Surah An-Noor (24) — Ayah 35

35. Allah is the Light [59] of the heavens and the earth. The example of His light is like a niche in which there is a lamp; the lamp is in a glass, the glass is as if it were a shining star, lit from a blessed olive tree, neither of the east nor of the west, whose oil would almost glow forth (of itself) even if no fire touched it. Light upon light [60]. Allah guides to His light whom He wills [61]. And Allah sets forth parables for mankind, and Allah is All-Knowing of everything.

[59] Generally, wherever the heavens and the earth are mentioned together in the Quran, it refers to the entire universe, meaning Allah Almighty is the Light of the whole universe or the One who illuminates the entire universe.

Types of Light:

There are three types of light:
(1) The light of luminous objects, such as the sun, moon, stars, lamps, or electric bulbs. It is said that the speed of light is one hundred eighty-six thousand miles per second. Without such light, a person cannot see visible things.
(2) The light of the eye, in the absence of which the light of luminous objects is useless. Even if the sun is shining, a blind person cannot see anything.
(3) The light of revelation or religious knowledge, in the absence of which a person cannot benefit from the light of guidance. Just as a blind person cannot see visible objects even in sunlight, similarly, for one whose heart is blind, divine teachings prove useless. Now see, the light of the eye is also purely a gift from Allah Almighty. What is its reality? Understanding this is probably beyond human capacity. And if Allah Almighty takes away someone’s sight, no power can restore it. And it is with this light of the eye that we can see the objects of the universe. Therefore, the real source of light is the Being of Allah Himself, and it is from His light that every single thing in the universe manifests. On the other hand, the light of the heart is also purely a gift from Allah Almighty, and it is with this light that a person contemplates and reflects on the signs within himself and in the universe, and benefits from divine revelation. This means that whoever in the world has received light and guidance, or to whatever extent he has received it, all has been obtained from this source of light. Some scholars have interpreted “light” here as “illuminator.” In this respect, the first interpretation fits, but the word “light” is more eloquent than “illuminator.” Then, the word “light” is appropriate according to both interpretations. Therefore, in our opinion, it is better to understand the meaning of “light” as light or illumination itself.

[60]
Allah Alone is the Light of the Universe:

In this verse, Allah Almighty has presented an example of His light. According to the two interpretations mentioned above, there are two scenarios. According to the first interpretation, this entire universe is like a niche, and the lamp whose light is given as an example in it is the light of Allah. The other details mentioned are such that the clearest and purest light that a person of that era could imagine has been presented, for example: one is that the lamp is in a niche, meaning the spread of light is not wide but limited to a very specific area so that everything in the niche is clearly and distinctly visible. Secondly, the oil burning in this lamp is olive oil, which gives a purer and brighter light than all other types of oil. Furthermore, the olive tree is always in the sun; the shadows of east and west do not fall on this tree, and the oil of such a tree that is always in the sun is more refined than the oil of ordinary trees. Also, it has the property that it does not even need to be ignited; it flares up just by the nearness of fire, as is the case with petrol nowadays. Thirdly, there is a very clear and transparent glass or lantern around this lamp, and you can estimate how much such a lantern increases the light by removing the glass chimney from a lantern. Thus, there are three things that make the lamp’s light triple or “light upon light”: the high quality of the oil, the clear transparent lantern, and the very limited area of light. The meaning of the example is that Allah Almighty is illuminating every single thing in the universe with such light.

The Eagerness of the Light of Faith for Divine Revelation:

And in the second scenario, the lamp and its oil refer to the light of insight or the light of faith. The lantern refers to the human heart in which this light of insight resides, and the niche refers to his body. Then, when guidance or divine verses reach him, the insight of such a person is already eager to accept them. Now, if someone has the light of insight in his heart, whose source is Allah Almighty Himself, then these verses immediately appeal to such a person and perceives these verses. The one without insight does not perceive them. This second interpretation seems closer to the Book and Sunnah because Allah Almighty has often used the word “light” for heavenly books, as well as for the knowledge of revelation and guidance. And the meaning of this example is that whoever has been granted the gift of the light of insight in his heart is so eager to accept divine commands and revelation as petrol is eager to catch fire.

[61] Just as Allah Almighty naturally grants the light of the eye to every person, similarly, Allah Almighty grants the light of insight to every person. Now, another law of Allah Almighty is that if a person stops using any faculty or power, that faculty is taken away from him. Therefore, only those people are blessed with Allah’s guidance who themselves also strive to make use of it. And the person who is not even a seeker of the light of guidance, Allah does not forcibly grant guidance to anyone.