Ayat an-Nur

readings of the Qur'an.

Verse

cquote

:"God is the Light of the heavens and the earth;"

:"The similitude of His Light is as if there were a niche;"

:"And within it a Lamp: the Lamp enclosed in Glass;"

:"The glass as it were a glittering star;"

:"Lit from a Blessed Tree;"

:"An Olive, neither of the East nor of the West;"

:"Whose oil is nigh luminous, though no fire has touched it;"

:"Light upon Light; God guides to His Light whom He will."

:"And God strikes similitudes for men, and God has knowledge of everything"."

Comments

Perhaps more than any other, this single ayat suggests only mystical interpretations, as the metaphor is completely coherent, but it does not surrender an obvious meaning. 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. Most noteworthy amongst the intellectual and spiritual genius who have puzzled over Ayat an-Nur is al-Ghazali (d. 1111), whose reflections on this verse, as well as the nature of divine Light is collected in his masterpiece Mishkat al-Anwar (the "Niche of Lights").

Often employed by Sufis and Muslim Philosophers, the Light Verse testifies of God as the "Light of the heavens and the earth". The short metaphor which follows, is both visual enough to be grasped by anyone, and yet suggests realms of meaning beyond any literal reading of the Book. This 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:

*ibn Sina (Avicenna)
*al-Ghazali
*Fakhr al-Din al-Razi
*Ibn al-'Arabi
*Rumi

See also

*Sura an-Nur
*Sufi Texts
*Noor (Sufism)
*Ayat
*Sufism
*Esotericism
*Esoteric interpretation of the Qur'an

External links

*Tafsir on Ayat an-Nur: http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/ABewley/nur.html
*Theophanies and Lights in the Thought of Ibn 'Arabi:http://www.ibnarabisociety.org/articles/osmanyahya.html
* [http://www.islamicity.com/MOSQUE/ARABICSCRIPT/AYAT/24/24_35.htm Hear Chapter "Noor" on Islamicity]
* [http://www.dar-us-salam.com/TheNobleQuran/surah24.html Surah Noor, Holy Quran]
* [http://www.lightuponlight.com Light Upon Light (Islamic Videos)]