verb: Imperfect; third person; singular; feminine; Mood: Subjunctive; [ ضميرمتصل فى محل نصب مفعول به مقدم] Fronted Object Pronoun: Third person; singular; feminine, in accusative state, with prolongation sign; مصدر وَعْىٌ Verbal Noun.

Adjectival Phrase:

Noun: Indefinite; plural; masculine; nominative. (1)9:61(2)69:12=2

{اسم فاعل} Active participle; indefinite; plural; feminine; nominative; مصدر وَعْىٌ Verbal Noun.

Both the nouns are from Root "و ع ى". The basic perception infolded is to "keep or retain".

is a receptacle for retaining things. An ear acts as receptacle for retaining, it has its own memory, retaining place.

The semantic field Hearing - Listening is embedded in Root: س م ع. It signifies: ((هو إيناسُ الشيء بالأُذُن acquaintance about a thing with the help of ears; sensing and perceiving faculty of ears:

Not anything of the shape of an ear is an ear since it cannot facilitate the listening. Idols/statues apparently have ears but:

Verbal information is saved in the memory only when we consciously and attentively listen and comprehend the message. It enables analysis-perception and safe storage. It happens only if the listener has such intention and desire. Therefore, listening is but translating and interpreting the articulated sounds-verbal narration whereby one can answer accordingly. Otherwise it is mere "hearing sound-noise" or a momentary storage in the memory of Ears only to get lost in few seconds

The sculpted statues, whom some people worship, do have an organ resembling the shape of an ear. However, the genuine ear has three parts. The outer ear collects sounds from the outer world and forwards them to the middle ear, which reinforces the sound vibrations reaching it and transmits them to the inner ear. The inner ear then sends them to the brain by turning them into electrical signals according to their intensity and frequency. After visiting several places in the brain, the messages are finally transmitted to the hearing centre where these signals are processed and interpreted, and the process of listening finally takes place.

One of the most surprising things is the speed at which the 20,000 micro-hairs in the channels in the ear react. The middle channel vibrates at 256 times a second. The channel immediately above it vibrates at 512 times a second, and the channel above that, at 1,024 times. The micro-hairs efficiency in analyzing such fast vibrations allows us to distinguish with great sensitivity the sounds reaching the ears. This constitutes one of the most sensitive and rapid reactions in the body.

Even during sleep the ear functions with incredible efficiency. Because the brain can interpret and select signals passed to it by the ear, a man can sleep soundly through noisy traffic and the blaring of a neighbour's television set and then awaken promptly at the gentle urging of a chime alarm clock." (Stevens S.S. [Professor of Psychophysics, Harvard University] & Warshofsky, Fred [science writer], "Life Science Library, Time-Life Books: Alexandria VA, Revised Edition, p.38)

The Grand Qur’ān mentions information about this phenomenon in the Episode of some young Believers/Muslims who had run away from their locality and taken refuge in the Cave.

The object of the transitive verb

is omitted which was made to emerge. [The soundproofing object seems something invisible] However, the perception is quite vivid by the indication of the affected area upon which it emerged, i.e. "upon the Ears of them".

Our faculty to pick up and understand the sounds (Root: ص و ت) and words emitted from the mouth of a person is dependent upon detecting sound waves.

Sound is a series of vibrations moving as waves through air or other gases, liquids, or solids. Detection of these vibrations, or sound waves, is called hearing. After being collected by the auricles, sound waves pass through the outer auditory canal to the eardrum, causing it to vibrate. The vibrations of the eardrum are then transmitted through the ossicles, the chain of bones in the middle ear. As the vibrations pass from the relatively large area of the eardrum through the chain of bones, which have a smaller area, their force is concentrated. This concentration amplifies, or increases, the sound.

It is thus evident that some sort of barrier (say vacuum) had been created around their ears which suspended their hearing faculty.

The physical state of those young men is depicted/imaged in these picturesque words:

Allah the Exalted is always mindful of the wellbeing of people. Medical experts might appreciate the consequence if their sides were not kept turning during long period of their remaining in such deep sleep.

Listening could become meaningful only when the stated thing has been interpreted and stored in the memory. About the Ears, Grand Qur’ān has also given this information:

: The second object of preceding verb is from Root: و ق ر : it leads to the perception of load - weight within a thing; it signifies load within ears.

Sounds reaching the tympanic membrane are in part reflected and in part absorbed. Only absorbed sound sets the membrane in motion. The tendency of the ear to oppose the passage of sound is called acoustic impedance. The magnitude of the impedance depends on the mass and stiffness of the membrane and the ossicular chain and on the frictional resistance they offer.
Hearing loss is due to a condition called otosclerosis or otospongiosis, in which an abnormal amount of spongy bone is deposited between the stapes and the oval window. As a result, the stapes becomes immobilized and can no longer transmit sensations to the inner ear.

We have seen the descriptions in the Grand Qur’ān, made more than 1400 years back, about the Ears exactly corresponding to our knowledge in the 21st century. Should we not respond to this call:

Know the certain fact: We have simplified-rendered the Grand Qur’ān easy, open and facilitative for reading, comprehension and saving in memory to recall, take lesson and to relate.
Thereat, is there one who consciously and purposely saves it in memory, comprehends and recalls to mention-takes lesson and admonition? [54:17]

However, we should not expect that all will respond, because Grand Qur’ān tells us:

It is a fact that only such people reasonably-rationally answer-respond who listen comprehensibly.

It is a simple sentence understandable by everyone. But for people, like learned Paul Broca, an anatomist celebrated for his discovery of the speech production centre of the brain, and for acousticians and speech experts, these four words embed much more information which is neither portrayed in any translation nor is explained in exegeses. The verb: in common parlance and understanding denotes answering, either affirmatively or negatively. It stems from Root: ج و ب which signifies to cut a portion from the whole of something;; to make hole or tore something; perforate, pierce, carve or to excavate. And Form-X of verbs adds reflexive causative meanings of self assigning a task.

What happens when we wish to answer a question or what is done by Google and computer when we post a question to it? We cut relevant portion from our memory and Google and Computer cuts it from its memory to display it on screen.

When we cut relevant part from memory which we intend to express as answer, it is also firstly displayed on an invisible screen which is our rib cage. and a system in it instantly becomes operative to transform it into sound by vocal cords to make it reach our mouth from where we emit it syllable by syllable for the auditory faculty of questioner.

In the same sentence the answering capability is restricted only to those who listen. Verbal information is saved in the memory only when we consciously and attentively listen and comprehend the message. It enables analysis-perception and safe storage. It happens only if the listener has such intention and desire. Therefore, listening is but translating and interpreting the articulated sounds-verbal narration whereby one can answer accordingly. Otherwise it is mere "hearing sound-noise" or a momentary storage in the memory of Ears only to get lost in few seconds. When he had stored nothing about the stated point, the question of cutting does not arise whereby he cannot answer affirmatively or negatively.

It is thus evident that what seemed a simple statement it is in fact a picturesque portrayal of a scientific phenomenon.

We have further noted the mention of "hearts" that plays a role in such listening which yields understanding, comprehension and knowledge. Lack of desire in hearts and their volitional inattentiveness results in playful hearing:

The subjection to their accountability has come nearer in time for the people. Despite its nearing, they are yet in heedlessness; they are deliberately overlooking - disregarding. [21:01]
They do not listen except hearing in a playful mood whatever warning - information comes to their notice anew quoted from the Reminder- Admonishment: Grand Qur'aan received from their Sustainer Lord. [21:02]
Their hearts are distracted and preoccupied in other trifle matters and thoughts. [Refer 21:03]

Resultantly, the sounds of speech which their ears had collected and retained for few seconds disintegrated from the Echoic memory. Therefore, only those can enable their selves to respond and answer the question who consciously listen.

The tympanic membrane of the Ears of a man in such state will not absorb the sound waves directed by his outer Ears and instead will reflect. Resultantly the membrane will not set in motion/vibration to transmit it onwards for ultimate analysis and storage in the memory. Such man’s depiction:

Know it; Some of them pretend attentively listening to you the Messenger [Sal'lallaa'hoalaih'wa'salam]
Until immediately after they had departed from your place;
They asked with wrinkled nose those bestowed with knowledge, "What has he said?"
They are the people Allah the Exalted has let the veil persist upon their hearts;
And they have consciously pursued their lusts and conjectures. [47:16]