and all who are in them. To You belongs all praise. You are the Light of the heavens and the earth and all who are in them.” The wording does not mean that He is the radiance of the sun and fire, for that is not the light of the heavens and the earth, as some have mistakenly supposed the wording to mean.

The term “light” denotes One who is luminous and illuminates others through His guidance. This includes the meaning: “You are the Guide of the inhabitants of the heavens and the earth.” Ibn Masʿūd said: “With your Lord there is neither night nor day; the light of the heavens comes from the light of His Face.”

His being the Lord and Sustainer of the heavens and the earth does not contradict His having some of His servants nurture others in certain respects and impart understanding to them. Likewise, the fact that “Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth”—the One who illuminates them—does not contradict His making some of His creatures illuminate others.

When the name “Light” encompasses His attribute and His action, both fall within what that name denotes. When He made the moon a light, it possessed light and illuminated other things, yet it is merely one of His creatures. The Creator is more worthy than anything besides Him of the attribute of perfection that is free of all deficiency.

He said: “And His words:

‘Then transgress against him in the same way that he has transgressed against you.’”

He said: “But just retribution is not aggression?”

The answer is: Aggression means overstepping a limit. If done unjustly, it is forbidden; if done as retribution, it is just and permissible. Thus, the term “aggression” in