َ أَلَمْ يَأْنِ لِلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا أَنْ تَخْشَعَ قُلُوبُهُمْ لِذِكْرِ اللَّهِ وَمَا نَزَلَ مِنَ الْحَقِّ وَلَا يَكُونُوا كَالَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْكِتَابَ مِنْ قَبْلُ فَطَالَ عَلَيْهِمُ الْأَمَدُ فَقَسَتْ قُلُوبُهُمْ وَكَثِيرٌ مِنْهُمْ فَاسِقُونَ ﴿۱۶﴾ اعْلَمُوا أَنَّ اللَّهَ يُحْيِي الْأَرْضَ بَعْدَ مَوْتِهَا قَدْ بَيَّنَّا لَكُمُ الْآيَاتِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَعْقِلُونَ ﴿۱۷﴾

﴾16﴿ Alam ya'ni lil lazeena aamanooo an takhsha'a quloobuhum lizikril laahi wa maa nazala minal haqqi wa laa yakoonoo kallazeena ootul Kitaaba min qablu fataala 'alaihimul amadu faqasat quloobuhum wa kaseerum minhum faasiqoon
﴾17﴿ I'lamooo annal laaha yuhyil arda ba'da mawtihaa; qad baiyannaa lakumul Aayaati la'allakum ta'qiloon

﴾16﴿ Has the time not come for the believers that their hearts should humble themselves to the remembrance of Allah and to what has been revealed of the truth? And that they should not be like those who were given the Scripture before, but a long period passed over them, so their hearts became hardened, and many of them are defiantly disobedient
﴾17﴿ Know that indeed, Allah revives the earth after its barrenness. Certainly, We have made the signs clear for you so that you may use reason

[16] This verse is a rebuke directed at the hypocrites after the previous warning, but it also serves as a broader admonition.
(Lilladhīna āmanū)—refers to those who verbally claim faith but do not spend in the path of Allah.
It also includes those believers who are involved in sins and show negligence in repenting or in listening attentively to the Qur’an.
(An takhshaʿa qulūbuhum)—means: that their hearts should be humbled before the Noble Qur’an, becoming tranquil, increasing in faith, developing fear and softness, leading to tears and full submission in the limbs—because when the heart is humble, the rest of the body follows in humility.
Ibn Kathīr says that this verse forbids the believers from resembling the People of the Book—when time passed over them, they altered the Book of Allah, chased worldly gains through it, abandoned it behind their backs, followed conflicting opinions and interpretations, and began blindly imitating others.
They started considering scholars and spiritual leaders as their lords.
As a result, their hearts became hard.
So, they no longer accepted advice, nor were their hearts moved by Allah’s promises and warnings.
(Wa kathīrun minhum fāsiqūn)—meaning that the hardening of the heart became widespread among them.
However, a few still repented or refrained from disbelief, while many fell into outright denial—ultimately rejecting the Qur’an and the final Messenger.
Thus, in this context, fisq refers to kufr (disbelief).
[17] This verse contains encouragement toward the Qur’an through the method of analogy.
Just as Allah the Exalted brings life and freshness to dry, barren land through rain, likewise, He softens hard hearts with the Qur’an—when He wills to guide them.
The meaning of (al-āyāt) here is the Qur’an itself.