قُلْ أَرَءَيْتُمْ إِنْ أَخَذَ ٱللَّهُ سَمْعَكُمْ وَأَبْصَٰرَكُمْ وَخَتَمَ عَلَىٰ قُلُوبِكُم مَّنْ إِلَٰهٌ غَيْرُ ٱللَّهِ يَأْتِيكُم بِهِ
"Say: 'If God took away your hearing and your sight and set a seal upon your hearts, what god other than God could bring it back to you?'"
The triad of ear, eye and heart was treated in seven places in the index (al-Aḥqāf 46/26, al-Jāthiya 45/23, Fuṣṣilat 41/20, al-Sajda 32/9, al-Muʾminūn 23/78, al-Isrāʾ 17/36, al-Aʿrāf 7/179). Al-Anʿām is the eighth link.
| Place | The state of the triad |
|---|---|
| al-Aḥqāf 46/26 | Given, and of no avail |
| Fuṣṣilat 41/20 | Bearing witness |
| al-Sajda 32/9 · al-Muʾminūn 23/78 | The giving, and the absence of thanks |
| al-Isrāʾ 17/36 | Responsibility |
| al-Anʿām 6/46 | The possibility of its being taken away |
I record this as my own reading: al-Anʿām uses the same triad by way of a supposition of loss — that is, that there is no guarantee that what is in hand will stay in hand.
وَمَا نُرْسِلُ ٱلْمُرْسَلِينَ إِلَّا مُبَشِّرِينَ وَمُنذِرِينَ (48) — the same pair was treated at al-Furqān 25/56; I rely on that treatment.