Al-Zulumat
Definition
Al-zulumat — layers of darkness — describes the extraordinary conditions from which Yunus called upon Allah: the darkness of the whale's belly, the darkness of the depth of the sea, and the darkness of the night above. These three layers of darkness, stacked upon one another, create a condition of total sensory deprivation and physical helplessness that Ibn Kathir presents as the context that makes Yunus's du'a so powerful: when all human resources are gone, when the body is utterly trapped and the mind has no path of escape, the heart has nothing left to turn to except God. The Prophet ﷺ said that no Muslim who calls upon Allah with Yunus's words — La ilaha illa anta, subhanaka, inni kuntu mina al-zalimin — except that Allah responds.
As understood in the classical tradition of Ibn Kathir and the scholars of his school.
Appears in
1 book in the library
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