Light upon Light
By
Naseer Ahmed, New Age Islam
5 July 2022
The
Metaphor For The Light Of Allah Is A Lamp And Not The Sun; It Is Not Available
To All Like The Light Of The Sun But Only To Those Who Seek It
Main
Points:
1. Signs of
Allah are also there in what He has created of the physical world, its laws and
in the natural phenomena that we observe
2. When you
combine the Quranic Ayat with the corresponding Ayat in the physical world or
its knowledge from science, it is like touching the self-luminescent olive oil
with fire producing Light upon Light.
3. The
hypocrites and the disbelievers choose to remain in darkness in this world and
will remain in darkness in the Hereafter.
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The Quranic
verses are called Ayat which mean the signs of Allah. The signs of Allah are
also there in what He has created of the physical world, its laws and in the
natural phenomena that we observe. The Quran refers to these also as the Ayat
of Allah. While the Ayat in the Quran about the material world is its cryptic
description, the detail is to be found through systematic study of the subject
which is what science is all about. Consider the following ayat of the Quran
which point to the ayat in the physical world, its laws and in the natural
phenomena which the Quran is asking us to ponder over.
(2:164)
Behold! in the creation of the heavens and the earth; in the alternation of the
night and the day; in the sailing of the ships through the ocean for the profit
of mankind; in the rain which Allah Sends down from the skies, and the life which
He gives therewith to an earth that is dead; in the beasts of all kinds that He
scatters through the earth; in the change of the winds, and the clouds which
they Trail like their slaves between the sky and the earth;- (Here) indeed are
Signs for a people that are wise.
(7:185)
Do they see nothing in the government of the heavens and the earth and all that
Allah hath created? (Do they not see) that it may well be that their terms is
nigh drawing to an end? In what message after this will they then believe?
(186) To such as Allah rejects from His guidance, there can be no guide: He
will leave them in their trespasses, wandering in distraction.
Ayat
An-Nur
Now
consider the following verse:
(24:35) Allah
is the Light of the heavens and the earth. The Parable 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 brilliant star: Lit from a blessed Tree, an Olive, neither of the
east nor of the west, whose oil is well-nigh luminous, though fire scarce
touched it: Light upon Light! Allah doth guide whom He will to His Light: Allah
doth set forth Parables for men: and Allah doth know all things.
This verse
with reference to the Deen of Islam or its moral principles is explained in my
article: An Exposition of the Verse of Light (Ayat al-Nur). Now we can understand the same with reference to Ayat about the material
world. The Quranic Ayat is like the olive oil from a tree that is neither of
the east nor of the west which means it is not from this world, but of divine
origin “Lit from a blessed Tree, an Olive, neither of the east nor of the west,
whose oil is well-nigh luminous, though fire scarce touched it”. When you
combine the Quranic Ayat with the corresponding Ayat in the physical world or
its knowledge from science, it is like touching the self-luminescent olive oil
with fire producing Light upon Light. : Allah doth set forth Parables for
men: and Allah doth know all things.
A
Commentator’s Experience of ‘Light upon Light’
The
following is from a young commentator’s understanding of verse 15:21
(15:21) And
there is not a thing but its (sources and) treasures (inexhaustible) are with
Us; but We only send down thereof in due and ascertainable measures.
What can we
make of the verse by itself? What is it that Allah sends down from the Heavens
except for rain is what we wonder? If Allah is referring to the deposits of
gold, and other elements and has sent these down in due and ascertainable
measures, then the job is done with the creation of the earth is what we think.
We think that the qunatitity of every element must be limited by what is
already there. However, when I looked beyond my limited knowledge and dipped
into the common pool of cumulative knowledge of all mankind, I discovered that
indeed the Heavens are the factories that make these treasures which are sent
down on earth for our benefit and this is a continuous process which did not
end with the creation of the earth. Allah is forever sending down whatever we
need in the right measure. Briefly, what we learn from science, is the
following:
The
universe's three lightest elements — hydrogen, helium and lithium — were
created in the earliest moments of the cosmos, just after the Big Bang. Most of
the quantities of elements heavier than lithium, up to iron on the periodic
table, were forged billions of years later, in the cores of stars. The
precious metals that we see on Earth today are largely heavenly in nature,
coming from the sky.
Cosmic dust
is made of various elements, such as carbon, oxygen, iron and other atoms
heavier than hydrogen and helium. The new Herschel observations are the best
evidence yet that supernovae are, in fact, the dust-making machines of the
early cosmos. The principal investigator of the survey project, Margaret
Meixner of the Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, Md. explained
"Now we have a direct measurement of how supernovae enrich space with
the elements that condense into the dust that is needed for stars, planets and
life."
Enough
gold, uranium and other heavy elements about equal in mass to all of Earth's
oceans likely came to the solar system from the collision of two neutron stars
billions of years ago, a new study finds. Recent findings have suggested that
much of the gold and other elements heavier than iron on the periodic table was
born in the catastrophic aftermath of colliding neutron stars, which are the
ultra-dense cores of stars left behind after supernova explosions.
What is
the purpose of the verse? The purpose of the verse is to make us appreciate God's generosity so
that we become grateful to Him for His bounties. It is to give us a true idea
of His greatness as the possessor of infinite resources, and the ability to
send down all that we need in appropriate measure. Science has helped me to
gain the deepest understanding of the verse when before, it was very
shallow. I experienced true ecstasy from
the deep understanding that the verse gave me of several of the attributes of
Allah such as Al-Karim (The Generous), Ar-Rahman, Ar-Rahim, Al-Malik (Possessor
of complete sovereignty), Al-Khaliq (Creator), Al-Wahhab (Bestower of all
things) , Ar-Razzaq (provider of sustenance), Al-Alim (The Knower), Al-Qabid
(Restrainer) , Al-Basit (Expander), Al-Khabeer (the all Aware) , Al-Muqeet
(Noursiher), Al-Mujib (Responsive), Al-Hakeem (The Wise), Al-Hamid (praiseworthy), Al-Muhsi
(Accounter), Al-Qayyum (The Self Subsisting
Sustainer of all), Al-Badi (Originator of creation), Al-Warith (Inheritor to
whom everything returns).
Those
Who Try To Extinguish the Light
There are
many who with their deceptive discourse try to deprive the believers of the
light and from the ‘Light upon Light’
(61:7) Who
doth greater wrong than one who invents falsehood against Allah, even as he is
being invited to Islam? And Allah guides not those who do wrong. (8) Their
intention is to extinguish Allah´s Light (by blowing) with their mouths: But
Allah will complete His Light, even though the Unbelievers may detest (it).
The
Metaphor of Allah’s Light
(33:45) O
Prophet! Truly We have sent thee as a Witness, a Bearer of Glad Tidings, and
Warner,-(46) And as one who invites to Allah´s (grace) by His leave, and as a
lamp spreading light. (47) Then give the Glad Tidings to the Believers,
that they shall have from Allah a very great Bounty.(48) And obey not (the
behests) of the Unbelievers and the Hypocrites, and heed not their annoyances,
but put thy Trust in Allah. For enough is Allah as a Disposer of affairs.
The
metaphor for the Light of Allah is a lamp and not the Sun. It is not available
to all like the light of the Sun but only to those who seek it. The hypocrites
and the disbelievers choose to remain in darkness in this world and will remain
in darkness in the Hereafter.
(57:13) One
Day will the Hypocrites- men and women - say to the Believers: "Wait for
us! Let us borrow (a Light) from your Light!" It will be said: "Turn
ye back to your rear! then seek a Light (where ye can)!" So a wall will be
put up betwixt them, with a gate therein. Within it will be Mercy throughout,
and without it, all alongside, will be (Wrath and) Punishment!
The
Metaphor of the Rejecters’ Darkness
(24:39) But
the Rejecters,- their deeds are like a mirage in sandy deserts, which the man
parched with thirst mistakes for water; until when he comes up to it, he finds
it to be nothing: But he finds Allah (ever) with him, and Allah will pay him
his account: and Allah is swift in taking account.(40) Or (the Rejecters´
state) is like the depths of darkness in a vast deep ocean, overwhelmed with
billow topped by billow, topped by (dark) clouds: depths of darkness, one above
another: if a man stretches out his hands, he can hardly see it! for any to
whom Allah giveth not light, there is no light!
May Allah guide us all to His light and may we
become the true seekers of His light wherever we may find it. Amen.
-----
A frequent contributor to NewAgeIslam.com, Naseer
Ahmed is an Engineering graduate from IIT Kanpur and is an independent IT
consultant after having served in both the Public and Private sector in
responsible positions for over three decades. He has spent years studying Quran
in-depth and made seminal contributions to its interpretation.
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-ideology/light-allah-ayat-quran/d/127408
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