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The Surah of Light (Nur) | Sh Ahsan Hanif

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The chapter of Light contains the verse of light; one of the most commented upon verses in the Qur’an. In verse 35, Allah subḥānahu wa ta'āla (glorified and exalted be He) sets forth a parable. It is a parable of the light of Allah, and how He is the light of the heavens and earth. Allah subḥānahu wa ta'āla (glorified and exalted be He) describes His light as a niche within which is a candle. The candle is encased in glass which twinkles and gleams like a star. The fuel of the candle is the rich and pure oil of the blessed olive tree, from the blessed land of Quds, which itself is so bright that it almost glows even when untouched by fire. It is light upon light and Allah subḥānahu wa ta'āla (glorified and exalted be He) guides to His light whomsoever He wills.

There are many commentaries for this verse and what Allah subḥānahu wa ta'āla (glorified and exalted be He) is referring to here. One of the more famous ones is that the verse is a parable of faith. The candle refers to the light of īmān. Īmān is found in the heart or the glass which itself is originally pure and gleaming. The heart in turn, is within the chest or the niche. The blessed oil that in itself shines bright is the Qur’an. When the two lights merge; the light of īmān with the light of the Qur’an it is an unstoppable combination. That is light upon light.

Thus the message of the Sūrah is the light of īmān and how to attain it, and it is after this that the Sūrah is also named. Yet when we look at the rest of the Sūrah, the verses before and after the verses of light, they all speak about a single topic, but seemingly completely unrelated to the verse of light. The topic found predominantly in this Sūrah is one of modesty. Therefore, what is the connection of the verse of light with the rest of the Sūrah?

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From verse 2 onwards we find the topic of chastity and modesty, whether encouraging it or mentioning those things that go against it. Verse 2 speaks about the punishment of fornication. Verse 4 is about the punishment of those who accuse chaste women of adultery without proof. Verses 6-9 are about accusations of adultery between spouses. Verses 11 to 22 then relate to us the incident of the slander of ‘Ā’ishah and her innocence.

Verse 27 is about the etiquettes of seeking permission before entering the houses of others so as to preserve their modesty. Verses 30 and 31 are the command of Allah subḥānahu wa ta'āla (glorified and exalted be He) for the believing men and women to lower their gazes and guard their chastity. We then have the verses of light from 35 to 42.

Verse 58 then speaks about the need for those under the age of maturity to seek permission before entering upon their parents in their private rooms during certain times of the day and night. Verse 60 is about the concession for old women when it comes to their dress code. The following verse, 61, also speaks of concessions, but this time for the blind, sick and disabled. The Sūrah then concludes.

As you see from the previous few paragraphs, the Sūrah more or less speaks only about modesty, the main exception to this being the verses of light. Therefore, what is the relationship between these two distinct topics?

The verse of light speaks about the light of īmān, not only in terms of its power and glory when it is shining bright, but also its fragility if we do not protect it. We can never take it for granted. The Prophet ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him) said, “A man will wake up with īmān but sleep as a disbeliever, and a man will be a believer at night and awake a disbeliever.”[1] It is as fragile as a candle that can be extinguished with a simple blow of breath or a slight wind. Therefore, Allah subḥānahu wa ta'āla (glorified and exalted be He) informs us of the issue which will help preserve that light of īmān for us, and its opposite will extinguish it; and that is modesty.

If a person preserves their modesty and stays away from anything that diminishes this, they preserve the light of Allah subḥānahu wa ta'āla (glorified and exalted be He) which He places in the hearts of the believers. The Prophet ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him) said, “Īmān is seventy odd branches… and modesty is a branch of īmān.”[2] It is reported that a man was once on his way to see ‘Uthmān raḍyAllāhu 'anha (may Allāh be pleased with her) during his caliphate. On the way he passed by a beautiful woman and began to stare at her. He then continued until he reached ‘Uthmān. When ‘Uthmān saw him he said, “How dare one of you commit zinā and then enter upon me.” The man said, “O ‘Uthmān, do you receive revelation? How do you know what I did?” ‘Uthmān replied, “Rather, it is a light which Allah places in the faces of the believers, so when they sin it diminishes.”[3] This is why the scholars would say that knowledge is the light of Allah subḥānahu wa ta'āla (glorified and exalted be He), and Allah subḥānahu wa ta'āla (glorified and exalted be He) does not give His light to those who sin.

Thus, Allah subḥānahu wa ta'āla (glorified and exalted be He) combines between light and modesty, as through the preservation of modesty does one’s light shine bright, and with a lack of modesty, that light becomes weaker and dims.

[1] Sunan al-Tirmidhī

[2] Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim

[3] Madārij al-Sālikīn

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Shaykh Ahsan Hanif, PhD, was born and raised in Birmingham, UK. He memorised the Qur’an at a young age and at the age of 17 received a scholarship to study at the Islamic University of Madinah, Saudi Arabia. As well as attaining an ijazah in the Qur’an and a diploma in Arabic, Shaykh Ahsan graduated from the Faculty of Shari’ah Studies in 2006. Upon his return to the UK he attained his PhD from the University of Birmingham. He is currently an imam at Green Lane Masjid, Birmingham as well as the head of the Qur’an & Hadith Studies Department for AlMaghrib Institute. He has spoken at Islamic conferences in various countries, published translations of Arabic works and is a presenter of IslamQA for Islam Channel.

7 Comments

7 Comments

  1. Munawer

    June 22, 2016 at 1:03 PM

    Please advise if there’s any evidence in the Quran of the return of Issa a.s.

    • noble peace

      June 24, 2016 at 12:31 PM

      sallam alaikom,

      all I would like to say with out causing jahilayia or a rift….but do we all know what colour issa a.s is? because tupac may be alive and they claim the makavelli is returning and some rappers are promoting a race card…..albeit islam is the answer to the racism solution…and there is no difference between an arab or non arab or a black or white!!!…I do not mean to play with fire…..a green card or red passport ain’t going to get us to heaven in the end! and God only looks in to what is in our hearts…and as I write this my heart is devoid of any love or faith……albeit as it will be a deception will we as muslims know our messiah?? know him O’ muwahidun and muslmeen as the beloved advised…….we think it is not going to be all plain to see…..I personally believe we will think the real messiah will be the anti -him….even though he was not a jabbaran or an unhappy one….ooh the deception is going to be great……and know the dajjal will come out with bursts of anger…..fight club……emotion intelligence….beloved advised us do not become angry x3…..

      all the best the current generation and the next and may the hunger games begin……..I advise myself first ….leave the pound and dollar..if we get the chance…travellers/strangers….may we all attain the garden and follow up sins with good and main thing have husn al al-amal and khawateem…….

      ask for martyrdom..if it comes it comes..if not and we die other wise in sha Allah we get the reward of such…..and remember the fighter who died and was in hell as said by the beloved, because fought for just death not for the truth..and also the one who ended it all with taking his own life..oooh people times will be getting a lot harder….the grave will be a place sort after…subr ya al-amaar the new ones…obaids and yahyas and zakaryias…tuba tuba ghuraba……be careful what one wishes for may I be erased from memory and history…..I do not wish for heaven or hell.;. I truly wish I was dust.. a kafir ..?!…what is to come…i.e after death….is what counts …remember life is just an evening…….

      only God can judge us……

      peace

  2. Rahma Dalmar

    June 22, 2016 at 3:52 PM

    Jazaaka Allahu khayran

  3. Marta

    June 25, 2016 at 8:04 PM

    Thank you for this Article!
    Salamo aleikom

  4. Aafia

    June 28, 2016 at 5:45 AM

    Allahuma ya-nooru tanawarta bin-noori wan-nuru fin noori nooruka ya noor.

  5. Alhg Yousif

    July 1, 2016 at 5:29 PM

    I want to promote my skill

  6. Zia-e-Taiba

    November 12, 2016 at 7:44 AM

    Nice Article!! Everybody should also visit the link for complete online Quran Tilawat with Translation

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