Tafsir of An-Nur 24:36

{In houses} relates to what precedes it. That is: "Like a niche in some of the houses of Allah," which are the mosques. It is as if it were said: "The likeness of His light is as the light of a niche—which has such-and-such qualities—is seen in the mosque."

Alternatively, it relates to what follows it: {He is glorified}. That is: "Men glorify Him in houses." This contains a redundancy, like saying: "Zayd is sitting in the house, in it." Or, it relates to an omitted verb, as in His saying: {And put your hand in [your bosom]} (27:12), meaning: "They glorify [Him] in houses."

{Permitted} means commanded.

{To be raised} means to be built, as in His saying: {He built it, raised its ceiling and proportioned it} (79:28), and {And when Abraham was raising the foundations} (2:127).

Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them) said: They are the mosques which Allah commanded to be built, or [it means] to exalt them and raise their status.

Al-Hasan (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Allah did not command them to be raised by building, but by exaltation.

{And His name is mentioned therein} is more consistent with this, and it is general for every [form of] remembrance. Ibn Abbas said: "And that His Book is recited therein."

{He is glorified} (yusabbaḥu) is read in the passive voice, and it is linked to one of the three adverbial phrases: {to Him therein, in the mornings}.

{Men} is in the nominative case, governed by what is implied by {He is glorified}, which is "He is glorified by men."

{Glorify} (tusabbiḥu) is read with a ta and a kasra on the ba. Abu Ja'far (may Allah be pleased with him) read it with a ta and a fatha on the ba. The interpretation here is that it is linked to the times of morning and evening, with the addition of the ba (preposition), making the times themselves the ones glorifying. The intended meaning is their Lord, just as one says: "The day was hunted," meaning its game was hunted.

{The mornings and the evenings} (al-aṣāl): The plural of aṣl, which is the late afternoon. The meaning is: "at the times of the mornings," i.e., in the early hours. It is also read as al-īṣāl, which is entering into the aṣīl (late afternoon). It is said: āṣala, like aẓhara (to enter noon) and aʿtama (to enter night).

{Trade} is the craft of the merchant, who buys and sells for profit. It either means: no type of this craft distracts them. Then, he specified "selling" because it is more distracting. This is because when a merchant finds a profitable sale—which is the ultimate goal of his craft—it distracts him more than buying something in which he expects profit at a later time, because the former is certain and the latter is speculative. Or, "buying" is called "trade" by applying the name of the genus to the species, as when you say: "So-and-so has a profitable trade," if he finds a good sale or purchase. It is also said that trade is for those who import goods; one says: "So-and-so traded in such," if he imported it.

The ta in {establishing} (iqāma) is a substitute for the ʿayn that was dropped due to the weak-letter transformation (iʿlāl). The original was iqwām. When it was put in the genitive construction (iḍāfa), the genitive construction took the place of the substitute letter, so it was dropped. Similar to this is: "And they broke the promise they had promised."

{Hearts and eyes will turn}: Either they turn and change in themselves—meaning they are agitated by terror and fear and stare fixedly, as in His saying: {When eyes swerved and hearts reached the throats} (33:10). Or, their states change and transform, so the hearts understand after they had been sealed and could not understand, and the eyes see after they had been blind and could not see.

{The best of what they did} means the best reward for their deeds, as in His saying: {For those who do good is the best [reward]} (10:26). The meaning is: they glorify and fear, so that He may reward them with their recompense doubled, and increase them beyond the reward as a favor. This is the meaning of His saying: {The best [reward] and an increase} (10:26)—the reward and an increase upon it from His grace.

Allah’s gift is either a favor, a reward, or a compensation. {And Allah provides}—what He favors with—{without measure}. As for the reward, it has a measure, because it is according to what is deserved.

{But those who disbelieved—their deeds are like a mirage in a lowland which the thirsty one thinks is water until, when he comes to it, he finds it is nothing but finds Allah before him, who will pay him his account in full; and Allah is swift in account.}