Verse of Light

The Verse of Light (Arabic: آیة النور, romanized: āyat an-nūr) is the 35th verse of the 24th surah of the Quran (Q24:35).

Verse

God is the Light of the heavens and the earth.
The example of His light is like a niche within which is a lamp,
The lamp is within glass, the glass as if it were a pearly [white] star,
Lit from [the oil of] a blessed olive tree,
Neither of the east nor of the west,
Whose oil would almost glow even if untouched by fire.
Light upon light.
God guides to His light whom He wills.
And God presents examples for the people,
and God is Knowing of all things.

— Translation by Sahih International

Commentary

The eighth Imam of the Twelver Imami Shiites Ali ibn Moses says in the interpretation of this verse:

He is the guide of the people of heaven and the guide of the people of the earth.[1]

and the sixth Shiite Imam, Jafar Sadiq, has stated that:

God first spoke of His light.

The example of God's guidance is in the heart of the believer.

The glorious is inside the believer and the lamp of his heart, and the lamp is the light that God has placed in his heart.[2]

Hence it was and remains a key Qur'anic passage to many Sufis and Muslim philosophers into the present day, who argue for esoteric readings of the Qur'an. Al-Ghazali's reflections on this verse are collected in his Mishkat al-Anwar (the "Niche of Lights").

Often employed by Sufis and Muslim Philosophers, the verse is also the primary source of one of the 99 Names of God: an-Nur (النور), "The Light".

Commentators on Ayat an-Nur include:

See also

References
  1. Al-Kafi, Sheikh Muhammad bin Yaqub Koleyni. hadith.
  2. Tafsir al-Qomi, vol. 2, p. 103; Noor al-Thaqalin, vol. 3, p. 606 605. hadith.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
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