Fourth, He, Most High, dispelled this misconception by saying, “The likeness of His light is as a niche” [al-Nūr 35]. He ascribed light to Himself. Were He, Most High, light itself, and His essence light, this attribution would be impossible, since a thing cannot be ascribed to itself. The same applies to His saying, “Allah guides to His light whom He wills” [al-Nūr 35].

Fifth, He, Most High, said, “And made darkness and light” [al-An‘ām 1]. This makes clear that He, Most High, is the Creator of light.

Sixth, light disappears with darkness. Were He, Most High, this very perceptible light, He would be subject to nonexistence, which would undermine His being beginningless and necessarily existent.

Seventh, all bodies are alike, as previously established. Yet, despite their sameness in essence, you see that they differ in brightness and darkness. Light must therefore be an accident subsisting in bodies, and an accident cannot be a god.

These considerations establish that light cannot be understood in the sense they have mentioned. Rather, it means that He is the Guide of the heavens and the earth, or that He illuminates