﴿ 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!"”

(Of them are some who listen unto thee�) [6:25]. Abu Salih reported that Ibn �Abbas said: �Abu Sufyan ibn Harb, al-Walid ibn al-Mughirah, al-Nadr ibn al-Harith, �Utbah and Shaybah the sons of Rabi�ah and Umayyah and Ubayy the sons of Khalaf listened to the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, [reciting the Qur�an], and so they asked al-Nadr: �O Abu Qutaylah, what does Muhammad (s)ay?� He said: �By Him who has made it [the Ka�bah ] His House, I do not know what he is saying, except that I see his lips moving, muttering something. But what he says is nothing but the fables of the people of old, like the stories I used to relate to you regarding bygone nations�. Al-Nadr used to talk abundantly about bygone nations. He used to relate this to the Quraysh who listened to what he had to say. Then, Allah, exalted is He, revealed this verse�.