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‘He is light,’ for this is how Allah describes Himself in His Book, as one describes a thing by an attribute that is its very essence. He Most High says:
‘Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth. The parable of His light’—to the end of the verse [al-Nūr: 35].
The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, likewise described Him in these terms in an authentic hadith. It is reported that he, peace be upon him, was asked, ‘Have you seen your Lord?’ He replied:
‘Light—how could I see Him?’
The hadith of the Night Journey relates that when he, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, drew near to the Lote Tree of the Utmost Boundary, light enveloped the tree, preventing him from looking upon the tree—or the light.
إنه نور، فإنه الوصف الذي وصف الله به نفسه في كتابه، على جهة ما يوصف الشيء بالصفة التي هي ذاته،
فقال تعالى:
{الله نور السماوات والأرض مثل نوره}
الآية
[النور: ٣٥]
،
وبهذا الوصف وصفه النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم في الحديث الثابت عنه فإذا جاء أنه قيل له عليه السلام:
هل رأيت ربك؟
فقال:
نور أنى أراه.
وفي حديث الإسراء أنه لما قرب صلى الله عليه وسلم من سدرة المنتهى غشي السدرة من النور ما حجب بصره من النظر إليها أو إليه.