“And We have certainly sent down to you clear verses, an example from those who passed before you, and an admonition for those who are mindful of Allah. (34) Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth. The likeness of His light is that of a niche in which there is a lamp; the lamp is in a glass; the glass is as though it were a shining star, lit from a blessed olive tree, neither eastern nor western, whose oil would almost shine forth even though no fire had touched it. Light upon light. Allah guides whom He wills to His light. Allah sets forth parables for people, and Allah is Knowing of all things. (35)”
His saying, Exalted is He: “And We have certainly sent down to you clear verses,” concerning what is lawful and unlawful; “and an example from those who passed before you”—that is, O deniers, a resemblance between your state and theirs. This is a warning to them lest what befell the deniers before them should also befall them. “And an admonition for those who are mindful of Allah”—that is, for the believers who guard themselves against associating partners with Allah and against major sins.
His saying, Exalted is He: “Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth.” Ibn Abbas said: He is the Guide of the inhabitants of the heavens and the earth; by His light they are guided to the truth, and through His guidance they are saved from misguidance. Al-Dahhak said: He is the Illuminator of the heavens and the earth. It is said: He illuminated the heaven with the angels and illuminated the earth with the prophets. Mujahid said: He is the Director of affairs in the heavens and the earth. (1)
Ubayy ibn Kab, al-Hasan, and Abu al-Aliyah said: He is the Adorner of the heavens and the earth: He adorned the heaven with the sun, moon, and stars, and He adorned the earth with the prophets, scholars, and believers. It is also said: with vegetation and trees. It was also said that its meaning is that all lights are from Him, just as one says, “So-and-so is mercy,” meaning that mercy comes from him. Such an expression may also be used in praise, as the poet said:
If Abdullah travels by night from Marw,
Its light and beauty have departed from it.
His saying, Exalted is He: “The likeness of His light”—that is, the likeness of the light of Allah, Exalted is He, in the heart of the believer: the light by which he is guided, as He says, “Then he is upon a light from his Lord” (39:22). Ibn Masud would recite: “The likeness of His light in the heart of the believer.”
Said ibn Jubayr related from Ibn Abbas: It is the likeness of the light which He has bestowed upon the believer. Some said that the pronoun refers to the believer; that is, the likeness of the light in the believer’s heart. Ubayy would recite: “The likeness of the light of one who believes in Him.” This refers to a servant in whose breast faith and the Quran have been placed. Al-Hasan and Zayd ibn Aslam said that by the light He meant the Quran. Said ibn Jubayr and al-Dahhak said that it is Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. It was also said that by the light He meant obedience, calling obedience to Allah a light and attributing these lights to Himself as a mark of distinction.