The earth and seas
Darkness upon darkness in the deep sea
A parable describes a deep sea where darkness is layered so thickly that a person can hardly see their own hand. The deep ocean really is that dark. Sunlight fades with depth, and below about 1,000 metres none arrives at all.
- Language
- Science
- History
- Honesty
1The verse
Darknesses within a deep sea (bahr lujjiy), covered by waves upon waves, then clouds, "darknesses, some of them upon others", so that one can hardly see one's own hand.
أَوۡ كَظُلُمَٰتࣲ فِي بَحۡرࣲ لُّجِّيࣲّ يَغۡشَىٰهُ مَوۡجࣱ مِّن فَوۡقِهِۦ مَوۡجࣱ مِّن فَوۡقِهِۦ سَحَابࣱۚ ظُلُمَٰتُۢ بَعۡضُهَا فَوۡقَ بَعۡضٍ إِذَآ أَخۡرَجَ يَدَهُۥ لَمۡ يَكَدۡ يَرَىٰهَاۗ وَمَن لَّمۡ يَجۡعَلِ ٱللَّهُ لَهُۥ نُورࣰ ا فَمَا لَهُۥ مِن نُّورٍ ٤٠
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
Explains the image as layers of darkness in the depth of the ocean, with waves above it and clouds above them.
Or their deeds are like the many darkness in the depth of the ocean, over which is a wave, over which is another wave, over which is a cloud covering the navigating stars. Compounded layers of darkness, one above the other; if the one that finds himself among such darkness were to remove his hand in front of him, he would barely see it. Likewise is a disbeliever: the darkness of ignorance, doubt, confusion and his heart being sealed up, gather up on him. Whoever Allah does not grant guidance from error to and knowledge of the Book, will never find any other guidance or any other book from which he can seek enlightenment.
Explains lujjiy as a sea whose bottom is far away, and lists the darkness of the deep sea itself, then of the waves, the clouds and the night.
والمثل الثاني، لبطلان أعمال الكفار { كَظُلُمَاتٍ فِي بَحْرٍ لُجِّيٍّ } بعيد قعره، طويل مداه { يَغْشَاهُ مَوْجٌ مِنْ فَوْقِهِ مَوْجٌ مِنْ فَوْقِهِ سَحَابٌ ظُلُمَاتٌ بَعْضُهَا فَوْقَ بَعْضٍ } ظلمة البحر اللجي، ثم فوقه ظلمة الأمواج المتراكمة، ثم فوق ذلك، ظلمة السحب المدلهمة، ثم فوق ذلك ظلمة الليل البهيم، فاشتدت الظلمة جدا، بحيث أن الكائن في تلك الحال { إِذَا أَخْرَجَ يَدَهُ لَمْ يَكَدْ يَرَاهَا } مع قربها إليه، فكيف بغيرها، كذلك الكفار، تراكمت على قلوبهم الظلمات، ظلمة الطبيعة، التي لا خير فيها، وفوقها ظلمة الكفر، وفوق ذلك، ظلمة الجهل، وفوق ذلك، ظلمة الأعمال الصادرة عما ذكر، فبقوا في الظلمة متحيرين، وفي غمرتهم يعمهون، وعن الصراط المستقيم مدبرين، وفي طرق الغي والضلال يترددون، وهذا لأن الله تعالى خذلهم، فلم يعطهم من نوره، { وَمَنْ لَمْ يَجْعَلِ اللَّهُ لَهُ نُورًا فَمَا لَهُ مِنْ نُورٍ } لأن نفسه ظالمة جاهلة، فليس فيها من الخير والنور، إلا ما أعطاها مولاها، ومنحها ربها. يحتمل أن هذين المثالين، لأعمال جميع الكفار، كل منهما، منطبق عليها، وعددهما لتعدد الأوصاف، ويحتمل أن كل مثال، لطائفة وفرقة. فالأول، للمتبوعين، والثاني، للتابعين، والله أعلم.
2What classical scholars understood
- As-Sa'di
A lujjiy sea is one "whose bottom is far and whose extent is long". He lists the layers as the darkness of the deep sea itself, then the piled-up waves, then the clouds, then the night, so that the darkness becomes extreme.
- Ibn Kathir
Describes it as a vast, deep sea covered by waves topped by waves and dark clouds, so dark that a man can hardly see his own hand. It is a parable for the heart of a blind follower of disbelief.
- Al-Mukhtasar fi Tafsir al-Quran
"The many darkness in the depth of the ocean", with wave over wave and cloud above, compounded layers of darkness one above another.
3What science has established
Sunlight fades with depth. There is rarely significant light below about 200 m, the water between 200 m and 1,000 m is a dim "twilight zone", and below 1,000 m no light from the surface arrives at all.
- How far does light travel in the ocean? · NOAA Ocean Exploration, 2021
- How far does light travel in the ocean? · NOAA National Ocean Service
Water removes light in stages. Red is filtered out quickly as depth increases, and blue penetrates farthest before it too disappears.
- Why are so many deep-sea animals red in color? · NOAA Ocean Exploration, 2020
4What was known in the 7th century
The Arabs of the Hijaz were not a deep-sea people, and the Prophet ﷺ is not known to have sailed. Breath-hold divers, such as the pearl divers of the Gulf, worked in the upper tens of metres, where daylight still reaches. Anyone who dived could notice that water grows darker with depth. But no human saw the lightless depths below a few hundred metres until 20th-century submersibles.
Why it is remarkable
The parable does not place its darkness on land or on a dark night alone. It places it "in" a deep sea, beneath layers of waves, and calls it darkness upon darkness, too thick to see one's own hand. That is an accurate picture of the ocean's deep water, which was not directly observable at the time.