Verse of Nur
 | |
| Verse's Information | |
|---|---|
| Name | Verse of Nur |
| Sura | Sura al-Nur (Qur'an 24) |
| Verse | 35 |
| Juz' | 18 |
| Topic | Theological |
| About | Description of God as the Light of the heavens and the earth |
Qur'an 24:35, known as the Verse of Nūr (Arabic: آيَة ٱلنُّور, Verse of Light), is verse 35 of Sura al-Nur, which introduces God as the Light of the heavens and the earth and, in the form of a parable, explains how this light shines upon the heavens and the earth and its role in guiding the believers.
Commentators have interpreted the word "Light" (Nur) in this verse as Guide, Life-Giver, Illuminator, and Adorner, and have mentioned instances such as the Qur'an, faith, divine guidance, Prophet Muhammad (s), and the Imams of the Shi'a (a) for it. In some commentaries and narrations, this verse has been applied to the Prophet (s) and the Ahl al-Bayt (a).
Text and Translation
| “ | اللَّهُ نُورُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ ۚ مَثَلُ نُورِهِ كَمِشْكَاةٍ فِيهَا مِصْبَاحٌ ۖ الْمِصْبَاحُ فِي زُجَاجَةٍ ۖ الزُّجَاجَةُ كَأَنَّهَا كَوْكَبٌ دُرِّيٌّ يُوقَدُ مِنْ شَجَرَةٍ مُبَارَكَةٍ زَيْتُونَةٍ لَا شَرْقِيَّةٍ وَلَا غَرْبِيَّةٍ يَكَادُ زَيْتُهَا يُضِيءُ وَلَوْ لَمْ تَمْسَسْهُ نَارٌ ۚ نُورٌ عَلَىٰ نُورٍ ۗ يَهْدِي اللَّهُ لِنُورِهِ مَنْ يَشَاءُ ۚ وَيَضْرِبُ اللَّهُ الْأَمْثَالَ لِلنَّاسِ ۗ وَاللَّهُ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عَلِيمٌ
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” |
| — Qur'an 24:35 | ||
Content of the Verse
In the verses preceding the Verse of Nur, rulings, especially regarding chastity and fighting against indecency, were discussed. The Verse of Nur was revealed in connection with these verses because the guarantor of the implementation of all God's commandments, especially sexual restraint, is faith. Thus the light of divine guidance is mentioned in this verse.[1]
The Verse of Nur, along with subsequent verses, compares believers (who are guided by God's light) and disbelievers (who are engulfed in dense darkness).[2] Commentators have offered various views on the concept of the Verse of Nur, the meaning of its words, the instances and manifestations of divine light, and how the content of the verse is attributed to God. Allama Tabataba'i, based on the primary and well-known meaning of the word "light", considers it something by which other bodies become visible by it but is itself visible by its own essence and not made visible by anything else; meaning light is inherently manifest and manifests others. In its secondary meaning, light applies to anything that reveals sensory objects; for this reason, human physical senses like hearing, smell, and touch, and also non-sensory faculties like intellect which reveals intelligibles, are called light.[3]
Commentators have interpreted the word "Nur" in the beginning of the verse ("Allahu nur al-samawat wa al-ard") as Guide,[4] Illuminator, Adorner,[5] and Life-Giver,[6] and considering other verses and narrations, they have counted the Qur'an,[7] faith,[8] divine guidance,[9] Prophet Muhammad (s),[10] Imams of the Shi'a (a),[11] and knowledge[12] among the instances and manifestations of the Verse of Nur.[13]
In this verse, after stating the truth that God is the Light of the heavens and the earth, God's light is expressed in the form of a parable. In this parable, God's light is likened to a niche in which there is a lamp, and that lamp is inside a transparent and shining glass like a star, lit by clear and pure oil from a blessed olive tree that is neither eastern nor western.[14] Commentators have presented different views in explaining this parable. Some consider this analogy to refer to the light of guidance and divine knowledge kindled in the hearts of believers, some interpret it as the Qur'an illuminating the human heart. Others consider this analogy a reference to the person of Prophet Muhammad (s), and a group relates it to the spirit of obedience and taqwa which is the source of goodness and happiness.[15]
According to Allama Tabataba'i, the meaning of the Verse of Nur is that God guides those who are perfect in faith, not disbelievers, towards His light and the verse does not mean that He guides some to His light and deprives others.[16]The phrase "Allah draws parables for mankind, and Allah has knowledge of all things" also indicates that extensive knowledge is expressed in the form of a parable because it is the easiest way to explain truths and precise points, and everyone (scholar and illiterate) benefits from it according to their intellect and understanding.[17]
Application to the Prophet (s) and Ahl al-Bayt (a)
In some commentaries, citing narrations, the Verse of Nur is applied to the Ahl al-Bayt (a). In these commentaries, the "niche" (mishkat) is applied to the heart of Muhammad (s) or Fatima (a), the "glass" (zujaja) to Ali (a) and his heart, and the phrase "Light upon light" to the Imams of the Shi'a (a) who came one after another and were supported by the light of knowledge and wisdom.[18]
Al-Shaykh al-Saduq in his book al-Tawhid narrates from Imam al-Sadiq (a) that God has set the Verse of Nur as a parable referring to the Ahl al-Bayt (a). In this narration, Prophet Muhammad (s) and the Imams (a) are introduced as signs of God, signs by which people are guided to tawhid, the interests of religion, the laws of Islam, and the Sunna and obligations of God.[19] Allama Tabataba'i considered this narration as referring to its best instances, which are the Messenger of God (s) and his Ahl al-Bayt (a); but in his view, the verse also includes non-Ahl al-Bayt (a) such as Prophets (a), successors (awsiya), and saints (awliya).[20]
Notes
- ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān, vol. 15, p. 121; Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, vol. 14, p. 470.
- ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān, vol. 15, p. 120.
- ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān, vol. 15, p. 122.
- ↑ Ṭabarānī, Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-ʿaẓīm, vol. 4, p. 433; Baḥrānī, al-Burhān, vol. 4, p. 66.
- ↑ Fakhr Rāzī, al-Tafsīr al-kabīr, vol. 23, p. 379.
- ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān, vol. 15, pp. 122-123.
- ↑ Qur'an 5:15; Qur'an 7:157.
- ↑ Qur'an 2:257.
- ↑ Qur'an 6:122.
- ↑ Qur'an 33:46.
- ↑ Ṣadūq, Man lā yaḥḍuruh al-faqīh, vol. 2, pp. 613, 615.
- ↑ Ibn Ḥayyun, Daʿāʾim al-Islām, vol. 1, p. 419.
- ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, vol. 14, pp. 471-472.
- ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, vol. 14, pp. 475-476.
- ↑ Ṭabrasī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, vol. 7, pp. 225-227; Fakhr Rāzī, al-Tafsīr al-kabīr, vol. 23, pp. 386-387.
- ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān, vol. 15, p. 126.
- ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān, vol. 15, p. 125.
- ↑ Ḥuwayzī, Nūr al-thaqalayn, vol. 3, p. 603; Majlisī, Biḥār al-anwār, vol. 23, p. 306.
- ↑ Ṣadūq, al-Tawḥīd, p. 157.
- ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān, vol. 15, p. 141.
References
- Baḥrānī, Hāshim b. Sulaymān al-. Al-Burhān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān. Qom, Muʾassasat al-Biʿtha, 1374 Sh.
- Fakhr Rāzī, Muḥammad b. ʿUmar. Al-Tafsīr al-kabīr. Beirut, Dār Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth al-ʿArabī, 1420 AH.
- Ḥuwayzī, ʿAbd ʿAlī b. Jumʿa. Tafsīr nūr al-thaqalayn. Edited by Hāshim Rasūlī. Qom, Ismāʿīlīyān, 1415 AH.
- Ibn Ḥayyun, Nuʿmān b. Muḥammad al-Maghribī. Daʿāʾim al-Islām. Edited by Āṣif Fayḍī. Qom, Muʾassasat Āl al-Bayt (a), 1385 AH.
- Majlisī, Muḥammad Bāqir al-. Biḥār al-anwār. Beirut, Dār Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth al-ʿArabī, 1403 AH.
- Makārim Shīrāzī, Nāṣir. Tafsīr-i nimūna. Tehran, Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmiyya, 1371 Sh.
- Ṣadūq, Muḥammad b. ʿAlī al-. Al-Tawḥīd. Edited by Hāshim Ḥusaynī. Qom, Jāmiʿa-yi Mudarrisīn, 1398 AH.
- Ṣadūq, Muḥammad b. ʿAlī al-. Man lā yaḥḍuruh al-faqīh. Edited by ʿAlī Akbar Ghaffārī. Qom, Intishārāt-i Islāmī, 1413 AH.
- Ṭabāṭabāʾī, Muḥammad Ḥusayn. Al-Mīzān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān. Beirut, Dār Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth al-ʿArabī, 1390 AH.
- Ṭabarānī, Sulaymān b. Aḥmad al-. Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-ʿaẓīm. Irbid, Dār al-Kitāb al-Thaqāfī, 2008.
- Ṭabrasī, Faḍl b. Ḥasan al-. Majmaʿ al-bayān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān. Tehran, Nāṣir Khusraw, 1372 Sh.