Allah is Light

Al-Nur 24:35

Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth. The similitude of His light is as a niche wherein is a lamp. The lamp is in a glass. The glass is as it were a shining star. (This lamp is) kindled from a blessed tree, an olive neither of the East nor of the West, whose oil would almost glow forth (of itself) though no fire touched it. Light upon light. Allah guideth unto His light whom He will. And Allah speaketh to mankind in allegories, for Allah is Knower of all things.

36 (This lamp is found) in houses which Allah hath allowed to be exalted and that His name shall be remembered therein. Therein do offer praise to Him at morn and evening.
37 Men whom neither merchandise nor sale beguileth from remembrance of Allah and constancy in prayer and paying to the poor their due; who fear a day when hearts and eyeballs will be overturned;
38 That Allah may reward them with the best of what they did, and increase reward for them of His bounty. Allah giveth blessings without stint to whom He will.
39 As for those who disbelieve, their deeds are as a mirage in a desert. The thirsty one supposeth it to be water till he cometh unto it and findeth it naught, and findeth, in the place thereof, Allah Who payeth him his due; and Allah is swift at reckoning.
40 Or as darkness on a vast, abysmal sea. There covereth him a wave, above which is a wave, above which is a cloud. Layer upon layer of darkness. When he holdeth out his hand he scarce can see it. And he for whom Allah hath not appointed light, for him there is no light.

In the midst of legislating the punishment for one of the most serious crimes, Allah SWT reveals on of the most beautiful of ayaat.  One of the gravest crimes is sexual crime.  In America, sexual predators are given harsh sentences and must forever register as sex offenders.  Allah SWT has consistently, through His revelations, told us that sexual crimes are heinous and that we should treat them seriously.  Even slandering another person by accusing them of a sex crime is taken very seriously.  Allah SWT says, "You count it as a trifle.  In the sight of Allah it is very great."  (al-Nur, 24:15).  However, in the midst of discussing the punishment for zina and qadhaf, Allah SWT reveals the most amazing ayaat.

Allah is the Light of the Heavens and the Earth.  Allah SWT makes it clear that He is using a mithlu or parable/similitude, a metaphor to explain something to us.  Then, for five ayat, He uses the concept of light to demonstrate the wonderous nature of His revelation and how it affects the hearts of mankind.  

Allahu Nur

It is reported on the authority of Abu Darr, "I asked Rasul Allah SAW,  'Did you see your Lord?' He SAW said, "He is Light, how could I see Him?"  In a narration reported by Abdullah ibn Shaqiq, Abu Darr said that Rasul Allah SAW said, "I saw Light."

Light upon Light.  What is Light?  Light is something primordial, apriori.  It behaves as a particle and as a wave.  We can either know where it is at a given instant or how fast it is moving over time, but never both.  A human can see one single photon of light, yet as waves we see a rainbow of colors, and there are colors we cannot see, but we can detect.  Ultraviolet light and infrared light are not visible to humans, but they are to other creatures.  And we can now detect x-rays and other wavelengths of light that no other creature can see.  

And now we know that light has a sound.  Scientist studying the sun notices vibrations on the surface of the sun. Upon closer study, they discovered that these vibrations were sound waves.  Of course, we may not hear these sounds as the sun is so far away.  Because light travels faster than sound, we see the lights, but we don't hear the sound.  And the speed at which light travels is a constant in our universe.  Nothing substantial or meaningful can travel faster.  

So what is Allah SWT telling us with this similitude of Light?  The hadith points out an important point.  How can you see a lamp in the dark?  You cannot.  The light has to be on in order to see the lamp.  How do we see Allah?  All we can "see" of Him is what he reveals to us - His Light.  Allah SWT then uses the mithlu to explain, there is a niche, and a lamp and a glass.  Remember that in our Prophet's time, they did not have electric lights.  My father knew Thomas Edison, the inventor of the light bulb.  He remembered gas lamps and oil lamps.  We used them when I was a child for light out side or when the electricity was not working.  I remember the smell of kerosene and the burning cloth wick.  I remember the lamp black soot on the glass.  I also remember the light - warm - glowing.  It attracted moths who would sometimes disintegrate like dust in the hot wind created near the top of the flew of the glass.  And if you placed the lamp in a niche, the niche could act as a reflector and magnifier for the light, broadcasting it out into the night, out into the heavens and the earth.  

Here, the niche of the world reflects His ayaat out into the world.  We cannot help but see His signs everywhere, if we only pay attention and look.  And the light coming from this blessed lamp is there so that we cannot fail to see.  The oil is blessed.  It is so blessed that it glows even if it were not lit.  Light upon Light.  It overwhelms us.  But, understand, that even though this Light surrounds us, Allah SWT only guides those whom He will.  For that, we cannot be anything but totally and sincerely grateful.  Despite this overwhelming Light, many are in darkness.  

Allah SWT tells us about mankind.  This Light is found in houses.  What are these houses?  They are individual hearts - the houses of worship within each of us; and they are communal hearts.  The heart of a community is the masjid.  We are told in the Qur'an the Iqama Salaat, establish the salaat, and to do this, we must establish gatherings for that purpose.  A masjid is not a building, but it is an establishment - a jamaa - an ijtimaa of individuals who gather together to offer salaat in congregation, in jamaa.  Masjid, of course, means place of prostration, but that can be anywhere on the earth, as Allah SWT tells us in the Qur'an.  We are attracted to certain masaajid, not so much for the building, as for the community of believers we pray with in that place.  Islam is unique.  Our prayers are individual AND communal.  Other religions have community prayers, but we have communal prayer.  An essential feature of that prayer is that it is in jamaa.  We even make our pilgrimage together.  And this is in perfect conformity with human nature which is both individual and social.  

So the houses are our hearts and our communal heart, the masjid community to which we belong.  And the light shines forth from both,  It is warm, and inviting and it brings us guidance.

As for those who disbelieve, they have a mirage.  What is a mirage?  A false reflection, an illusion of light and water.  They are deluded into thinking that the illusion is life-sustaining water.  But when they taste the illusion, it is nothing but parching sand.  Lost in a desert, desperate for water, some have drunk sand.  Lost at sea, surrounded by water, yet you no matter how much you drink, your thirst will not be quenched for the water of the sea is salty.  If you keep drinking it, you will die.  And then veils and veils of darkness cover you.  In a dark storm over the sea, you cannot see where the sky ends and the water begins.  If Allah SWT does not guide you by appointing for you a light, there is no light for you.  May Allah SWT guide us and grant us light and save us from such a fate.

How many today are lost in the mirage?  We live in a virtual world.  Too many of us are not able to see anything.  When little rays of reality creep in, we freak out.  We are totally lost in iSpace.  And this iSpace is dividing us and preventing real community.  The light cannot penetrate the darkness of iSpace.