And Abū al-Dardā’ said:

“No community perishes until its people follow their desires and abandon the clear proofs and guidance brought to them by their prophets.”

Allah Most High said:

“Say, ‘This is my way: I call to Allah with clear insight—I and those who follow me.’”

Thus, whoever follows him calls to Allah with clear insight, and this insight is the clear evidence.

He also said:

“Is one who was dead, then We brought him to life and gave him a light by which to walk among people…”

The light by which he walks among people is the clear evidence and insight. He also said:

“Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth…”

Ubayy ibn Kaʿb and others said that this is a likeness of the believer’s light. It is His light in the heart of His believing servant, arising from beneficial knowledge and righteous action. This is clear evidence from his Lord.

He also said:

“Is one whose heart Allah has opened to Islam, so that he stands upon light from his Lord”

This light upon which he stands, and the opening of his heart to Islam, constitute the clear evidence from his Lord. It is the guidance mentioned in His words:

“Those stand upon guidance from their Lord.”

Here He used the preposition denoting being above something, because the heart finds neither stability nor firmness unless it knows the truth with certainty. Knowledge and faith then become a dye that colours it, as He said:

“The colouring of Allah—and whose colouring is better than Allah’s?”

It also becomes a firm station for the heart, as He said:

“Say, ‘O my people, act according to your station; I too am acting, and you will come to know.’”

The words makān (place) and makānah (station) may refer to something upon which a thing rests, even if it does not surround it—a roof, for example—or they may refer to something that surrounds it. Thus, since the rightly guided stand upon guidance, light, clear evidence, and insight from their Lord, this has become