The Verse of Light ( ar-at, آیة النور, āyat an-nūr) is the 35th verse of the
24th surah of the
Quran
The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , s ...
(
Q24:35).
Verse
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.
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.
Hence it was and remains a key Qur'anic passage to many
Sufis
Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, r ...
and
Muslim philosophers
A philosopher is a person who practices or investigates philosophy. The term ''philosopher'' comes from the grc, φιλόσοφος, , translit=philosophos, meaning 'lover of wisdom'. The coining of the term has been attributed to the Greek th ...
into the present day, who argue for
esoteric readings of the Qur'an.
al-Ghazali
Al-Ghazali ( – 19 December 1111; ), full name (), and known in Persian-speaking countries as Imam Muhammad-i Ghazali (Persian: امام محمد غزالی) or in Medieval Europe by the Latinized as Algazelus or Algazel, was a Persian poly ...
's reflections on this verse are collected in his
Mishkat al-Anwar (the "Niche of Lights").
Often employed by
Sufis and
Muslim Philosophers
A philosopher is a person who practices or investigates philosophy. The term ''philosopher'' comes from the grc, φιλόσοφος, , translit=philosophos, meaning 'lover of wisdom'. The coining of the term has been attributed to the Greek th ...
, the verse is also the primary source of one of the
99 Names of God
Names of God in Islam ( ar, أَسْمَاءُ ٱللَّٰهِ ٱلْحُسْنَىٰ , "''Allah's Beautiful Names''") are names attributed to God in Islam by Muslims. While some names are only in the Quran, and others are only in the hadith ...
: an-Nur (), "The Light".
Commentators on Ayat an-Nur include:
*
Avicenna
*
al-Ghazali
Al-Ghazali ( – 19 December 1111; ), full name (), and known in Persian-speaking countries as Imam Muhammad-i Ghazali (Persian: امام محمد غزالی) or in Medieval Europe by the Latinized as Algazelus or Algazel, was a Persian poly ...
*
Fakhr al-Din al-Razi
*
Ibn al-'Arabi
*
Rumi
*
Mulla Sadra
Ṣadr ad-Dīn Muḥammad Shīrāzī, more commonly known as Mullā Ṣadrā ( fa, ملا صدرا; ar, صدر المتألهین) (c. 1571/2 – c. 1635/40 CE / 980 – 1050 AH), was a Persian Twelver Shi'i Islamic mystic, philosopher, the ...
*
Hakeem Noor-ud-Din
Hakeem Noor-ud-Din (also spelt: Hakim Nur-ud-Din) ( ar, حکیم نور الدین) (8 January 1834 – 13 March 1914) was a close companion of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the founder of the Ahmadiyya Movement, and was chosen as his first successor on ...
*
Mirza Basheer-ud-Din Mahmood Ahmad
Mirza Basheer-ud-Din Mahmood Ahmad ( ur, ) (12 January 1889 – 8 November 1965), was the second caliph ( ar, خليفة المسيح الثاني, ''khalīfatul masīh al-thāni''), leader of the worldwide Ahmadiyya Muslim Community and the ...
*
Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya
Shams al-Dīn Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn Abī Bakr ibn Ayyūb al-Zurʿī l-Dimashqī l-Ḥanbalī (29 January 1292–15 September 1350 CE / 691 AH–751 AH), commonly known as Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya ("The son of the principal of he school ...
See also
*
Chapter
*
Verse of Throne
*
Esoteric interpretation of the Qur'an
*
Esotericism
Western esotericism, also known as esotericism, esoterism, and sometimes the Western mystery tradition, is a term scholars use to categorise a wide range of loosely related ideas and movements that developed within Western society. These ideas ...
*
Nūr (Islam)
''Nūr'' ( ar, النور) is a term in Islamic context referring to the "cold light of the night" or "heatless light" i.e. the light of the moon. This light is used as a symbol for "God's guidance" and "knowledge", a symbol of mercy in contr ...
*
Sufism
*
Chapter of Light
References
{{Reflist
External links
Theophanies and Lights in the Thought of Ibn 'Arabi*Al-Ghazali.
' (The Niche for Lights)
Light Upon Light (Islamic Videos)Haqiqaul Furqan, Tafsir of Maulana Hakeem Noor-ud-DinBenefits of reading Surah noor (verse of light)Summary Of Ibn Qayyim Tafsir Of Ayat Nur
Quranic verses
Esoteric interpretation of the Quran
An-Nur
Islamic theology
Allah
Light and religion