The material in this blog is now available at amazon.com under the title: Ideas Inspired by the Qur’an.
للَّهُ نُورُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالأَرْضِ
Statements like this in the Qur’an are plain metaphors, whereby two referents that are not identical are nonetheless said to be so, but only to express their resemblance. If AL-LAH had no sense of poetry, or condemned its use, such freedom of expression would be categorically forbidden. But He deliberately engages our imaginations, urging us to look around and find things in the world that remind us of Him. This, in itself, is an act of illumination, of Light in language.
We are light-seeking creatures, like indoor flowers that instinctively turn and grow towards the nearest sign of sunshine. Our world is primarily a visual one, and our thoughts naturally coalesce around pictures when we strive to understand what words can only dimly convey. Because we are so keen to see, we even learn to make do with the muted shades of darkness that surround us, and then come to prefer their subtle hues to plain white light. Finally, we end up loving, not Light itself, but what we see – manifestations of ourselves and our limited capacities.
The symbolic language of the Qur’an helps to cut through this undergrowth and present us with the shining heart of the Divine, directly and concisely, and make it familiar and memorable. We labour under the impression that we do not know GOD. But almost all of us ‘know’ light; the single word serves to evoke a wide range of images and recollections. Suddenly, it is as if the invisible GOD appears before us . . . in our heart’s eye. And on the Day of Resurrection, the final veil is removed.
From ‘Abdil-Lahibni Shaqiq, who said, ‘I said to Abi Dharr, “If I had met the Messenger of AL-LAH (may AL-LAH bless him and give him peace), I would have asked him [something].” He said, “What would you have asked him?” He [sic] said, “I would have asked him, ‘Have you seen your Lord?’” Abu Dharr replied, “I asked him [that], and he said, ‘I saw a light.’”’ (Sahihu Muslim, Book 1, Hadith 351)
عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ شَقِيقٍ، قَالَ قُلْتُ لأَبِي ذَرٍّ لَوْ رَأَيْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم لَسَأَلْتُهُ فَقَالَ عَنْ أَىِّ شَىْءٍ كُنْتَ تَسْأَلُهُ قَالَ كُنْتُ أَسْأَلُهُ هَلْ رَأَيْتَ رَبَّكَ قَالَ أَبُو ذَرٍّ قَدْ سَأَلْتُ فَقَالَ رَأَيْتُ نُورًا
From Abi Dharr, who said, ‘I asked the Messenger of GOD (may AL-LAH bless him and give him peace), “Have you seen your Lord?”. He replied, “[It was] a light. How could I see Him?”’ (Sahihu Muslim, Book 1, Hadith 350)
َنْ أَبِي ذَرٍّ، قَالَ سَأَلْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم هَلْ رَأَيْتَ رَبَّكَ قَالَ نُورٌ أَنَّى أَرَاهُ
From the first of these two narrations, we learn that light is how GOD manifests himself to mortal man, and even to the best of men. And in the second, we are told that there is nothing more of Him that can be seen, at least in this life, and that He is not the same as whatever light we see.
Some people in the time of the Messenger of AL-LAH (may GOD bless him and give him peace) said, “Shall we see our Lord on the Day of Resurrection?” He (may GOD bless him and give him peace) replied, “Yes. Do you have trouble seeing the sun at noon, in a clear sky without clouds? And do you have trouble seeing the full moon at night, in a clear sky without clouds?” They replied, “No, O Messenger of AL-LAH.” He said, “You will have no trouble seeing AL-LAH the Blessed and Most High on the Day of Resurrection just as you have no trouble seeing one of them.” (Sahihu Muslim, Book 1, Hadith 361)
أَنَّ نَاسًا، فِي زَمَنِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالُوا يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ هَلْ نَرَى رَبَّنَا يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم نَعَمْ قَالَ هَلْ تُضَارُّونَ فِي رُؤْيَةِ الشَّمْسِ بِالظَّهِيرَةِ صَحْوًا لَيْسَ مَعَهَا سَحَابٌ وَهَلْ تُضَارُّونَ فِي رُؤْيَةِ الْقَمَرِ لَيْلَةَ الْبَدْرِ صَحْوًا لَيْسَ فِيهَا سَحَابٌ قَالُوا لاَ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ . قَالَ مَا تُضَارُّونَ فِي رُؤْيَةِ اللَّهِ تَبَارَكَ وَتَعَالَى يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ إِلاَّ كَمَا تُضَارُّونَ فِي رُؤْيَةِ أَحَدِهِمَا
This sight of AL-LAH is by ‘ainil-yaqin – the ‘eye of certainty’ that reveals not only the delights of Paradise but also the horrors of Hell.
What can be said about the nature of physical light?
- It is a form of energy.
- It appears to come from somewhere.
- It has intensity.
- It makes things visible to organs developed to respond to light, such as the human eye.
- It has direction.
There are many more properties, of course, but these should suffice to convey the aptness of light as a symbol of GOD.
The GOD You Already Know 