Ali bin Abi Talhah reported that Ibn `Abbas said:
[اللَّهُ نُورُ
السَّمَـوَتِ وَالاٌّرْضِ]
(Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth.) means, the Guide of the
inhabitants of the heavens and the earth. Ibn Jurayj said: "Mujahid and Ibn
`Abbas said concerning the Ayah:
[اللَّهُ نُورُ
السَّمَـوَتِ وَالاٌّرْضِ]
(Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth.) He is controlling their
affairs and their stars and sun and moon.'' As-Suddi said concerning the Ayah:
[اللَّهُ نُورُ
السَّمَـوَتِ وَالاٌّرْضِ]
(Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth.) by His Light the heavens
and earth are illuminated. In the Two Sahihs, it is recorded that Ibn `Abbas,
may Allah be pleased with him, said: "When the Messenger of Allah got up to pray
at night, he would say:
«اللَّهُمَّ لَكَ
الْحَمْدُ، أَنْتَ قَيِّمُ السَّمَوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ وَمَنْ فِيهِنَّ، وَلَكَ
الْحَمْدُ أَنْتَ نُورُ السَّمَوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ وَمَنْ فِيهِنَّ»
(O Allah, to You be praise, You are the Sustainer of heaven and earth and
whoever is in them. To You be praise, You are the Light of the heavens and the
earth and whoever is in them. ) It was narrated that Ibn Mas`ud said, "There is
no night or day with your Lord; the Light of the Throne comes from the Light of
His Face.''
[مَثَلُ
نُورِهِ]
(The parable of His Light) There are two views concerning the meaning of the
pronoun (His). The first is that it refers to Allah, may He be glorified and
exalted, meaning that the parable of His guidance in the heart of the believer
is
[كَمِشْكَاةٍ]
(as a niche) This was the view of Ibn `Abbas. The second view is that the
pronoun refers to the believer, which is indicated by the context of the words
and implies that the parable of the light in the heart of the believer is as a
niche. So the heart of the believer and what he is naturally inclined to of
guidance and what he learns of the Qur'an which is in accordance with his
natural inclinations are, as Allah says:
[أَفَمَن كَانَ عَلَى
بَيِّنَةٍ مِّن رَّبِّهِ وَيَتْلُوهُ شَاهِدٌ مِّنْهُ]
(Can they who rely on a clear proof from their Lord, and whom a witness from
Him recites it (can they be equal with the disbelievers)) [11:17]. The heart of
the believer in its purity and clarity is likened to a lamp in transparent and
jewel-like glass, and the Qur'an and Shari`ah by which it is guided are likened
to good, pure, shining oil in which there is no impurity or deviation.
[كَمِشْكَاةٍ]
(as (if there were) a niche) Ibn `Abbas, Mujahid, Muhammad bin Ka`b and
others said, "This refers to the position of the wick in the lamp.'' This is
well-known, and hence Allah then says:
[فِيهَا
مِصْبَاحٌ]
(and within it a lamp.) This is the flame that burns brightly. Or it was said
that the niche is a niche in the house. This is the parable given by Allah of
obedience towards Him. Allah calls obedience to Him as light, then He calls it
by other numerous names as well. Ubayy bin Ka`b said, "The lamp is the light,
and this refers to the Qur'an and the faith that is in his heart.'' As-Suddi
said, "It is the lamp.''
[الْمِصْبَاحُ فِى
زُجَاجَةٍ]
(the lamp is in a glass,) means, this light is shining in a clear glass.
Ubayy bin Ka`b and others said, "This is the likeness of the heart of the
believer.''
[الزُّجَاجَةُ
كَأَنَّهَا كَوْكَبٌ دُرِّىٌّ]
(the glass as it were a star Durriyyun,) Some authorities recite the word
Durriyyun with a Dammah on the Dal and without a Hamzah, which means pearls,
i.e., as if it were a star made of pearls (Durr). Others recite it as Dirri'un
or Durri'un, with a Kasrah on the Dal, or Dammah on the Dal, and with a Hamzah
at the end, which means reflection (Dir'), because if something is shone on the
star it becomes brighter than at any other time. The Arabs call the stars they
do not know Darari. Ubayy bin Ka`b said: a shining star. Qatadah said: "Huge,
bright and clear.''
[يُوقَدُ مِن
شَجَرَةٍ مُّبَـرَكَةٍ]
(lit from a blessed tree,) means, it is derived from olive oil, from a
blessed tree.
[زَيْتُونَةٍ]
(an olive,) This refers to the blessed tree mentioned previously.
[لاَّ شَرْقِيَّةٍ
وَلاَ غَرْبِيَّةٍ]
(neither of the east nor of the west,) means, it is not in the eastern part
of the land so that it does not get any sun in the first part of the day, nor is
it in the western part of the land so that it is shaded from the sun before
sunset, but it is in a central position where it gets sun from the beginning of
the day until the end, so its oil is good and pure and shining. Ibn Abi Hatim
recorded that Ibn `Abbas commented on:
[زَيْتُونَةٍ لاَّ
شَرْقِيَّةٍ وَلاَ غَرْبِيَّةٍ]
(an olive, neither of the east nor of the west,) "This is a tree in the
desert which is not shaded by any other tree or mountain or cave, nothing covers
it, and this is best for its oil.'' Mujahid commented on:
[لاَّ شَرْقِيَّةٍ
وَلاَ غَرْبِيَّةٍ]
(neither of the east nor of the west, ) saying; "It is not in the east where
it will get no sun when the sun sets, nor is it in the west where it will get no
sun when the sun rises, but it is in a position where it will get sun both at
sunrise and sunset.'' Sa`id bin Jubayr commented:
[زَيْتُونَةٍ لاَّ
شَرْقِيَّةٍ وَلاَ غَرْبِيَّةٍ يَكَادُ زَيْتُهَا يُضِىءُ]
(an olive, neither of the east nor of the west, whose oil would almost glow
forth (of itself)) "This is the best kind of oil. When the sun rises it reaches
the tree from the east and when it sets it reaches it from the west, so the sun
reaches it morning and evening, so it is not counted as being in the east or in
the west.''
[يَكَادُ زَيْتُهَا
يُضِىءُ وَلَوْ لَمْ تَمْسَسْهُ نَارٌ]
(whose oil would almost glow forth (of itself), though no fire touched it.)
`Abdur-Rahman bin Zayd bin Aslam said (this means) because the oil itself is
shining.
[نُّورٌ عَلَى
نُورٍ]
(Light upon Light!) Al-`Awfi narrated from Ibn `Abbas that this meant the
faith and deeds of a person. As-Suddi said:
[نُّورٌ عَلَى
نُورٍ]
(Light upon Light!) "Light of the fire and the light of the oil: when they
are combined they give light, and neither of them can give light without the
other. Similarly the light of the Qur'an and the light of faith give light when
they are combined, and neither can do so without the other.''
[يَهْدِى اللَّهُ
لِنُورِهِ مَن يَشَآءُ]
(Allah guides to His Light whom He wills.) means, Allah shows the way to the
ones whom He chooses, as it says in the Hadith recorded by Imam Ahmad from
`Abdullah bin `Amr, who said, "I heard the Messenger of Allah say:
«إِنَّ اللهَ
تَعَالَى خَلَقَ خَلْقَهُ فِي ظُلْمَةٍ ثُمَّ أَلْقَى عَلَيْهِمْ مِنْ نُورِهِ
يَوْمَئِذٍ، فَمَنْ أَصَابَ مِنْ نُورِهِ يَوْمَئِذٍ اهْتَدَى وَمَنْ أَخْطَأَ
ضَلَّ فَلِذَلِكَ أَقُولُ: جَفَّ الْقَلَمُ عَلَى عِلْمِ اللهِ عَزَّ
وَجَلَّ»
(Allah created His creation in darkness, then on the same day He sent His
Light upon them. Whoever was touched by His Light on that day will be guided and
whoever was missed will be led astray. Hence I say: the pens have dried in
accordance with the knowledge of Allah, may He be glorified.)''
[وَيَضْرِبُ اللَّهُ
الاٌّمْثَالَ لِلنَّاسِ وَاللَّهُ بِكُلِّ شَىْءٍ عَلَيِمٌ]
(And Allah sets forth parables for mankind, and Allah is All-Knower of
everything.) Having mentioned this parable of the Light of His guidance in the
heart of the believer, Allah ends this Ayah with the words:
[وَيَضْرِبُ اللَّهُ
الاٌّمْثَالَ لِلنَّاسِ وَاللَّهُ بِكُلِّ شَىْءٍ عَلَيِمٌ]
(And Allah sets forth parables for mankind, and Allah is All-Knower of
everything.) meaning, He knows best who deserves to be guided and who deserves
to be led astray. Imam Ahmad recorded that Abu Sa`id Al-Khudri said, "The
Messenger of Allah said:
«الْقُلُوبُ
أَرْبَعَةٌ: قَلْبٌ أَجْرَدُ فِيهِ مِثْلُ السِّرَاجِ يُزْهِرُ، وَقَلْبٌ أَغْلَفُ
مَرْبُوطٌ عَلَى غِلَافِهِ، وَقَلْبٌ مَنْكُوسٌ، وَقَلْبٌ مُصْفَحٌ. فَأَمَّا
الْقَلْبُ الْأَجْرَدُ: فَقَلْبُ الْمُؤْمِنِ سِرَاجُهُ فِيهِ نُورُهُ، وَأَمَّا
الْقَلْبُ الْأَغْلَفُ فَقَلْبُ الْكَافِرِ، وَأَمَّا الْقَلْبُ الْمَنْكُوسُ
فَقَلْبُ الْمُنَافِقِ، عَرَفَ ثُمَّ أَنْكَرَ، وَأَمَّا الْقَلْبُ الْمُصْفَحُ
فَقَلْبٌ فِيهِ إِيمَانٌ وَنِفَاقٌ، وَمَثَلُ الْإِيمَانِ فِيهِ كَمَثَلِ
الْبَقْلَةِ يُمِدُّهَا الْمَاءُ الطَّيِّبُ،وَمَثَلُ النِّفَاقِ فِيهِ كَمَثَلِ
الْقَرْحَةِ يُمِدُّهَا الدَّمُ وَالْقَيْحُ، فَأَيُّ الْمدَّتَيْنِ غَلَبَتْ عَلَى
الْأُخْرَى غَلَبَتْ عَلَيْهِ»
(Hearts are of four kinds: the heart that is clear like a shining lamp; the
heart that is covered and tied up; the heart that is upside-down; and the heart
that is clad in armor. As for the clear heart, it is the heart of the believer
in which is a lamp filled with light; as for the covered heart, this is the
heart of the disbeliever; as for the upside-down heart, this is the heart of the
hypocrite, who recognizes then denies; as for the armor-clad heart, this is the
heart in which there is both faith and hypocrisy. The parable of the faith in it
is that of legume, a sprout that is irrigated with good water, and the likeness
of the hypocrisy in it is that of sores that are fed by blood and pus. Whichever
of the two prevails is the characteristic that will dominate.) Its chain of
narrators is good (Jayyid) although they (Al-Bukhari and Muslim) did not record
it.
[فِى بُيُوتٍ أَذِنَ
اللَّهُ أَن تُرْفَعَ وَيُذْكَرَ فِيهَا اسْمُهُ يُسَبِّحُ لَهُ فِيهَا
بِالْغُدُوِّ وَالاٌّصَالِ - رِجَالٌ لاَّ تُلْهِيهِمْ تِجَـرَةٌ وَلاَ بَيْعٌ عَن
ذِكْرِ اللَّهِ وَإِقَامِ الصَّلَوةِ وَإِيتَآءِ الزَّكَـوةِ يَخَـفُونَ يَوْماً
تَتَقَلَّبُ فِيهِ الْقُلُوبُ وَالاٌّبْصَـرُ - لِيَجْزِيَهُمُ اللَّهُ أَحْسَنَ
مَا عَمِلُواْ وَيَزِيدَهُم مِّن فَضْلِهِ وَاللَّهُ يَرْزُقُ مَن يَشَآءُ بِغَيْرِ
حِسَابٍ ]
(36. In houses which Allah has ordered to be raised, in them His Name is
remembered. Therein glorify Him in the mornings and in the evenings,) (37. Men
whom neither trade nor business diverts from the remembrance of Allah nor from
performing the Salah nor from giving the Zakah. They fear a Day when hearts and
eyes will be overturned.) (38. That Allah may reward them according to the best
of their deeds, and add even more for them out of His grace. And Allah provides
without measure to whom He wills.)
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