Surah An-Nur (The Light): Verse 35

Know that the discussion concerning this verse is structured into several sections:

Section One: On Attributing the Name "Light" (Nūr) to God, the Exalted

Know that the word Nūr (Light) in the Arabic language is designated for that quality which emanates from the sun, the moon, fire, and so forth, illuminating the earth and walls. This perceived quality is impossible to be God for several reasons:

1. If Light were a body: Then the proof demonstrating the createdness of a body would also prove its createdness.
2. If Light were an accident (attribute): Proving the createdness of all accidents resting upon a body would require first establishing the impossibility of God being the substrate for accidents.
3. Divisibility: Whether we say light is a body or an accident residing in a body, it is divisible. If it is a body, it is certainly divisible. If it is an accident in a body, the accident in a divisible thing is also divisible. In both cases, light is divisible. Everything divisible requires the realization of its parts, and each part is distinct from the other. Anything requiring another for its realization is contingent in its essence and created by another, thus light is created and cannot be God.
4. Transience: If this sensible light were God, it would be impossible for it to cease, as cessation is impossible for God.
5. Dependence on Celestial Bodies: This sensible light appears with the rising of the sun and stars, which is impossible for God.
6. Eternity vs. Motion/Rest: If these lights were eternal, they would either be moving or stationary. Motion is impossible for the eternal because motion implies transition from one place to another, meaning it must have preceded its presence in the first place. The eternal cannot be preceded by anything. Rest is also impossible for the eternal because if rest were eternal, it would be impossible to cease. Yet, we see lights changing position, proving that rest is transient, and thus the lights are created.
7. Nature of Light: Light is either a body (impossible, as we can conceive of a body without light, and a body can become illuminated after being dark) or an accident residing in a body. If it is an accident, it requires a body, and what requires another cannot be God.

By these proofs, the view of the Manichaeans, who believe God is the Greatest Light, is refuted.

As for the Corporealists (who accept the Qur'an), their view is refuted in two ways:

1. The verse {There is nothing like unto Him} (Ash-Shura: 11): If God were light, this would be invalidated because all lights are similar to one another.
2. The phrase {The likeness of His Light}: This explicitly indicates that His Essence is not the Light itself, but the Light is attributed to Him. Similarly, {Allah guides to His Light whom He wills} shows attribution.

If one argues that {Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth} implies He is intrinsically Light, while {The likeness of His Light} implies He is not intrinsically Light, creating a contradiction: We reply that this is analogous to saying, "Zayd is generosity and existence," and then saying, "He benefits people through his generosity and existence." There is no contradiction in this manner.

3. The verse {And [He] made the darknesses and the light} (Al-An'am: 1): This explicitly states that the essence of light is made by God, making it impossible for the Divine Essence to be light.

Therefore, interpretation is necessary. Scholars have offered several interpretations:

1. Light as the Cause of Manifestation and Guidance: Since light is the cause of manifestation and guidance, and God shares this meaning with light, the name Nūr can be applied to guidance. This is supported by verses like {Allah is the protecting friend of those who believe. He brings them out from darknesses into the light} (Al-Baqarah: 257), and {Or was one who was dead and We gave him life and made for him a light by which he walks among people?} (Al-An'am: 122). Thus, {Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth} means: Possessor of the Light of the heavens and the earth, and this Light is guidance, which is only attained by the inhabitants of the heavens and the earth. In essence, God is the Guide of the inhabitants of the heavens and the earth (the view of Ibn Abbas and the majority).
2. Light as the Perfect Administrator: It means He is the Administrator of the heavens and the earth with profound wisdom and clear proof, so He describes Himself by it, just as a wise ruler is described as the "light of the city" because his excellent administration guides people like light guides travelers on paths (the view of Al-Asamm and Al-Zajjaj).
3. Light as Order/Arrangement: It means He is the Organizer of the heavens and the earth in the best arrangement, as light is sometimes used metaphorically for order (e.g., "I see no order/light in this matter").
4. Light as the Illuminator: It means He illuminates the heavens and the earth. This has three sub-interpretations:
   • He illuminates the heavens with angels and the earth with prophets.
   • He illuminates them with the sun, moon, and stars.
   • He adorns the heavens with the sun, moon, and stars, and adorns the earth with prophets and scholars (narrated from Ubayy ibn Ka'b, Al-Hasan, and Abu Al-'Aliyah).

The first interpretation is the most probable, as the end of the verse, {Allah guides to His Light whom He wills}, indicates that the intended meaning of Nūr is guidance toward knowledge and action.

Know that Shaykh Al-Ghazali, may God have mercy on him, composed a book on this verse titled Mishkat al-Anwar (The Niche of Lights). He asserted that God is Light in reality, and that nothing but Him is Light. I will convey the essence of his argument, adding many points that strengthen his position, and then examine its validity fairly.

Al-Ghazali states that the word Nūr is linguistically designated for the quality emanating from the sun, moon, and fire upon dense physical bodies. We say the earth is illuminated, and the light of the sun fell upon the garment, and the light of the lamp fell upon the wall. This quality is distinguished by virtue and honor because it makes visible things clearly manifest.

It is known that just as perceiving visible things depends on them being illuminated, it also depends on the existence of a seeing eye. Visible things, once illuminated, are not visible to the blind. Thus, the seeing spirit (the soul/intellect) is as essential for manifestation as the external light. Furthermore, the seeing spirit is superior because it is the perceiver, whereas external light is merely the medium through which perception occurs. Therefore, describing the illuminator as the "seeing light" is more fitting than the "seen light." Consequently, they applied the name Nūr to the light of the seeing eye, saying, "The light of the bat's eye is weak," or "The light of the one with weak sight is diminished," or "The blind person has lost the light of sight."

Given this, we say that man possesses Basar (sensory sight) and Basirah (insight/intellect). Basar is the external eye perceiving lights and colors, while Basirah is the rational faculty. Both types of perception necessitate the manifestation of the perceived object. Thus, both are forms of light. However, the sensory light has defects that the intellectual light lacks. Al-Ghazali mentioned seven, but we list twenty:

1. Self-Perception: Sensory sight cannot perceive itself, its act of perception, or its instrument (the eye). Intellectual faculty, however, perceives itself, its act of perception, and its instrument (the heart/brain). Thus, the light of the intellect is more complete.
2. Universals vs. Particulars: Sensory sight perceives only particulars, while the rational faculty perceives universals. Perceiving universals (the heart/intellect) is nobler than perceiving particulars. Universals are immutable, while particulars change. Furthermore, perceiving the universal includes perceiving all particulars falling under it, but not vice versa.
3. Productivity: Sensory perception is non-productive; one sensation does not lead to another sensation. Intellectual perception is productive; by combining known concepts, we derive new knowledge, leading infinitely to further knowledge.
4. Capacity: Sensory perception has limited capacity; too many colors or sounds overwhelm it. Intellectual perception is expansive; the more knowledge one acquires, the easier it is to gain new knowledge.
5. Intensity Handling: Sensory organs fail to perceive weak stimuli when strong ones are present (e.g., hearing a loud sound prevents hearing a faint one). The intellectual faculty is not similarly occupied by one concept to the exclusion of another.
6. Aging: Sensory faculties weaken after forty and with excessive thought (which exhausts the body). Intellectual faculties strengthen after forty and with excessive thought. This shows the intellect’s independence from physical instruments.
7. Distance: Sight fails at very near or very far distances. The intellect is unaffected by proximity or distance; it can ascend above the Throne or descend below the earth in an instant, even perceiving God, who is transcendent of place.
8. Depth: Sensory sight perceives only the surface (the external form and color of a body), failing to grasp the essence of a human being. The intellectual faculty perceives both the exterior and the interior equally well, penetrating the depths of things.
9. Object Nobility: The object of the intellect is God and His actions, while the object of sight is colors and shapes. The nobility of the intellect must correspond to the nobility of its object (God) compared to the nobility of colors and shapes.
10. Scope of Objects: The intellect perceives all existing and non-existing things, and the essences that underlie them. Sensory sight perceives only lights and colors, which are the basest accidents of bodies, and bodies are baser than spiritual essences.
11. Unification and Multiplication: The intellect can unify many things into one concept (e.g., combining genus and differentia to form a species) and multiply one thing into its constituent parts (e.g., dividing the human essence into its components: genus, differentia, accidents, etc.). Sensory sight cannot do this.
12. Infinity: The intellect has infinite capacity for knowledge (deriving new conclusions from existing ones, conceiving infinite numbers, conceiving itself conceiving, and conceiving infinite relations). Sensory perception is finite.
13. Participation: Through the intellect, man shares in perceiving truths with God; through the senses, he shares with beasts. The former participation is nobler.
14. Independence: Intellectual perception is independent of the external existence of the object (the ma'qūl). Sensory perception requires the external existence of the object (the mahsūs). The independent is nobler than the dependent.
15. Causality: External things are contingent and require a Creator who must know them perfectly before creating them. Thus, external existence follows intellectual perception, while sensory perception follows external existence. The sensory faculty is thus secondary to the intellectual faculty.
16. Instrument Dependence: The intellect requires no instruments for its operation (e.g., one can still reason about mathematical truths even if all senses fail). The sensory faculty requires many instruments.
17. Directionality: Sight is limited to objects in a specific direction (opposite or near opposite). The intellect is free from spatial orientation, perceiving concepts of directionality without being bound by them.
18. Obstruction: Sight is obstructed by veils/barriers. The intellect is never obstructed.
19. Authority: The active faculty is like a prince, and the senses are like servants. The prince is nobler.
20. Error: Sensory perception often errs (e.g., seeing a stationary shore as moving from a boat). The intellect judges the correctness of sensory input; the intellect is the judge, the sense is the judged.

Since intellectual perception is superior, and both types of perception involve manifestation (the noblest property of light), intellectual perception is more deserving of being called Nūr.

These intellectual lights are of two kinds: necessary (innate cognitions) and acquired (theoretical cognitions). Innate ones are not inherent to the human essence, as a child has no knowledge. Acquired ones are necessary because human nature often deviates, requiring a guide. The verses of the Qur'an are to the intellect what sunlight is to the eye—they enable sight. Thus, the Qur'an is called Light, just as sunlight is called light. The light of the Qur'an resembles sunlight, and the light of the intellect resembles the eye. This explains the verse: {So believe in Allah and His Messenger and the Light which We have sent down} (At-Taghabun: 8).

If the Prophet's explanation is stronger than sunlight, his sacred essence must be more luminous than the sun. Just as the sun provides light to others without receiving it from other bodies, the Prophet's soul provides intellectual lights to other human souls without receiving them from them. This is why God described the sun as a lamp: {And made therein a sun and a moon giving light} (Al-Furqan: 61), and described Muhammad (PBUH) as a "shining lamp."

It is established by rational and transmitted evidence that the lights in the souls of the Prophets are borrowed from the lights in the souls of the Angels. {He sends down the angels with the Spirit of His command upon whom He wills of His servants} (An-Nahl: 2). The Spirit (Rūh) is the source of revelation. Since the Prophets' souls are more luminous than the sun, the angels' souls, which are the source of the Prophets' intellectual lights, must be even greater, as the cause must be stronger than the effect.

Furthermore, celestial souls are ranked: some receive light, and some impart it. Gabriel is described as {Obeyed, trustworthy} (At-Takwir: 21), meaning he is obeyed by other angels. Since there are known ranks, the imparting soul is nobler than the receiving soul.

There is an analogy for these spiritual lights: Sunlight reaches the moon, enters a window, reflects off a mirror, reflects off a second mirror, reflects off water in a basin, and finally reflects onto the ceiling. The greatest light is the sun (the source). The light diminishes sequentially through the moon, the first mirror, the second mirror, the water, and the ceiling. The closer to the original source, the stronger the light. Similarly, heavenly lights are ranked, and the light of the imparting soul is brighter than the receiving soul. These lights ascend until they reach the Greatest Light, the Spirit of the highest rank with God, referred to in {The Day the Spirit and the angels will stand in ranks} (An-Naba: 38).

These intellectual lights, like physical lights, can be lower (like the souls of Prophets and Saints) or higher (like the Angels). All are contingent in essence; what is contingent in essence deserves non-existence from itself and existence from another. Non-existence is darkness, and existence is light. Therefore, everything besides God is inherently dark; it is illuminated by God's illumination. All their knowledge, once acquired, comes from God's existence. God is the One who manifested them into existence from the darkness of non-existence and poured the lights of knowledge upon them from the darkness of ignorance. Nothing manifests except through His manifestation, and the specific property of light is granting manifestation, unveiling, and clarity.

Hence, the Absolute Light is God, the Exalted. Applying the name Nūr to anything else is metaphorical, because everything besides God is pure darkness in itself, as it is pure contingency, and contingency in itself is non-existence (darkness). Only when God pours the light of existence upon them do they become lights.

Al-Ghazali then addressed two further questions:

Question 1: Why did God attribute the Light to the heavens and the earth? Answer: The heavens and the earth are filled with intellectual and sensory lights. Sensory lights are the visible stars, sun, moon, and the rays spreading over surfaces, revealing colors. Intellectual lights fill the higher realm (Angels) and the lower realm (vegetative, animal, and human faculties). The human light organizes the lower world, just as the angelic light organizes the higher world. The entire cosmos is thus filled with manifest visual lights and inner intellectual lights. These lights flow from one another, originating from the Prophetic Spirit (the lamp), which borrows from the higher angelic lights, which in turn borrow from each other, ascending to the ultimate source, God. Thus, {Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth} is appropriate because the entire cosmos is illuminated by His Light.

Question 2: If God is the Light, why is proof needed to establish Him? Answer: The meaning of Him being the Light of the heavens and the earth is understood relative to sensory light. When you see the green of spring in daylight, you perceive color, but you might think that is all you see. At sunset, you necessarily distinguish between the color with light and without light, realizing light is a separate entity that was hidden by its intensity. Similarly, everything is manifested to the inner sight (Basirah) by God and His Light, which is inseparable from everything. However, sensory light can disappear (sunset), revealing its separateness. Divine Light cannot disappear; its change is impossible. Thus, the method of distinguishing by opposition (the opposite of light is darkness) fails because God’s state is constant. Since all things testify equally to their Creator's existence, the path of distinction is hidden. It is possible that His concealment is due to the intensity of His manifestation and radiance.

Conclusion on Al-Ghazali's View: After careful examination, the essence of Al-Ghazali's argument returns to the meaning that God is the Creator of the world and the Creator of the perceptive faculties. This is the same meaning derived from the interpretation that {Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth} means He is the Guide of the inhabitants of the heavens and the earth. There is no difference between his view and that of the exegetes mentioned earlier.

Section Two: On the Seventy Veils of Light and Darkness

Regarding the Prophetic saying: (Indeed, Allah has seventy veils of light/darkness; if He were to unveil them, the radiance of His Countenance would burn everything His sight encompasses) (some narrations say seventy hundred, others seventy thousand).

Since it is established that God is self-manifesting in His Essence, any veil must be relative to the veiled being. The veiled being must be veiled by:

1. A composite veil of light and darkness.
2. A veil of pure light.
3. A veil of pure darkness.

Category 1: Veiled by Pure Darkness These are those who become so engrossed in bodily attachments that their minds do not even consider whether it is possible to deduce the Necessary Existent from these sensible objects. Since everything besides God is dark in itself, only illuminated by Him, whoever focuses solely on material things as ends in themselves becomes veiled by pure darkness. Since the types of engagement with bodily attachments are countless, the types of dark veils are also countless.

Category 2: Veiled by Mixed Veils of Light and Darkness Whoever looks at sensible objects either believes they are independent of a Mover, or believes they are dependent.

• Believing them independent: This is a mixed veil of light and darkness. The light is the conception of the quality of self-sufficiency (a quality of God). The darkness is the belief that this quality belongs to these bodies, which is inappropriate.

This category has many sub-types. Some believe contingent things are independent of a Mover; others concede dependence but attribute the cause to natures, motions, combinations/separations, or the influence of celestial spheres/their movers. All these fall under this mixed category.

Category 3: Veils of Pure Light There is no path to knowing God except through His negative and relative attributes, and these attributes have infinite ranks. The servant is constantly ascending through them. If the servant reaches a degree and remains engrossed in observing that degree, that absorption becomes a veil preventing ascent to a higher one. Since these degrees are infinite, the servant is perpetually in motion. The specific reality of the Divine Essence remains veiled from all. We have indicated the manner of the ranks of veils, and you know that the Prophet (PBUH) limited them to approximately seventy thousand, not as a precise count, as they are truly infinite.

Section Three: Explaining the Parable (Mithāl)

A simile requires two components: the Simile Subject (Mushabbah) and the Simile Object (Mushabbah bih). People differed on what the Mushabbah (the thing being likened) is in the verse: {The likeness of His Light}.

1. The Guidance (Ayaat): This is the view of the majority of theologians, supported by the Judge. The meaning is that God's guidance has reached the utmost degree of clarity and manifestation, resembling a niche (mishkāh) containing a pure glass lantern (zujāja), inside which is a lamp fueled by oil of the utmost purity.
   • Objection: Why is it likened to this when sunlight is far stronger?
   • Reply: God intended to describe the perfect light that shines amidst darkness, as the common illusions and imaginations of people are like darknesses (doubts), and God's guidance among them is like perfect light appearing amidst darkness. This purpose is not achieved by sunlight, because when sunlight appears, the world fills with pure light, and when it disappears, the world fills with pure darkness. Thus, this specific simile is more appropriate here.

God considered four factors in this example that necessitate the perfection of the light: * The Lamp: If the lamp is outside the niche, its rays scatter. In the niche, its rays gather, becoming more illuminating. (A lamp in a small room appears brighter than in a large one). * The Pure Glass: The rays reflect internally within the glass due to its clarity, increasing the light. Sunlight reflecting off clear glass doubles its apparent intensity. * The Oil: The light varies based on the fuel. If the oil is pure and refined, its state differs from when it is murky. Olive oil is noted for its clarity, thinness, and whiteness, with light reflecting within its parts. * The Tree: The oil varies based on the tree. If the tree is neither eastern nor western (i.e., exposed to the sun at all times), its olives will be riper, and its oil purer, as the sun's influence enhances purity.

When these four factors combine, the resulting light is pure and perfect, making it a suitable metaphor for God's guidance.

2. The Qur'an: This is the view of Al-Hasan, Sufyan ibn Uyaynah, and Zayd ibn Aslam. This is supported by {There has come to you from Allah a light and a clear Book} (Al-Ma'idah: 15).
3. The Messenger (Prophet): Because he is the guide, and God described him as {a shining lamp} (Al-Ahzab: 46). This view is encompassed by the first, as sending down books and sending messengers are types of guidance.
4. The Knowledge in the Believers' Hearts: This refers to the knowledge of God and the religious laws. God described faith as light and disbelief as darkness: {Is he whose breast Allah has opened to Islam, so he is upon a light from his Lord...} (Az-Zumar: 22). The essence is that the believer's faith has reached the purity from doubts and distinction from the darkness of misguidance, mirroring the described lamp (the view of Ubayy ibn Ka'b and Ibn Abbas).
5. Al-Ghazali's View (The Five Faculties): Al-Ghazali mapped the five human perceptive faculties onto the five elements of the parable:
   • Sensory Faculty (Hiss): Its lights exit through multiple openings (eyes, ears, nostrils). It is likened to the Niche (the container for the sensory inputs).
   • Imagination Faculty (Khayāliyyah): It retains sensory input, having shape and dimension (dense substance of the lower world). When refined, it conveys intellectual meanings without obstructing them. It is likened to the Glass (Zujāja), which is dense but clear enough to transmit light without obstruction and protect it from extinguishing winds.
   • Rational Faculty ('Aqliyyah): Perceives universal truths and divine knowledge. It is likened to the Lamp (Miṣbāḥ).
   • Reflective Faculty (Fikriyyah): Takes one essence and divides it infinitely through logical partitioning, yielding results (fruits) that become seeds for further results. It is likened to the Tree (Shajara). Since its fruits increase knowledge, it is likened specifically to the Olive Tree, whose core yields oil (the fuel for lamps), known for its clarity and minimal smoke.
   • Holy/Prophetic Faculty (Qudsiyyah): The highest faculty, exclusive to Prophets and some Saints, where glimpses of the Unseen and the secrets of the dominion appear. It is likened to the Oil (Zayt), which is so pure it almost shines even without being touched by fire.

Since these faculties are ranked (Sense precedes Imagination, which precedes Intellect), the Niche (container) precedes the Glass (container), which precedes the Lamp.

6. Ibn Sina's View: He mapped the five elements onto the stages of the human soul's capacity for knowledge:
   • Potential Intellect ('Aql Hayūlā): The soul ready to receive knowledge—the Niche.
   • The Second Stage (Acquiring Knowledge): The capacity to derive theoretical knowledge from innate principles. If weak, it is the Tree; if stronger, the Oil; if very strong, the Glass (like a brilliant star); if ultimate (the soul of the Prophets), it is the one whose oil almost shines without fire.
   • Active Intellect ('Aql bil-Fi'l): Innate and theoretical knowledge is actually present and accessible at will—the Lamp.
   • Acquired Intellect ('Aql Mustafād): Knowledge is actually present, and the possessor sees it as if looking at it—Light upon Light (the faculty itself is light, and possessing the knowledge is another light).
   • He added that these sciences are acquired from a spiritual essence called the Active Intellect (governor below the lunar sphere, likened to fire).

7. Some Sufis' View: The chest is the niche, the heart is the glass, and knowledge is the lamp. This lamp is lit from a Blessed Tree, which is the inspirations of the angels (referencing the verses about the Spirit being sent down). The angels are the blessed tree due to their manifold benefits. They are described as "neither eastern nor western" because they are spiritual. They are described as "whose oil almost shines" due to their vast knowledge of God's secrets. Here, the simile subject differs from the object.

8. Muqatil's View: The likeness of His Light is the light of faith in the heart of Muhammad (PBUH), like a niche containing a lamp. The niche is the backbone of Abdullah (his father), the glass is the body of Muhammad (PBUH), and the lamp is the faith in his heart, or prophethood in his heart.

9. Another View: The niche is Abraham, the glass is Ishmael, the lamp is the body of Muhammad (PBUH), the tree is prophethood and messengership.

10. Ubayy ibn Ka'b's View: The likeness of His Light refers to the believer (he read it as "the likeness of the light of the believer"). This is the view of Sa'id ibn Jubayr and Ad-Dahhak. The likeness is the light in the believer's heart.

The first view (Guidance/Ayaat) is preferred because the preceding verse mentioned the sending down of clear verses. If "His Light" refers to these verses, it aligns perfectly. Furthermore, since we interpreted {Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth} as the Guide of the heavens and the earth, interpreting {The likeness of His Light} as the likeness of His Guidance is consistent.

Section Four: Remaining Discussions Related to This Verse

• Tawqadu (It is lit): The standard reading uses fatḥa on all four vowels, with shadda Q (weight of tafa''ala). Other readings vary slightly in vowel placement or the presence of the initial tā’.

Abu Muslim ibn Bahr responded in two ways: (1) The phrase refers to the increase in guidance, which is the opposite of the dereliction that befalls the misguided. (2) God guides to His Light (the path to Paradise) whom He wills.

Al-Qadi Abd Al-Jabbar refuted these two answers. Regarding the first, since the preceding context is about revealed verses, applying it to guidance includes everything, but applying it to increase only includes some. Applying it to the path to Paradise is only metaphorical. He concluded that God guides only those who have reached the age of accountability. This last response is the weakest because the verse implies that the clarity of the verses is insufficient, which does not apply to children or the insane.

Surah An-Nur (The Light): Verses 36-37