Exegesis of the saying of Allah the Exalted: << Or like darknesses in a deep sea, over which is a wave, over which is a wave, over which is a cloud: darknesses, some of them above others. When he puts out his hand, he can hardly see it

Or, here, the particle "aw" (or) is not for doubt, without a doubt. Why? Because Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, is free from doubt. Doubt only arises from the deficiency of a person's knowledge or the deficiency of the doubter's knowledge. As for Allah, Mighty and Majestic, His knowledge is vast, meaning it is impossible for Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, to say regarding those who disbelieved, "Their deeds are like this or like that," in the sense of doubt, as you might say, for example, "I saw this thing and it resembles such and such or such and such." This cannot be attributed to Allah, Mighty and Majestic. Therefore, "aw" is for variation in His statement "or like darknesses," meaning their deeds are like darknesses, and so on.
or those who disbelieved, their evil deeds

like darknesses within an unfathomable sea

كظلمات في بحر لجي

[An-Nur 24:40]

deep, covered by waves, above which are waves, above which are clouds, that is, dark clouds. These

darknesses, some of them upon others

ظلمات بعضها فوق بعض

[An-Nur 24:40]

are the darkness of the sea, the darkness of the first wave, the darkness of the second wave, and the darkness of the clouds: four darks. If the one looking were to put his hand out in these darks, he would hardly see it, that is, he would not come close to seeing it. And whoever Allah does not give light to, he has no light, that is, whoever Allah does not guide, he does not find guidance.
This is the second category of disbelievers. The first is the state of the striving disbeliever who thinks his deed benefits him. This second one is the state of the imitator who does not know; he thinks he is walking with the scholar among the disbelievers, and he does not know. The sea is known, and "deep" means profound. The deeper the sea, the more severe its darkness. This is also covered by a wave; "covered" means it covers this disbeliever with a wave, over which is a wave, also high waves, over which is a cloud. Now, over which is a wave? Who is the second wave above the first?
The student: ...
The Shaykh : At the sea? No, I mean its height, because in reality it will be darker the higher the wave is above it.
The student: ...
The Shaykh : Where does this come from?
The student: From the cloud.

The Shaykh : The cloud is above. No, I mean a wave over which is a wave.
The student: ...
The Shaykh : Yes, waves. But is the second wave the barrier? And what distinguishes it from the first wave?
The student: ...

The Shaykh : This is one thing. It can be said that they meet in direction, meaning one comes from here and the second, higher than it, comes from another direction so that the height of this one over that one becomes clear. Or they are successive waves, meaning for example a wave is coming and behind it is another wave higher than it, so when it catches up, it becomes a wave over which is a wave. As for a single wave, it is not possible for parts of it to overtake each other. And one who has witnessed the sea finds the matter to be so: you find successive waves. Yes, sometimes when the air reflects, they meet, and sometimes they succeed one another. But these successive ones, you find, Glorified is the Great Allah, like stairs, some above others. This is what Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, used as an example.
And the cloud, in reality, has levels in the sky; it is not, as we think, in one layer. No, it is in layers that are very far apart. And a person knows this if he rides in an airplane; he finds sometimes a cloud between him and the airplane from below, just as there is between the cloud and the earth, and a cloud above it, and between it and him, just as there is between the airplane and the earth, and he is between them. This is a known and observed thing. So it appears, and Allah knows best, that His saying "over which is a cloud" is like His saying "over which is a wave," meaning that the cloud is almost touching these waves. Yes, and from it is the mist; there is no doubt that it comes out from the surface of the sea.
The student: ...

The Shaykh : Yes, it is possible, whether it is close or not.
The student: ...
The Shaykh : There is no doubt, but which is more severe? If it is close, it is more severe. And it is possible that "cloud" is intended to include mist, because the reality of the matter is that mist is a cloud that drags along the ground. So when that becomes clear, the darkness becomes very clear due to its multitude: darknesses, some of them above others. The exaggeration in this example means that it would have been sufficient to say "over which is a cloud," but in order to exaggerate it in the soul and indicate its greatness, He said "darknesses, some of them above others." Then He gave an example and said, "When he puts out his hand, he can hardly see it." What is the closest thing to you? The hand is the closest thing to you among the movable limbs that you can see. It can be put out, and it can not be put out. If you put out your hand, he can hardly see it. And what is your opinion? Does "he can hardly see it" mean he sees it with difficulty, or he does not see it?
The student: ...

The Shaykh : He does not see it. Now, Did they slaughter it or not?
The student: ...
The Shaykh : They slaughtered it. Now.
The student: He sees it with difficulty.

The Shaykh : He sees it with difficulty. The grammarians say approximately that "kadda" (to be on the verge of) is negation when affirmed and affirmation when negated. So if you say "I did not almost do it," it means you did it, but after a delay. And "he can hardly see it," according to this rule, means he saw it, but after a delay in seeing and with difficulty. But it appears, as others among the grammarians said, that "kadda" is like other things: its negation is negation and its affirmation is affirmation. Yes, but it means approaching. So if you say "I almost did it," it means you approached doing it. Did you do it or not? You did not do it, but you approached it. So did it affirm or negate now? It affirmed the approaching, but we know the non-occurrence of the action from the approaching. Now, meaning he did not come close to seeing it, as the exegete said. So if he does not come close to seeing it, the non-occurrence of seeing is even more certain and safer. And as for His saying, Glorified and Exalted is He: This, if not for their saying "they slaughtered it," the verse would not have indicated that they slaughtered it. But the meaning is that they slaughtered it after they were far from slaughtering and did not intend it, nor did they intend to comply. Rather, they said to their prophet, "Do you take us in fun?" After this distance from the action, and after they were answered in their requests, they slaughtered it. Do you understand now? So the verse remains as it is. And "kadda" is like other verbs: its negation is negation and its affirmation is affirmation. But because it indicates nearness, when a man says "I almost did it," it means he did not do it, because the word "approached the action" means "and I did not do it." "I did not almost do it," if nothing precedes indicating the action, then it is certain he did not do it. Like the saying of 'Umar: "I did not almost pray 'Asr until the sun almost set" meaning he did not approach the prayer of 'Asr. Did he pray it or not? He did not pray it. "I did not almost pray 'Asr until the sun almost set" meaning he did not approach the prayer of 'Asr until the sun approached setting. So when the sun approached setting, he approached the prayer of 'Asr. He did not pray except after the setting with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). But it seems that at first he did not... the prayer did not prepare for him to approach the prayer, let alone pray it, because the disbelievers occupied him until near the setting of the sun. So he did not approach praying. And approaching the prayer, my brothers, is preparing for it. He said, "I did not prepare, nor was there preparation for the prayer, until the sun approached setting." And for this reason, he prayed the prayer of 'Asr with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) after the setting of the sun. So the result is that the correct view is contrary to what some grammarians said, that "kadda" is negation when affirmed and affirmation when negated. Rather, the truth is that "kadda" is like other verbs: its affirmation is affirmation and its negation is negation. But it means approaching. For this reason, it was counted among the verbs of approaching by the grammarians. So whoever negates approaching a thing, he certainly did not do it. And whoever affirmed that he is approaching it, he also did not do it, because the word "approached the action" means "and I did not do it." So if it is said "he did not almost do such and such," and nothing preceded indicating his doing it, then he did not do it. Now, if something preceded indicating his doing it, like , that indicates that they were before the slaughtering far from compliance, and they did not almost do it except after the insistence and after they said, "Show us and as we requested." After that, they were answered. And for this reason, in reality, this is an example that a person should take as a lesson for himself: that when he commands a matter, he should not add to himself and behind it such and such and behind it such and such, because this is dangerous. And Allah, Mighty and Majestic, said: And for this reason, it is obligatory for the Muslim, when he knows the Shari'ah, to submit. And there is no harm afterwards in what he decides that he is committed to. There is no harm afterwards in learning wisdom, because asking about wisdom does not contradict submission. But the important thing is that he submits first and does not bring up objections and doubts, "why such and such" and "why such and such," and then afterwards he asks if he wishes.