Shaykh al-Islām—may Allah have mercy on him—said:

Section:

The objector said concerning the Most Beautiful Names:

“‘The Light, the Guide’: ‘the Light’ must certainly be interpreted figuratively, for light is a quality that inheres in what is corporeal, and it is the opposite of darkness. The True One—glory be to Him—is far above having an opposite. Were He light, it would not be permissible to attribute it to Himself in His words:

‘The likeness of His light’

for this would amount to attributing a thing to itself, which is impermissible.

“Regarding His words:

‘Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth,’

the Quran commentators said that this means the Guide of the inhabitants of the heavens and the earth. This interpretation, however, is weak, because mentioning ‘the Guide’ after it would then be repetitive. It has also been said that He illuminates the heavens with the stars, or with clear proofs and compelling arguments. Light is a subtle, transparent body, so it cannot be predicated of Allah.

“Figurative interpretation is reported from Ibn ‘Abbās, Anas and Sālim. This refutes his claim that figurative interpretation negates the apparent meaning and has not been transmitted from the early generations. Were He truly light—as those who liken Allah to His creation maintain—there would necessarily be perpetual illumination, night and day.