Lessons from Surah an-Noor - Shaykh Ahsan Hanif

Lessons from Sūrah an-Nūr: The Verse of Light

When the scholars used to choose and select a single verse of the Qur'an to comment upon and to study and to analyze, you will perhaps be amazed to learn that the verse that they would most focus on is not one of the verses that would perhaps come to your mind. It is not one of the verses of Sūrat al-Fātiḥah or Sūrat al-Ikhlāṣ, it is not even Āyat al-Kursī, even though our Prophet ﷺ told us that Āyat al-Kursī is the greatest verse of the Qur'an. No, rather they would focus on a verse in Sūrat an-Nūr, the chapter of light.

And that verse is also known as the Verse of Light — Āyat an-Nūr — the thirty-fifth verse of Sūrat an-Nūr, in which Allah says: Allah is the light of the heavens and the earth. It is this verse that is probably the most commented upon verse amongst the scholars of Islam for centuries, hundreds of years, because Allah within this verse gives a parable, He gives an example.

Allah says: Allah is the light of the heavens and the earth. The example of His light is like the example of a crevice or a niche in which there is a light, a candle, and that candle is encased in glass. That glass is so gleaming, it is so bright, that it is in and of itself like a shining, twinkling star. And that candle — its oil that lights it — is also from a blessed olive tree that is neither found in the east nor is it found in the west. That oil in and of itself is also so pure, so gleaming, that it is about to come to light, it is about to set on fire, even though no fire has touched it. That is how bright it is. So Allah says it is light upon light. You have the light, the gleaming pure nature of the oil; you have the light of the candle; you have the gleaming nature of the glass. It is light upon light. Allah guides to His light whomsoever He chooses, and Allah sets forth parables for mankind, and indeed Allah is all-knowing over everything.

This verse — verse number 35 of Sūrah an-Nūr — is a verse that I want you to go back and study and read and analyze after today's khutbah, even if it's just a translation. This is the verse from over 6,000 plus verses that the scholars most focused and most commented upon, because Allah is speaking in essence about our īmān. He is speaking about the most basic fundamental concept in our religion, and that is our belief and our faith.

The Three Meanings of the Light of Allah

Allah says: Allah is the light of the heavens and the earth. What is the meaning of this light? There are many varying opinions amongst the scholars of tafsīr, but three of perhaps the most common and most acceptable of those opinions are as follows.

First: The Light of Guidance

The first meaning of this nūr, this light of Allah, is the light of guidance. That is what Allah is referring to. And throughout the Qur'an and the Sunnah, Allah refers to Himself, and He refers to the Prophet ﷺ, and He refers to the Qur'an as a light of guidance.

For the Qur'an, Allah says:

And We have revealed upon you a bright light — meaning the Qur'an.

And Allah described the Prophet ﷺ in Sūrat al-Aḥzāb:

He is a caller to the path of Allah by the permission of Allah, and he is a bright lamp.

And when Allah describes entering people into īmān or bringing them into Islam, He says:

He takes them from darkness and enters them into light. What is this light? It is the light of Islam, the light of guidance that Allah bestows upon those people that He chooses and selects. It is the greatest blessing that Allah can bestow upon any single person. That is the first interpretation of the light of Allah in this verse.

Second: The Physical Light of Creation

The second interpretation is that it is the physical light that Allah has placed upon this earth — the sun, the moon, the stars. These are the lights that Allah has physically placed upon the earth. It is from the creation of Allah.

Third: Allah Himself is Light

The third of those interpretations is that the nūr, the light being referred to in this verse, is Allah Himself. Because Allah is light. As is mentioned in the hadith of Abdullah ibn Abbas رضي الله عنهما in al-Bukhārī and Muslim, that one of the du'ās that the Prophet ﷺ would most make during the night in his night prayer is:

O Allah, all praise is for You; for You are the light of the heavens and the earth and everything within them.

In another hadith — the hadith of Abu Mūsā al-Ash'arī رضي الله عنه in Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim — he said:

(Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, Book 1, Hadith 343)

Abu Mūsā رضي الله عنه said that the Prophet ﷺ one day stood before us and said five things to us:

One: Indeed Allah does not sleep, and it is not befitting that He should sleep. Two: Indeed Allah's scales rise and descend — meaning that when our actions rise up to Allah, He judges them using His scale of justice; and when Allah descends His provision to mankind, He also does so with His scales of wisdom and justice. Three: The actions of the night go up to Allah before the actions of the day, and the actions of the day rise to Allah before the actions of the night. Four: The veil of Allah is all light. Five: Were Allah to remove even a small part of that veil from His face, then the light and the brilliance of His face would destroy everything that it touched from His creation.

So Allah is Nūr. He is light. And from the names of Allah is an-Nūr.

Abu Dharr رضي الله عنه said — as is also collected in Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim:

(Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, Book 1, Hadith 351)

I asked him: O Messenger of Allah, when you went on that night journey — the Isrā' and Mi'rāj — on a single night, you went from Makkah to Jerusalem, to the seven heavens and back, and you spoke to Allah directly. Did you see your Lord? Did you see Allah? And the Prophet ﷺ replied: "It was just light — how could I possibly see Him?" Because the light of Allah is too strong for any person in this life to be able to see the face of Allah. But from the greatest blessings — if not the greatest blessing — that Allah will grant to the people of paradise in the next life, is that they will be able to see the face of their Lord and Creator.

So Allah is Nūr, and His guidance is nūr, and He has placed physical nūr for us within His creation, within this universe.

The Parable Explained: The Believer's Chest, Heart, and Faith

But then Allah gives the parable of that nūr — that the example of His light is like a crevice in which there is a glass, in which there is a candle, and even the oil of that candle is so bright that it is light upon light. What is the meaning of this?

Some of the scholars of tafsīr gave a holistic analysis and said that it is a parable to describe the īmān of the believer — that the power and the brilliance of a person's faith is like the example that Allah has placed within this verse. Other scholars, such as Ibn al-Qayyim رحمه الله, went through each part of the verse and gave a detailed explanation.

Ibn al-Qayyim رحمه الله said that the mishkāh — the crevice that Allah is speaking about — it is the chest of the believer. And the glass that Allah describes as being within that crevice is the heart of the believer. And the candle — the light that Allah mentions as being encased in that glass — that is the īmān, the faith, that Allah places in the heart of the believer.

This is a very interesting analysis. If you were to ponder over the explanation of scholars like Ibn al-Qayyim رحمه الله تعالى: Allah has placed in the heart of every single believer, īmān. You have īmān in your hearts — of varying degrees and levels. Sometimes it rises and increases, and sometimes it decreases. But each and every one of us has within us this fiṭrah that Allah has placed. We know when we have done something wrong, because even before anyone else tells us — or before we need any evidences from the Qur'an and the Sunnah — it is often first our heart that tells us that we do not feel at ease. That is a personal compass that Allah has placed within you. And when you do something good and come closer to Allah, you yourself feel that your īmān has increased, that your connection with Allah has been strengthened.

Yet so delicate and fragile is that light. As the Prophet ﷺ told us, from the signs of Yawm al-Qiyāmah is that a person wakes up as a believer, but by evening they are a disbeliever. And at evening a person will be a believer, but by the next morning they will be a disbeliever. So fragile is that light that Allah has encased it within our heart.

Yet that heart Allah describes as being glass, because glass is something see-through. When Allah describes the heart as being glass, it is because what is within your heart will always manifest upon your limbs, upon your tongue, in your speech, your character, your actions. It will always come out — because glass is also fragile.

As the Prophet ﷺ said:

(Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Hadith 52; Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, Book 22, Hadith 107)

Indeed, there is a morsel of flesh within the body. If it is righteous, then the whole body becomes righteous. But if it is evil and corrupt, then the whole body becomes evil and corrupt. Indeed, it is the heart.

So Allah has given us that heart. What is within your heart will always come out, however it comes out. And when Allah judges us for our actions and our deeds, Allah, first and foremost, looks within our heart to judge our sincerity, our ikhlāṣ, and our piety. And then Allah has encased that within the chest. So fragile is that īmān that Allah protects it with so many layers.

Yet so many of us take it for granted — the īmān that Allah has given to us, the blessing that Allah has bestowed upon us, the fact that you know the Qur'an, you know the Prophet ﷺ, the fact that Allah has given you the ability and the knowledge to know how to worship Him — to pray, to fast, to give zakāh and charity, and all of those other good deeds. Yet how insignificant does it often seem within our eyes. Yet how great does Allah make it within this parable of the Qur'an.

The Oil: The Light of the Qur'an

Ibn al-Qayyim رحمه الله said that the oil — which is neither found in the east nor the west — is the oil of the Qur'an. That is the guidance that Allah has sent to us. That is the revelation that Allah has given to us. The Qur'an in and of itself is a light, in and of itself is bright, in and of itself is gleaming and brilliant and superb. The Qur'an in and of itself is a great guidance.

Yet when it merges and is combined with the īmān of the believer — when it enters your heart and settles within your heart, and the two merge and combine — you have your īmān, you have your natural disposition to worship Allah, you have that compass that Allah has placed within you, and then you add upon that the knowledge of the Qur'an, the guidance of the Qur'an, the example of the Prophet ﷺ. That is when Allah says:

Light upon light. It is Allah who guides whomever He wills to that light.

The Qur'an is one of the greatest blessings of Allah, and it was the miracle given to the Prophet ﷺ that is everlasting until Yawm al-Qiyāmah.

And that is why the Prophet ﷺ said, in the hadith of Abu Anbah al-Khawlānī, describing the hearts of the believers:

(Al-Mu'jam al-Kabīr of al-Ṭabarānī; reported by Abu Anbah al-Khawlānī)

Indeed Allah has vessels from amongst the people of the earth. And the vessels of your Lord are the hearts of the righteous people. And indeed the most beloved of those hearts to Allah are those that are most gentle and soft.

Because when your heart is gentle and soft, it is more willing to accept the guidance of the Qur'an. And that is why when Allah and the Prophet ﷺ always described the heart of the believer, it is described as gentle and soft — whereas when disbelievers are described, their hearts are normally described as being harder than rock and stone.

When you have that īmān and you appreciate that īmān — irrespective of the challenges you may be facing, irrespective of the difficulties that the ummah may be facing — when you yourself have that knowledge, you have that contentment and peace in your heart, and you have your relationship with Allah, and you continue to supplement it with the guidance of the Qur'an and the example of the Prophet ﷺ, it is a light that cannot be extinguished. Even if all of the forces of this universe were to come together, that light is sufficient for you because it is from Allah.

How to Preserve That Light: The People of the Masājid

And that is why Allah then tells us in the next two verses how to preserve that light. Who are the people of that light? Who are the people who nurture it? He says:

In houses that Allah has given permission should be elevated — His name is mentioned therein, and He is glorified therein by morning and by evening. They are people whom commerce and business, buying and selling, does not divert from the remembrance of Allah, from establishing the prayer, and from giving zakāh. They fear a day when hearts and eyes will turn over.

Meaning the masājid — the houses of Allah. This is the description of those people who know how to continuously increase their īmān when it becomes low. They know how, when Shayṭān comes to them and distances them from Allah, to regain that close connection. They come to the masājid, they study the Qur'an, they remember Allah, they glorify and praise Him, and they know their priorities — because nothing from this dunyā will divert them from the remembrance of Allah or His worship.

And this Ṣalāt al-Jumu'ah is such a prime example. When we take time out of our work and our studies — our lunch break is used to come here to worship Allah — because we know how serious an obligation it is. Whether we are at work, traveling, at home, or on a journey — wherever we are — we know when those five prayers come, it is time to stop and offer those prayers. Fajr, whatever time it may be. Ẓuhr, 'Aṣr, Maghrib, 'Ishā' — irrespective of how late it may be. These are the obligations that Allah has placed upon us.

And that is why Allah then goes on to mention the immense reward that those people will have — those people who have that light and it glows and shines bright, who know how to use the Qur'an and the means of strengthening their īmān:

So that Allah may reward them for the best of that which they used to do — not just any action, not just the least of what they used to do, but for the best deeds that they did — and then He will increase them from His bounty and His favor. And Allah gives and provides to whomsoever He wills without any limit.

Second Part of the Khutbah

الحمد لله على إحسانه، والشكر له على توفيقه وامتنانه، وأشهد أن لا إله إلا الله وحده ولا شريك له تعظيمًا لشأنه، وأشهد أن نبينا وسيدنا محمدًا عبده ورسوله الداعي إلى رضوانه. اللهم صلِّ وسلِّم وبارِك عليه وعلى آله وصحبه وإخوانه وسلِّم تسليمًا كثيرًا. أما بعد.

The Opposite of Light: Those Without Nūr

Allah, after mentioning these verses about the believers and giving us this parable of light — after which the whole Sūrah is named — then in the next two verses speaks about the opposite. Those people who do not have that light. Those people who sometimes have that light but it extinguishes from them. Those people who do not supplement that light with the guidance and the light of the Qur'an and the example of our Prophet ﷺ. Allah says:

As for those who disbelieve, the example of their actions will be like the example of a mirage in the desert. The one who is thirsty will consider it to be water, but when he arrives at that point he will find that in reality it was nothing. Those actions will become null and void. But instead he will find Allah to be there, and Allah will account him in full. And Allah is quick in holding to account.

Or like the example of a person who is in perpetual darkness — the darkness of the unfathomable sea. Wave upon wave will cover him, wave upon wave, with clouds above. It is darkness upon darkness, such that if that person were to outstretch their hand, they would be unable to see in front of them. And whosoever Allah does not grant a light to, they will never have a light.

The Light of the Ṣirāṭ on the Day of Judgement

We know that our Prophet ﷺ told us, and Allah mentions in the Qur'an, that on Yawm al-Qiyāmah, those people who will enter into Jannah will have to cross the Ṣirāṭ — the bridge. And as they cross over that bridge, they will only cross in accordance to the light that Allah has granted to them. And that light will be in accordance to the level of īmān that they had in this life.

So some people — their light will be so bright and so shining that, even though that bridge is thinner than a strand of hair and sharper than the edge of a blade or a sword — because their light is so bright, they will pass over like lightning. Others will pass in a blink of an eye. Others will run like a fast sprinter, because their light is bright. Their īmān in this life was sufficient to give them that light.

Yet others will have a weaker light, because of their weaker īmān — because they did not do enough to preserve and nurture that light that Allah had given to them. So they will walk, or they will crawl. Yet others will have only a blinking light. When the light comes on, they will take a step, and then the light will extinguish. And they will be in darkness, not knowing whether that light will come on again or not. And if it comes on, they will take another step. No one will dare to walk upon that bridge in darkness. Each person is waiting for that light to come.

So Allah gives the example of those people who will be in such perpetual darkness that they cannot even see their hands. That is the darkness of Yawm al-Qiyāmah. That is how dark it will be. There will be no light — neither natural nor artificial. The only light is the light of īmān.

Reconnecting with the Qur'an

It is difficult to compress and summarize hundreds of years of tafsīr into a short khutbah. But what I wanted to do was give you a glimpse of the power of this verse and how the scholars of Islam used to consider it so important that they wrote so many works and books on this single verse of the Qur'an — and how we need to reconnect with the Qur'an, and go back and study and analyze this verse.

The Du'ā of the Prophet ﷺ for Light

But I want to leave you with a final hadith — the hadith of Abdullah ibn Abbas رضي الله عنه in Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim. He said that one night he went to stay with his aunt Maimūnah رضي الله عنها — one of the wives of our Prophet ﷺ — and he spent the night with her and the Prophet ﷺ. It is a long narration. He wanted to see how the Prophet ﷺ would worship during the night. So he watched him and narrated his wuḍū' and he watched him and narrated his prayer, and he stood up to pray next to him.

He says at the end of this narration that the Prophet ﷺ made a du'ā in this prayer — and in another narration, he said he made it in his sujūd. And that du'ā is:

(Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, Book 6, Hadith 215)

O Allah, place light in my heart and place light in my hearing and place light in my sight and place light upon my right and upon my left and place light in front of me and behind me and place light above me and below me, and O Allah, grant me light. And in another narration: O Allah, make me light.

Abdullah ibn Abbas رضي الله عنه narrated this amazing du'ā of the Prophet ﷺ, showing how the Prophet ﷺ understood from this verse the importance and the concept of this light — how precious it is, how fragile it is, how much work and effort you need to put into preserving and nurturing that light of īmān — perchance that it will be the reason of your salvation in this life and the next.

We ask Allah by His most beautiful names and lofty attributes that He grants us that light, and He makes it shine bright and show its brilliance to all others, and that Allah preserves that light for us and our children and our families, and that Allah grants us the light of the Qur'an and the Sunnah of our Prophet ﷺ. He makes us from amongst those people who, when they hear admonition, they follow it at its best. And that Allah grants us and our families — our parents, our spouses and our children — His mercy and His forgiveness, and Allah grants us all the highest ranks of Jannah.