The term “al-Ẓulumāt” (Darknesses) in the Qur’an carries exclusively metaphorical, qualitative, and symbolic meanings, and never denotes a specific geographical place. Classical commentaries, such as Kashf al-Asrār, interpret it as referring to the perils of travel or the “threefold darkness” of the embryonic womb. However, in post-Qur’anic texts—including historical accounts, mythological literature, Alexander romances (Iskandarnāmas), travelogues, and Islamic geographical maps—“al-Ẓulumāt” gradually becomes linked with unknown territories and the quest for the “Water of Life.” Narratives of Moses, Khidr, and Alexander reframe the term as a symbolic space representing the pursuit of immortality, gnosis, and ultimate power. Geographical sources often identify “al-Ẓulumāt” with the Atlantic Ocean and the northern or western margins of the known world, reflecting a synthesis of empirical experience, historical memory, and literary imagination. Comparative analysis reveals that “al-Ẓulumāt” is a fluid, multilayered concept: on the one hand, it signifies human limitation and uncharted frontiers; on the other, it embodies the enduring aspiration to transcend mortality. This study traces the semantic evolution of “al-Ẓulumāt” from its Qur’anic origins through mythological and geographical representations in Islamic and Persian traditions, demonstrating that this concept has consistently been reimagined at the intersection of religion, geography, and myth.
Keywords: Zulumat (Darkness), Water of Life (Ab-Hayat), Alexander the Great, Dhu al-Qarnayn, Khidr, Atlantic Ocean, Historical Geography, Islamic Cartography, Myth and Geography

Introduction:
The term "Zulumat" (Darkness) in the Quran primarily carries metaphorical, qualitative, and symbolic connotations rather than denoting a specific geographical location. Classical exegeses, such as Kashf al-Asrar, have interpreted it as referring to hardships and the threefold darkness of the womb. However, in post-Quranic, mythical, and historical texts, "Zulumat" gradually became associated with unknown lands and the "Water of Life" (Ab-Hayat). The narratives of Moses, Khidr, and Alexander, the Iskandarnamas (Alexander Romances), travelogues, and Islamic maps indicate that this term served as a symbolic space for the quest for immortality, gnosis, and power. In geographical texts, "Zulumat" was sometimes identified with the Atlantic Ocean and the northern and western regions of the world, reflecting a blend of geographical experience, historical narrative, and literary myth. This study examines the semantic evolution of "Zulumat" from the Quranic text to geographical maps and mythical literature, revealing how this concept has consistently been represented at the intersection of religion, geography, and myth.
Materials & Methods:
This research employs a comparative-analytical approach with an interdisciplinary framework, drawing on Quranic exegesis, classical Persian and Arabic literature, historical chronicles, geographical treatises, and cartographic sources. The primary sources include classical tafsirs (such as Maybudi's Kashf al-Asrar), epic and mystical texts (such as the Shahnama, Iskandarnama, and works by Attar and Ibn Sina), geographical works (including Ibn Hawqal's Surat al-Ard, al-Idrisi's Nuzhat al-Mushtaq, and al-Bakri's al-Masalik wa al-Mamalik), and Islamic maps. The methodology involves close textual analysis, comparative study of parallel narratives, and contextual interpretation of geographical and mythical representations.
Discussion & Results:
The findings reveal that "Zulumat" underwent a significant semantic transformation from a non-spatial, qualitative concept in the Quran to a spatially and geographically defined notion in post-Quranic literature. In the story of Moses and Khidr (Surat al-Kahf, 60-82), the encounter with an unknown body of water that revives a salted fish became the foundation for linking "Zulumat" with the Water of Life. This narrative, combined with the historical accounts of Alexander the Great's campaigns in the dark, snowy mountains of northern Afghanistan (the Hindu Kush), provided a geographical basis for the mythical "journey to Darkness."
The conflation of Alexander with Dhu al-Qarnayn in Islamic and Iranian sources further complicated the narrative, merging historical, mythical, and Quranic elements. Alexander's quest for the Water of Life, his encounter with Khidr in the land of Darkness, and the construction of the barrier against Gog and Magog became central motifs in Persian and Islamic literature.
Geographical texts reveal a dual representation of "Zulumat": sometimes as a sea (the Atlantic Ocean), sometimes as a land (the northern regions beyond the inhabited world). Arab geographers commonly referred to the Atlantic as the "Sea of Darkness" (Bahr al-Zulumat), attributing this name to its dark, mysterious waters and the fears of Andalusian navigators. Travelogues, such as those of Abu Hamid al-Andalusi and al-Idrisi, provided vivid descriptions of this sea, blending geographical observation with mythical elements.
Islamic cartography further solidified the geographical representation of "Zulumat," with maps by al-Balkhi, al-Istakhri, and Ibn Hawqal locating it in specific regions. The influence of Ptolemaic geography and the translation of Greek geographical works into Arabic during the Abbasid period shaped the Islamic perception of the ocean surrounding the earth as the "Ninth Sphere" or the "Throne" (Arsh).
The study also reveals a symbolic connection between "Zulumat," the Atlantic Ocean, and the mythical Mount Atlas, which in Islamic astronomy and mysticism was identified with the "Ninth Sphere" (Falak al-Aflak) and the "Throne" of God. The term "Atlas" itself, referring to a dark, lustrousless fabric in Persian, evokes the darkness of this region.
Conclusion:
The concept of "Zulumat" evolved from a qualitative, metaphorical expression in the Quran into a complex, multi-layered space that encompasses both the unknown geographical frontiers and the deepest human aspirations—from the quest for eternal life to the effort to comprehend the boundaries of the world. This term, in its journey from Quranic verses to the maps of al-Idrisi, from the divan of Shams to the books of Masalik wa al-Mamalik, has consistently appeared as a symbolic boundary between "the beyond" and "the here," between light and darkness, between gnosis and ignorance, and between geographical certainty and mythical ambiguity. "Zulumat" is not merely a physical or legendary place, but a mirror in which ancient and Islamic humanity has gazed upon itself and its ideals: a place where darkness is not merely dust on the road of truth, but the road itself that leads toward the Water of Life—whether as knowledge, immortality, or mystical experience. This thematic and geographical continuity demonstrates the capacity of the Persian-Islamic intellectual and literary tradition to continuously redefine concepts that appear limited and static on the surface, but are, in essence, always in a state of semantic transformation.