THE PHENOMENON OF SPIRITUAL BLINDNESS AND DEAFNESS AMONG MUSLIMS IN THE END TIMES

The Phrase Kānat Aʿyunuhum (كَانَتْ أَعْيُنُهُمْ) in Surah al-Kahf 18:101

Kānat (كَانَتْ)

The word kānat carries the meaning of a condition that has long existed and continues to persist, not something newly formed. It indicates a trait that has become a permanent state of being within the subject being described.

For verification of this meaning, consider another Qur’anic usage of kānat (كَانَتْ):

وَكَانَ اللَّهُ غَفُورًا رَحِيمًا

And Allah is always Forgiving and Merciful.

(Surah an-Nisāʾ 4:96)

Thus, in the context of Surah al-Kahf 18:101, the word kānat signifies that this “blindness of the eyes” did not occur suddenly but had long been rooted within them. It represents a gradual and layered deterioration of awareness — a chronic spiritual decline.

Aʿyunuhum (أَعْيُنُهُمْ)

The word aʿyunuhum originates from ʿayn (eye), but in the Qur’an, ʿayn does not always refer to the physical organ. It can also carry deeper meanings such as:

a. An instrument of awareness and perception
b. The function of perceiving reality and the signs (āyāt) of Allah

A comprehensive example to clarify this concept can be seen in the following verse:

لَهُمْ قُلُوبٌ لَا يَفْقَهُونَ بِهَا وَلَهُمْ أَعْيُنٌ لَا يُبْصِرُونَ بِهَا وَلَهُمْ آذَانٌ لَا يَسْمَعُونَ بِهَا ۚ أُولَٰئِكَ كَالْأَنْعَامِ بَلْ هُمْ أَضَلُّ ۚ أُولَٰئِكَ هُمُ الْغَافِلُونَ

“They have hearts with which they do not understand, eyes with which they do not see, and ears with which they do not hear. They are like cattle, rather they are even more astray. They are the heedless.”

(Surah al-Aʿrāf 7:179)

Therefore, aʿyunuhum in Surah al-Kahf 18:101 does not refer to eyes that are physically closed but to an inner perceptual system that has lost its function. The intellect and soul have lost their ability to recognize, evaluate, and accept truth — their entire mechanism of spiritual perception has been extinguished.

Kānat Aʿyunuhum (كَانَتْ أَعْيُنُهُمْ)

Hence, the combined expression kānat aʿyunuhum means:

“Their faculty of perception, which originates from the light system of the eyes, has long been in a state of closure, where the physical organ (the eyes) created to capture light no longer functions as a conduit of meaning that conveys truth to the intellect and the heart.”

This means they did not suddenly become blind to zikrullah (the remembrance of Allah). They have long lived within a system that denies divine reality. The blindness became a natural condition — a state of being, not a temporary reaction.

Therefore, Surah al-Kahf 18:101 indicates that this disease is internal, not external. It is not the result of a single event but the accumulation of repeated rejections of Allah’s signs until the entire system of awareness becomes sealed off from the light of truth.

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