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: , Classical 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 in Islam, revelation from God in Islam, ...

( 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 Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

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 polymat ...

's reflections on this verse are collected in his Mishkat al-Anwar (the "Niche of Lights"). Often employed by

Sufi 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, ...

s and

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 Ibn Sina ( fa, ابن سینا; 980 – June 1037 CE), commonly known in the West as Avicenna (), was a Persian polymath who is regarded as one of the most significant physicians, astronomers, philosophers, and writers of the Islamic G ...

* 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 ...

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

Verse

Commentary

See also

References

External links