| Section: (8) They wish to extinguish the Light of Allah...

{To extinguish} (li-yuṭfi’ū): Meaning, that they wish to extinguish. It is as if the lām (for the purpose of) was added to the verb of volition for emphasis, similar to how the lām is added in the phrase la abā laka (no father for you) to emphasize the meaning of possession in abāka (your father).

Their attempt to extinguish the Light of Allah with their mouths is a mockery of them, as they desire to nullify Islam by saying concerning the Qur'an: {This is but a sorcery} (Al-Saff: 6). Their situation is likened to one who blows on the light of the sun with his mouth to extinguish it, as mentioned in Al-Kashshāf.

And His saying: {And Allah will perfect His Light} (wa-llāhu mutimmu nūrihi). It is read with a kasra on the rā’ (mutimmihi) indicating possession (i.e., the Light of Allah), although the original form is with tanwīn (mutimmun).

Ibn Abbas said: It means His religion will become manifest. The author of Al-Kashshāf said: He perfects the Truth and brings it to its utmost limit.

It is also said that the Light refers to:

1. Allah’s religion, His Book, or His Messenger. Each of these three possesses this quality because the effects (of the Light) appear through them.
2. The Light of Allah is eternally brilliant and rising from a source that can never cease, which is the Divine Presence (al-Ḥaḍrah al-Qudsiyyah). Each of the three (religion, Book, Messenger) is like this.
3. Light is knowledge (‘ilm), and darkness is ignorance (jahl). Or, Light is faith (īmān) which brings them out of darkness into light. Or, Islam is the Light. Or, religion is a divine system (waḍ‘ ilāhī) guiding those with intellects toward praiseworthy choices, and that is the Light. The Book is the clarifier, as Allah says: {These are the verses of the clear Book} (Ash-Shu‘arā’: 2). Thus, clarification and the Book are the Light. Or, the Book is evidence (ḥujjah) because it is miraculous, and evidence is Light, so the Book is Light. Or, concerning the Messenger, he is the Light, otherwise, he would not be described as a mercy to the worlds, as mercy involves revealing hidden secrets, which is done through light. Or, He is the Light because through him creation is guided, or he is the Light because he clarifies to the people what was revealed to them, and the clarifier is the Light.

The benefits of His being described as Light are several:

1. It indicates the loftiness of his status and the greatness of his proof. This is due to two factors: being described as Light, and being attributed to the Divine Presence.
2. If it is a Light from the Lights of Allah, it must shine in all parts of the world, as it cannot be confined to certain directions. Therefore, he was a Messenger to all creation, as reported from the Prophet (PBUH): "I was sent to the red and the black." There is no human or jinn who is not part of his Ummah: if a believer, he is of the Ummah of following; if a disbeliever, he is of the Ummah of the call (da‘wah).

And His saying: {even if the disbelievers hate it} (wa-law kariha al-kāfirūn), meaning the Jews, Christians, and other polytheists.

And His saying: {with guidance} (bi-l-hudā) for those who follow it, {and the religion of Truth} (wa-dīn al-ḥaqq). It is said that Truth (al-Ḥaqq) is Allah Almighty, meaning the religion of Allah. Or, it is an adjective for religion, meaning the religion is the Truth. Or, it is that which everyone ought to follow.

{that He may make it prevail over all religions} (li-yuẓhirahu ‘alā al-dīn kullihi), meaning Islam. Or, that He may make him (the Messenger) prevail through overwhelming victory by means of proof.

Herein lie several discussions:

First: His saying {And Allah will perfect His Light}. Perfection implies the absence of deficiency. How can this Light be deficient? We say its perfection corresponds to the deficiency in its manifestation, which is its appearance in all lands from East to West, as manifestation only appears through being made manifest, which is perfection (itmām). This is supported by His saying: {Today I have perfected for you your religion} (Al-Mā’idah: 3). Abu Hurayrah narrated that this occurred upon the descent of Jesus from heaven. Mujahid said...

Second: Here He says {will perfect His Light} (An-Nūr: 35), and elsewhere He says {The likeness of His Light} (mathalu nūrihi). Is this the same or different? We say it is different. The Light of Allah in that other passage is Allah Himself, according to the people of true knowledge (ahl al-taḥqīq), whereas here it refers to the religion, the Book, or the Messenger.

Third: In the preceding verse, He says {even if the disbelievers hate it}, and in the later verse, {even if the polytheists hate it}. What is the wisdom in this variation? We say: They rejected the Messenger and what was revealed to him, the Book, which are blessings from Allah. All disbelievers are in a state of rejecting blessings, so He said: {even if the disbelievers hate it}. Furthermore, the term kāfir (disbeliever) is more general than mushrik (polytheist). The intended meaning of al-kāfirūn here includes the Jews, Christians, and polytheists. Here, the Light and its extinguishing are mentioned, and kufr (disbelief/concealment) is appropriate because extinguishing aims at removal. In the second verse, the Messenger, the sending, and the religion of Truth are mentioned—a great station for the Messenger (PBUH). This is like an objection against Allah, as if saying:

Objection is close to polytheism (shirk). Also, those who envied the Messenger (PBUH) were mostly from Quraysh, who were polytheists. Since Light is more general than religion and the Messenger, it is fittingly contrasted with the kāfirūn, who are all those who oppose Islam and the Prophethood. The Messenger and the religion are more specific than the Light, so they are contrasted with the mushrikūn, who are more specific than the kāfirūn.

Then Allah Almighty said:

{O you who have believed, shall I direct you to a transaction that will save you from a painful punishment? *You believe in Allah and His Messenger and strive in the cause of Allah with your wealth and your lives. That is best for you, if you only knew.}