Quranic theme
Dark
الظلام
12 verses
When shadows lengthen and the sun is found setting into a muddy spring (18:86), the physical absence of light becomes a canvas for human vulnerability. From the thick layers of a deep, storm-covered sea to faces shadowed by immediate gloom, obscurity operates as both a hiding place and a state of utter deprivation.
The Cover of Night
The physical night offers a cloak that conceals human movement, often signaling a time for urgent escape. Angels commanded Lot to gather his household and leave his city "in the dead of night," warning them never to look back as they fled toward their appointed time in the morning (11:81, 15:65). Yet this same obscurity brings acute vulnerability, prompting the prayer for protection specifically from "the harm in the night when darkness gathers" (113:3). Because night acts as such a heavy, concealing veil, some early people mistakenly assumed its shadows functioned as literal clothing. As al-Qurtubi notes (Tafsir al-Qurtubi, 13/38), the scholar Ibn al-Arabi observed that a few heedless individuals thought praying naked in the dark was acceptable because the night covered them—a stark misunderstanding of physical boundaries. Sometimes, darkness manifests as a terrifying, solid mass; when a mountain was made to loom high over a people "like a shadow," they became convinced it was about to fall crushing down upon them, prompting a divine command to hold fast to what they had been given (7:171).
Faces Darkened by Gloom
Beyond the absence of sunlight, gloom visibly alters human faces. When a man receives news of the birth of a baby girl—a daughter he so readily ascribes to the Lord of Mercy—his face immediately "grows dark and he is filled with gloom" (43:17, 16:58). This darkening reflects an internal ignorance, staining his expression with resentment. In the hereafter, the consequence of worldly evil is painted in even heavier shades. Those who committed evil deeds will find themselves humiliated, their faces completely covered as if by "veils cut from the darkness of the night" (10:27). These are the inmates of the Fire, where they will remain permanently, surrounded by a terror punctuated only by sparks flashing as bright as copper (77:33).
Layers in the Deep
The most severe state of spiritual deprivation is compared to the overwhelming blackness of the ocean. A life devoid of belief is like shadows trapped in a deep sea, buried under wave upon wave, with thick clouds pressing down from above—"layer upon layer of darkness" (24:40). In this suffocating abyss, a person holding out his hand is scarcely able to see it. Contrast this desperate obscurity with the deliberate search for true permanence. When the night first grew dark over Abraham, he looked up to a bright star and momentarily said, "This is my Lord," before watching it set and declaring his firm distaste for things that vanish (6:76).
Interestingly, not all dense shade represents loss or fear. The most lush, well-watered gardens of paradise are described as being of the "deepest green" (55:64), a verdant growth so intensely thick that it appears dark to the eye. But in the realm of the soul, any absence of divine guidance is absolute. The one to whom God gives no light has no light at all (24:40).
Verses
All 12 verses, in mushaf order.
فَلَمَّا جَنَّ عَلَيْهِ ٱلَّيْلُ رَءَا كَوْكَبًا ۖ قَالَ هَـٰذَا رَبِّى ۖ فَلَمَّآ أَفَلَ قَالَ لَآ أُحِبُّ ٱلْـَٔافِلِينَ
When the night grew dark over him he saw a star and said, ‘This is my Lord,’ but when it set, he said, ‘I do not like things that set.’
۞ وَإِذْ نَتَقْنَا ٱلْجَبَلَ فَوْقَهُمْ كَأَنَّهُۥ ظُلَّةٌ وَظَنُّوٓا۟ أَنَّهُۥ وَاقِعٌۢ بِهِمْ خُذُوا۟ مَآ ءَاتَيْنَـٰكُم بِقُوَّةٍ وَٱذْكُرُوا۟ مَا فِيهِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ
When We made the mountain loom high above them like a shadow, and they thought it would fall on them, We said, ‘Hold fast to what We have given you, and remember what it contains, so that you may remain conscious of God.’
وَٱلَّذِينَ كَسَبُوا۟ ٱلسَّيِّـَٔاتِ جَزَآءُ سَيِّئَةٍۭ بِمِثْلِهَا وَتَرْهَقُهُمْ ذِلَّةٌ ۖ مَّا لَهُم مِّنَ ٱللَّهِ مِنْ عَاصِمٍ ۖ كَأَنَّمَآ أُغْشِيَتْ وُجُوهُهُمْ قِطَعًا مِّنَ ٱلَّيْلِ مُظْلِمًا ۚ أُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ أَصْحَـٰبُ ٱلنَّارِ ۖ هُمْ فِيهَا خَـٰلِدُونَ
As for those who did evil, each evil deed will be requited by its equal and humiliation will cover them- no one will protect them against God- as though their faces were covered with veils cut from the darkness of the night. These are the inmates of the Fire, and there they shall remain.
قَالُوا۟ يَـٰلُوطُ إِنَّا رُسُلُ رَبِّكَ لَن يَصِلُوٓا۟ إِلَيْكَ ۖ فَأَسْرِ بِأَهْلِكَ بِقِطْعٍ مِّنَ ٱلَّيْلِ وَلَا يَلْتَفِتْ مِنكُمْ أَحَدٌ إِلَّا ٱمْرَأَتَكَ ۖ إِنَّهُۥ مُصِيبُهَا مَآ أَصَابَهُمْ ۚ إِنَّ مَوْعِدَهُمُ ٱلصُّبْحُ ۚ أَلَيْسَ ٱلصُّبْحُ بِقَرِيبٍ
They [the messengers] said, ‘Lot, we are your Lord’s messengers. They will not reach you. Leave with your household in the dead of night, and let none of you turn back. Only your wife will suffer the fate that befalls the others. Their appointed time is the morning: is the morning not near?’
فَأَسْرِ بِأَهْلِكَ بِقِطْعٍ مِّنَ ٱلَّيْلِ وَٱتَّبِعْ أَدْبَـٰرَهُمْ وَلَا يَلْتَفِتْ مِنكُمْ أَحَدٌ وَٱمْضُوا۟ حَيْثُ تُؤْمَرُونَ
so leave in the dead of the night with your household, and walk behind them. Let none of you look back. Go where you are commanded.’
وَإِذَا بُشِّرَ أَحَدُهُم بِٱلْأُنثَىٰ ظَلَّ وَجْهُهُۥ مُسْوَدًّا وَهُوَ كَظِيمٌ
When one of them is given news of the birth of a baby girl, his face darkens and he is filled with gloom.
حَتَّىٰٓ إِذَا بَلَغَ مَغْرِبَ ٱلشَّمْسِ وَجَدَهَا تَغْرُبُ فِى عَيْنٍ حَمِئَةٍ وَوَجَدَ عِندَهَا قَوْمًا ۗ قُلْنَا يَـٰذَا ٱلْقَرْنَيْنِ إِمَّآ أَن تُعَذِّبَ وَإِمَّآ أَن تَتَّخِذَ فِيهِمْ حُسْنًا
then, when he came to the setting of the sun, he found it [seemed to be] setting into a muddy spring. Nearby he found some people and We said, ‘Dhu ’l-Qarnayn, you may choose [which of them] to punish or show kindness to.’
أَوْ كَظُلُمَـٰتٍ فِى بَحْرٍ لُّجِّىٍّ يَغْشَىٰهُ مَوْجٌ مِّن فَوْقِهِۦ مَوْجٌ مِّن فَوْقِهِۦ سَحَابٌ ۚ ظُلُمَـٰتٌۢ بَعْضُهَا فَوْقَ بَعْضٍ إِذَآ أَخْرَجَ يَدَهُۥ لَمْ يَكَدْ يَرَىٰهَا ۗ وَمَن لَّمْ يَجْعَلِ ٱللَّهُ لَهُۥ نُورًا فَمَا لَهُۥ مِن نُّورٍ
Or like shadows in a deep sea covered by wave upon wave, with clouds above- layer upon layer of darkness- if he holds out his hand, he is scarcely able to see it. The one to whom God gives no light has no light at all.
وَإِذَا بُشِّرَ أَحَدُهُم بِمَا ضَرَبَ لِلرَّحْمَـٰنِ مَثَلًا ظَلَّ وَجْهُهُۥ مُسْوَدًّا وَهُوَ كَظِيمٌ
When one of them is given news of the birth of a daughter, such as he so readily ascribes to the Lord of Mercy, his face grows dark and he is filled with gloom-
مُدْهَآمَّتَانِ
Both of deepest green.
كَأَنَّهُۥ جِمَـٰلَتٌ صُفْرٌ
and as bright as copper.
وَمِن شَرِّ غَاسِقٍ إِذَا وَقَبَ
the harm in the night when darkness gathers,