a number of fundamental principles, before going on to say:

“One of his well-known positions on this matter is the affirmation that Allah, glorified be He, is truly light, unlike other lights—not in the sense that He is a guide. He stated this explicitly in his Book of Divine Oneness, in a chapter devoted to this subject, where he argued against the Mu‘tazilah for interpreting it to mean that He is a guide. He said:

‘If someone asks about Allah, Mighty and Majestic, “Is He light?” he is told: “Your words admit of two meanings. If you mean that He is a light that is divisible and subject to increase and decrease, then no. That is a characteristic of created light. But if you mean what He, glorified and exalted be He, said, ‘Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth,’ then Allah, Mighty and Majestic, is the Light of the heavens and the earth, as He has said.”’

He said: ‘If he asks, “What do you mean when you say ‘light’?” he is told: “We have already explained to you the meaning of created light and the meaning of the light that is the Creator—Allah, glorified be He, to whom nothing is comparable. Whoever departs from saying ‘Allah is light’ has departed from the path of the believers, for Allah, glorified be He, would not call Himself something He is not when addressing His servants.” If he says, “I know no light other than this shining, divisible light,” he is told: “If nothing can be light unless it shines, then likewise