d-n-k

Description

The Arabic root ضنك (d-n-k) conveys the core meaning of tightness, constriction, and hardship, particularly describing a life of severe difficulty and distress. In the Quranic context, it appears most notably in reference to a "straitened life" (maʿīshatan ḍankan) promised to those who turn away from divine remembrance, emphasizing the spiritual and worldly consequences of rejecting God's guidance. The root captures both material poverty and psychological anguish, representing a constricted existence lacking in peace, contentment, and divine blessings.