ﱽ ﱾ ﱿ ﲀ ﲁ ﲂ ﲃ ﲄ ﲅ ﲆ ﲇ ﲈ ﲉ ﲊ ﲋ ﲌ ﲍ ﲎ ﲏ ﲐ ﲑ ﲒ ﲓ ﲔ ﲕ ﲖ ﲗ ﲘ ﲙ ﲚ ﲛ ﲜ ﲝ ﲞ ﲟ
Or [they are] like darknesses within an unfathomable sea which is covered by waves, upon which are waves, over which are clouds - darknesses, some of them upon others. When one puts out his hand [therein], he can hardly see it. And he to whom Allah has not granted light - for him there is no light.
Tafsir
Verse range: 24:40
"Lujji" (لجي): Deep, with abundant water. It is attributed to the lujj, which is the main body of the sea.
Regarding the pronoun in "He brings it out" (أخرجها), the phrase "he could hardly see it" (لم يكد يراها) is an exaggeration of "he did not see it." It means: he did not even come close to seeing it, let alone actually seeing it. Similar to this is the saying of Dhu al-Rummah:
If distance changes those who love, The lingering passion for Mayya could hardly depart.
Meaning: It did not even come close to departing, so how could it actually depart?
He likened their deeds, firstly, in the futility of their benefit and the presence of their harm, to a mirage that the one deceived by it from afar finds to be nothing. It was not enough for him to suffer disappointment and grief by finding nothing—like any other mirage—but he even found the guards of Hell (Zabaniyah) at that spot, dragging him toward the Fire, and he could not quench his thirst with water.
Secondly, he likened them in their darkness and blackness—due to their being false—and in their lack of the light of Truth, to accumulated darknesses: from the depths of the sea, the waves, and the clouds.
Then He said: "And he for whom Allah has not appointed light, for him there is no light." This statement follows the path of metonymy (kinayat), because divine graces (altaf) only follow faith and action, or are awaited. Do you not see His saying: "And those who strive for Us - We will surely guide them to Our ways" (Al-Ankabut: 69), and His saying: "And Allah sends astray the wrongdoers" (Ibrahim: 27)?
It was recited as sahabun zulumatin (سحاب ظلمات) with the genitive construction, and as sahabun zulumatin (سحابٌ ظلماتٍ) with sahab in the nominative case (with tanwin) and zulumatin in the genitive case, as a substitute for the first zulumatin.
"Do you not see that Allah is glorified by all who are in the heavens and the earth, and the birds with wings outspread? Each has known its prayer and its glorification, and Allah is Knowing of what they do. And to Allah belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth, and to Allah is the destination."
