Al-Anbya · Makki · ayah 87 of 112

Al-Anbya 21:87

وَذَا ٱلنُّونِ إِذ ذَّهَبَ مُغَـٰضِبًا فَظَنَّ أَن لَّن نَّقْدِرَ عَلَيْهِ فَنَادَىٰ فِى ٱلظُّلُمَـٰتِ أَن لَّآ إِلَـٰهَ إِلَّآ أَنتَ سُبْحَـٰنَكَ إِنِّى كُنتُ مِنَ ٱلظَّـٰلِمِينَ

“And [mention] the man of the fish [i.e., Jonah], when he went off in anger[899] and thought that We would not decree [anything] upon him.[900] And he called out within the darknesses,[901] "There is no deity except You; exalted are You. Indeed, I have been of the wrongdoers."”

Saheeh International

Essence

Three darknesses, one whisper: there is no god but You, You are above all blame, and I was the one in the wrong.

A reflection

Heard through three darknesses

Fa-nādā fī al-ẓulumāt: so he called out in the darknesses. The word is plural, and the commentators count them. The darkness of the night. The darkness of the sea. The darkness of the whale's belly. Several early authorities say exactly this. One adds a further report: that the whale that swallowed him was itself swallowed by a larger one. One commentator suggests the plural may simply mean darkness piled upon darkness, thick beyond describing.

Hold that picture. A man inside a living creature, inside deep water, inside night. No light reaches him. No one on earth knows where he is. He cannot shout loud enough to reach the surface. And he speaks.

Picture a cave diver exploring a flooded passage deep underground. Her torch fails. Her backup torch fails. She is in water, in rock, in absolute black, a long way from the entrance. She cannot see her own hand on the guideline. In that moment no rescue team on earth could find her. Everything she has ever achieved, every qualification and record, is suddenly worth nothing at all.

That is where the ego is finally honest about its size. In daylight we believe we are capable, connected, in control. Three layers of darkness strip all of that away.

And the ayah's answer to that darkness is not a rope or a light. It is that a whisper from inside a whale was heard. The next ayah begins: fa-stajabnā lahu, so We answered him. No darkness is thick enough to keep a word from Him.

A sceptic may ask whether Allah needs us reduced to that state before He will listen. He does not. He is free of all need. He hears the whisper in daylight just as well. But we often only find our true voice when everything else has gone dark. That is why the darkness, for Yunus, became the place of his best prayer.

The full entry has 6 more reflections, questions to sit with, and "Live it today" - with the words, the roots and the tafsir alongside. Free, no account, works offline.