Tafsir Surat an-Nur, al-Mulk, al-Ma�un

From Surat an-Nur (Light)

Ayats 35-39 (Warsh)

Ayats 35-40 (Hafs)

Tafsir

In the tafsir, or Qur'anic commentary below, the various tafsirs are coloured coded as follows:

Ibn Juzayy: at-Tashil fi 'ulum al-Qur'an

Jalalayn: Tafsir al-Jalalayn

As-Sawi: Hashiya (gloss) on the Jalalayn

Ibn Kathir: Mukhtasar Tafsir Ibn Kathir

Al-Qurtubi: Jam' li-Ahkam al-Qur'an

Al-Burusawi: Tafsir Ruh al-Bayan

Ibn Juzayy:

Light both designates a reality - the light which the eyes perceive, and is also a metaphor for the meanings which are perceived by the hearts. "Nothing is like Allah." So the interpretation of the ayat is that Allah possesses the light of the heavens and the earth, and He has described Himself as being Light as you say, "Zayd is generosity" when you want to stress the fact that he is generous. If He means the light which is perceived by the eyes, then the meaning of the "light of the heavens and the earth" is that He created the light which they contain - the sun, the moon and the stars, or He created them both and brought them into existence from non-existence. So they appear by Him as things appear by light. In this meaning, 'Ali ibn Abi Talib recited the verse as, "Allahu nawwara" (Form II) meaning He put light in them.

If by light He means the light which is perceived by the hearts, the meaning of the light of the heavens and the earth is that He placed the light in the hearts of the people of the heavens and the earth. This is why Ibn 'Abbas said, "The meaning is the Guide of the people of the heavens and the earth."

Al-Qurtubi:

In a metaphorical senses, the Arabs say that "the words have light" and "an illuminating (lit. light-giving) Book." It is permissible to say that Allah is Light in order to praise Him because He brought things into existence, and He began and originated the light of all things, but He is not one the physical lights that can be perceived by the senses. Nonetheless, the Prophet was asked, "Have you seen your Lord?" and he said, "I saw him as a Light."

As for it being guidance, Ubayy ibn Ka'b and others said, "He adorned the heavens and the earth with the sun, the moon, and the stars, and He adorned the earth with the Prophets, scholars and believers."

Ibn Kathir:

Anas ibn Malik said that Allah says, "My light is guidance." Ubayy ibn Ka'b said that it refers to the believer in whose breast Allah has put belief and the Qur'an.

Jalalayn:

Allah illuminates it by the sun and the moon.

[as-Sawi: Know that the reality of light, whether it is perceived by the eye or visible things are perceived by means of it, resembles the quality which emanates from the two light sources onto dense objects. This meaning cannot be applied to Allah. It is also said that the ayat means that Allah is the Creator of the light in the heavens by the sun, moon, stars, the Throne and the angels, and in the earth by lamps, lights, candles. Prophets, scholars and the righteous. This means that He illuminates them. It is said that it means that He manifests the heavens and the earth because the term "light" implies manifestation. In such a meaning, it can be applied to Allah Almighty, since He makes things appear in existence out of non-existence.Ibn 'Ata' says in the Hikam, "Phenomenal being is utter and total darkness. It is only the manifestation of the Real in it that gives it light." So the universe exists because Allah grants it existence. If it were not that Allah existed, none of the universe would have existed."]

Ibn Juzayy:

The niche is an opening in a wall which is not a window, and the lamp in it gives off a strong light. It is said that the niche is the post on which the lamp sits. The first is sounder and more well-known. The meaning is that the attribute of the light of Allah in its clarity is like that of the niche in which there is a lamp since it is the greatest of what the mortal can conceive of light and illumination. It is likened to the niche, even though the light of Allah is greater still because that is the limit of what people can perceive of lights. He made the example for them according to what they can perceive.

It is said that the pronoun in "His light" refers to Sayyiduna Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and it is said to refer to the Qur'an, and to the believer. These statements are weak because nothing precedes to which the pronoun could be referred. If it is asked: How can it be valid that Allah be called 'the Light of the heavens and the earth' while He reports that He is Light and then He ascribes light to Himself in His words, "the metaphor of His light" thus making the related the same as the one related to? The answer is that that is valid with the interpretation which we already mentioned about Allah being the Possessor of the light of the heavens and the earth, or as you say, "Zayd is generosity," and then you say that people are refreshed by His generosity.

Al-Qurtubi:

He means the quality of His proofs which He casts into the heart of the believer, and these proofs are called "light". Allah calls His Book a light when He says, "We sent down a clear Light to you," (4:174) He also called His Prophet light where He says, "A Light has come to you from Allah and a clear Book." (5:15) This is because the Book guides and makes clear, as does the Messenger. One reason that it is related to Allah is because He makes the proof firm and clarifies it.

There is another possible meaning for this ayat which is that the second sentence resembles the first if light is taken to mean guidance and the perfection of the brilliant evidence and proofs of Allah in His creation.

The pronoun in "his light" can also refer to the believer.

Jalalayn:

"The metaphor of His light" means the quality of light in the heart of the believer.

The lamp is the wick with its fire. The meaning is that it is in lamp made of glass because the light in it is more radiant because it is a transparent body.

Ruh al-Bayan: The purpose of the lamp in the glass and the glass in the niche is that when the place is more constricted, the light is more intense. If the place where the lamp is placed is an open area, then the light disperses.

Ibn Juzayy:

The metaphor of the glass in giving light is like a dazzling star. That can have two meanings. Either He means that it gives light because of the lamp which is in it, or He means that it in itself is strong in light because of its purity and the fineness of its body. This is more eloquent because it joins its light to the light of the lamp.

By "dazzling star," He means one of the luminous bodies like Jupiter, Venus, Suhayl and the like. It is said that He means Venus, but there is no indication of this specification. Nafi' reads it as durriyyun. That reading has can mean that the star is ascribed to durr (pearls) by its whiteness and purity. It is also read with hamza which is derived from dar', meaning being pushed [i.e. stars that are pushed from one place to another].

Al-Qurtubi:

Ka'b al-Ahbar makes the entire ayat refer to Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, i.e. the metaphor of the light of Muhammad. The Messenger of Allah is the niche, the lamp is prophethood, the glass is his heart, the blessed tree is the revelation and the angels who brought it, the oil are the proofs and evidence which contain the revelation. If it is taken to mean the believer, as Ubayy says, then the niche is his chest, the lamp is belief and knowledge, the glass is his heart, and the oil are the proofs and evidence it contains.

Jalalayn:

"Dazzling" means that it drives away the darkness. The word is derived from "pearls" because of its purity.

Ibn Juzayy:

It is read as yuqadu and tawaqqada in the past tense. The verb refers to the lamp. If it is read as tuqdau in the present tense, then it refers to the glass. It means that it is kindled from the oil of a blessed tree. It is described as "blessed" because of the great number of its benefits or because it grows in a blessed land, which is Syria.

Al-Qurtubi:

This can also be taken to refer to the Prophets, in which case Adam would be the blessed tree, or Ibrahim because Allah called him "blessed".

Ibn Juzayy:

It is said that it means it in Syria, so it is neither of the east of the land nor the west. The best olives are the olives of Syria. It is said that it is exposed and the sun strikes it all day, so it is not purely of the east so as to be called eastern, nor of the west so as to be called western. Rather it is eastern-western because the sun revolves around it from the east to the west. It is said that it is a central tall tree which is neither to the direction of the east of the tree nor the direction of the west. It is is said that it is from a tree of the Garden which, had it been in this world, would have eastern or western.

To stress the description of its purity and excellence.

Ibn Kathir:

Ibn 'Abbas went to Ka'b al-Ahbar and said, "Tell me about His words, 'its oil all but giving off light even if no fire touches it.'" He said, "Muhammad almost makes things clear to people without even saying that he is a Prophet, even as the oil almost shines."

Or the proofs of the Qur'an almost make things clear before they are recited.

Ibn Juzayy:

i.e. joining the light of the lamp, the excellence of the glass and the excellence of the oil. By that He means the perfection of the light used as the example.

Ibn Kathir:

Ibn 'Abbas says that it means the belief and actions of the slave of Allah. Ubayy ibn Ka'b said, "The believer is transformed into five lights: his words are light, his actions are light, his going in is light, his going out is light, and he will go to light on Day of Rising to the Garden."

It is also said that "light upon light" is the light of the Qur�an and the light of belief when they are joined together.

Jalalayn:

The light itself with the light of the fire. Allah's guidance of the believers is light on top of the light of faith.

[As-Sawi: The proofs of Allah in the heart of the believer are proof on top of proof. If you were to ask why did He use the light of olive oil as a metaphor here and not the light of the sun,the moon, and cangles, the answer is that oil contains many uses and is easy for everyone. In the same way the perfect believer finds many uses in faith. There is some disagreement about whether this metaphor is a compound one, including what is mentioned at the beginning of the ayat and thus describes guidance, or whether it is one in which each image corresponds to something, e.g. the believer is the niche, the glass his heart, his knowledge the oil, and his faith the lamp.]

Ruh al-Bayan: al-Qushayri says that they obtain one light by their effort and investigation and reflection while they find the other light by Allah's grace in this words and actions. Allah says, "As for those who do jihad in Our Way. We will guide them to Our Paths." (29:69)

i.e. Allah gives success to whomever He will in finding the truth, i.e. Islam.

Ibn Kathir:

It has come in hadith, "Allah Almighty created creation in darkness and then on that day He cast to them some of His light. Whoever got some of His light on that day is guided, and whoever missed is misguided." So it is said that He knows the one who deserves to be guided from the one who deserves misguidance.

Abu Sa'id al-Khudri reported that the Messenger of Allah said, "There are four kinds of hearts: a divested heart which is like the lamp and shines; a covered heart which is tied up in its covering; an inverted heart, and a doubled heart. The divested heart is the heart of the believer which is his lamp in which is his light. The covered heart is the heart of the unbeliever. The inverted heart is the heart of the hypocrite who recognised and then denied. The doubled heart is the heart which contains both belief and hypocrisy. The likeness of belief in it is like the plant which good water extends, and the example of hypocrisy in it is like the wound which is spread by blood and pus. It is dominated by whichever of them is dominant."

Ruh al-Bayan: the source of control and direction of guidance is divine will, even though other causes appear to be involved.

Jalalayn:

He makes things clear for them so that they reflect and believe.

[as-Sawi: Thus no doubt will affect the believer. He will see with insight as he sees with his actual eyes. Allah makes both bear witness. In hadith, "Fear the perspicacity of the believer. He sees by the light of Allah."

Ibn Juzayy:

i.e. mosques. It is said to mean the houses of the people of belief - mosques or dwellings. The first is sounder. The genitive is connected to what is before it: i.e. like a niche in houses, or kindled in houses. It is said that it is what is counted, and is glorification (tasbih). The genitive is repeated after that for stress. It is said that it is by an elision, i.e. they glorify in houses which Allah has permitted to be raised up. What is meant by idhn (permission) is the command. Its structure makes it nominative. It is said it is to esteem them.

al-Qurtubi:

Five things are said about "houses". The first is that they are the mosques dedicated to the worship of Allah and that they give light to the people of heaven as the stars give light to the people of the earth. Ibn 'Abbas, Mujahid and al-Hasan said that. The second is that they are the houses of Jerusalem, and al-Hasan stated that. The third is that they are the houses of the Prophet, and Mujahid said that. The fourth is that they are all houses, and 'Ikrima stated that. The first statement is strengthened by that fact that He says, "they proclaim his glory morning and evening." The fifth is that they are four mosques which were built by Prophets: the Ka'ba, Jericho, the mosque of Madina, and the mosque of Quba'.

Anas ibn Malik related from the Messenger of Allah said, "Whoever Allah loves should love me. Whoever loves me should love my Companions. Whoever loves my Companions should love the Qur'an. Whoever loves the Qur'an should love the mosques, for they are the courtyards of Allah which were built with the permission of Allah that they be raised up and He has blessed them what is in them. Its people are are blessed, and its people are protected while they are in their prayers. Allah is seeing to their needs while they are in their mosques and Allah is before them."

As-Sawi: Physical esteem for the mosques is to purify them of filth and impurities. Al-Qurtubi mentioned that some people dislike teaching children in the mosques because they are not careful about dirt and impurity and that would lead to the mosques not being clean The Prophet commanded that they be clean. He said, "Keep away from the mosques your small children, mad people, unsheathing swords in them, carrying out the hadd-punishments, raising voices and quarrelling. Burn incense in all and put wash-rooms at their doors." Spiritual respect involves no playing or games, or worldly talk and the like.

al-Qurtubi:

"Glorification" means the prayer as it contains glorification.

It is related from Abu Umama that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Whoever leaves his house in a state of purity for a prescribed prayer has the reward of the hajji in his ihram." Burayda said that the Prophet said, "Give the good news to those who walk in the darkness to the mosques of complete light on the Day of Rising." Abu Hurayra reported that the Prophet said, "If anyone goes to the mosque in the morning or the evening, Allah will prepare for him hospitality in the Garden."

Sa'id ibn al-Musayyab was asked, "Which do you prefer, attending the funeral or sitting in the mosque?" He replied, "Whoever prays the funeral prayer has one qirat. Whoever is present at the burial has two qirats. I prefer sitting in the mosque because the angels say, 'O Allah, forgive him! O Allah, show mercy to him! O Allah! turn to him!'"

Al-Hakim ibn 'Umayr reported that the Prophet , may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Be like guests in this world and take the mosques as houses. Make your hearts accustomed to gentleness. Reflect often and weep often. Do not allow passions to make you disagree, You are building that in which you will not live, and gathering that which you will not consume and hoping for that which you will not obtain." Abu'd-Darda' said to his son,"Let the mosque be your house for I heard the Messenger of Allah say, 'The mosques are the houses of those who fear of Allah.'"

It is related that the Prophet said, "At the end of time will be men who come to the mosques and sit in circles discussing this world and its love. Do not sit with them. Allah has no need of them." Ibn al-Musayyab said, "Whoever sits in the mosque, sits with his Lord, so he must only seek what is good."

"Men" are mentioned because they have to attend the group prayers and Jumu'a.

i.e. morning and evening. It is said that He means Subh and 'Asr, and it is said the prayers of Duha and 'Asr.

[NOTE: Ayat numbering differs from the point in Warsh and Hafs.]

Ibn Juzayy:

i.e. it does not distract them. The ayat was sent down about the people of the markets who, when they heard the call to prayer, would leave off all business and set out to it. Bay' is part of commerce, but it was singled out to be mentioned alone like His words, "fruits" for palm-trees and pomegranates. By commerce he means buying.

as-Sawi: "remembrance of Allah" means its duties like the prayer or other things.

al-Qurtubi:

Ibn 'Abbas said that "zakat" here means obeying of Allah and sincerity since not every believer has wealth.

as-Sawi: He means performing the prayer at its times with all its preconditions and essential elements.

Ibn Juzayy:

i.e. agitated due to the intensity of terror and fear. It is said that the hearts will understand and the eyes will see after haveing been blind because the realities will be unveiled at that time. The first is sound by His words, "When your eyes rolled and your hearts rose to your throats." (33:10)

Al-Qurtubi:

That is the Day of Rising. The hearts will be physically in the throats due to intense terror, and blind eyes made to see. It is said that the hearts will be moving between desire for salvation and fear of destruction, and the eyes will be looking about to see from which side they will receive their books which contain the record of their actions. It is said that the doubts will be removed as Allah says, "We have stripped you of your covering and today your sight is sharp." (50:22)

It is said that they will be turned over on the coals in Jahannam as it says, "On the day when their faces are rolled over (tuqallibu) in the Fire." (33:66)

as-Sawi: Even though those men do a lot of dhikr and pious actions, they still fear Allah Almighty because they know that they have not worshipped him as he should be worshipped. On the Day of Rising, they will be in absolute, not knowing where to turn.

Ruh al-Bayan: This continues the description of the men mentioned in the ayat. Fear is the opposite of security. Taqallub is to change from one state to another. Qalb (heart) is derived from this verb, because of the changeability of the heart.. Basar is used for the the eye itself and the faculty of sight. When the heart is agitated and distressed like this, it feels like it is rising to the throat. People are like this because they do not know where they will be saved or destroyed.

"Rewar" is connected to what is before it, or to a verb in the meaning of what is before it. "The best of what they did" implies the repayment of the best of what they were doing.

as-Sawi: He will repay them for their good actions, but will not be paid back for their ugly deeds.

i.e. increase beyond the reward they deserve for their actions, one good action being counted ten or more.

as-Sawi: His giving is not confined to repaying their actions, but He gives them things which had never occurred to their minds.

Al-Qurtubi:

i.e. without reckoning what He gives since there is no limit to His giving.

as-Sawi: This is a promise that He will give to them beyond the wages for their actions. This alludes to the fact that Allah will give them "what the eye has not seen, ear has not heard, and what has not occurred to the heart of man."

Ruh al-Bayan: Many of the Companions, may Allah be pleased with them, said that this ayat was revealed about the people of the markets who, went they heard the call to prayer, left their work and went to the prayer. It was not revealed about the Ahl as-Suffa and those like them who had abandoned trade and clung to the mosques.

This ayat does not forbid work and trade or dislike it, but it forbids being distracted by it so that one forgets the prayers and other acts of worship.

If it is asked why men are mentioned here and not women, the answer is that the Jumu'a prayer and group prayers in the mosques are not obligatory for women.

Ibn Juzayy:

After Allah mentioned the state of the believers, He followed that with two examples of the actions of the unbelievers. The first necessitates that their actions in the Next World they will not benefit them. Indeed, their reward will vanish like the mirage vanishes. The second refers the state of their actions in this world where they are in extreme of corruption and misguidance, like darknesses one on top of another. Here the mirage is what is seen in the deserts from the light of the sun in the heat so that it seems as if it were flowing over the land. Qi'a is the plural of q�', which is land which is stretched out, and it is said that it means qa' and is not plural.

Ruh al-Bayan: He mentions their good actions like freeing slaves, giving to relatives, giving water to pilgrims and those in distress: these actions will vanish like the mirage.

Zam'an means thirsty, i.e. the thirsty man supposes that the mirage is water and so he comes to bring it. When he comes to it, his hopes are dashed and what he thought proves false. It is like that with the unbelievers who think that their actions will benefit them. On the Day of Rising they will not benefit them. They are like the mirage which fades away.

The pronoun of the subject refers to the thirsty man and the pronoun of the object to the mirage, or the pronoun of the subject to the unbeliever and the pronoun of the object to his action.

(he finds it to be nothing) i.e. nothing to help him because it is non-existent. It is possible that the pronoun of the subject refers to the thirsty man and the pronoun of the object to the mirage, or the pronoun of the subject to the unbeliever and the pronoun of the object to his action.

Al-Qurtubi:

Allah makes this a metaphor for the rejectors who rely on their actions, and when they come to Allah, they find the reward of their actions is nothing because of their disbelief.

as-Sawi: just as the thirsty man is desperately disappointed when he find that there is no water, so the unbeliever will be full of regret when he does not find the reward he expected on the Day of Rising, but rather finds a painful punishment.

The pronoun in "he finds" refers to the unbeliever and the pronoun in "'indahu" to his action. The meaning is that He finds Allah there with the repayment, or he finds the Zabaniyya of Allah.

al-Qurtubi:

"He finds Allah there" means that he finds Allah's promise to repay him for his actions. It is said that that he finds the command of Allah when he is gathered, and this is close to the other meaning.

Ruh al-Bayan: He finds Allah's judgement and Decree.

Ibn Juzayy:

This is the second metaphor. It is joined to His words, "like a mirage." The actions of the unbeliever are likened to darkness, i.e. they are part of misguidance and confusion in the darkness gathered together in the sea under a wave under the cloud.

Al-Qurtubi:

Al-Jurjani said that the first ayat is about the actions of rejectors, and the second is about their disbelief.

Jalalayn:

This ayat is about their evil deeds.

As-Sawi: The first ayat about the mirage refers to their righteous actions and this ayat refers to their evil actions.

Ibn Juzayy:

Related to lujj, which is an immense expanse of water. Some of them believe that the parts of this example refer the parts of that to which it is likened, so the darkness are the actions of the unbeliever, the sea is his breast and the wave is his ignorance and the cloud is the covering which is over his heart. Some of them believe that it a simple example which these qualities do not correspond to the description of the clouds for stress, as He described light before this for emphasis.

al-Qurtubi:

Lujja is that whose bottom cannot be reached, and it is an immense body of water. The verb is used for a sea when its waves crash together. It also conveys a sense of turmoil and confused noise.

There is a wave above that great sea, and another wave above that wave, and above this second wave is a cloud, and so there is combined fear of the wave, fear of the wind and fear of the cloud. It is said to be wave on top of wave, or wave after wave. There is fear because the stars are blotted out and there is no guidance, and there is fear because of the wind is moving everything.

There is the darkness of the cloud, the darkness of the wave, the darkness of the night and the darkness of the sea, so that one cannot see a thing.

It is said that what is meant by these darknesses are the actions of the unbeliever, and the bottomless sea is his heart. The wave over wave which covers his heart is ignorance, doubt and confusion. The cloud is dust and the seal on his heart.

Ubayy ibn Ka'b said, "The unbeliever is transformed into five darknesses: his words are darkness, his actions are darkness, his going in is darkness, his going out is darkness, and he will go to darkness on Day of Rising to the Fire, an evil end."

Ibn Juzayy:

The meaning is to stess the intensity of the darkness. The pronoun "he" and what follows it refers to the man who falls into the darkness described. They disagree about the interpretation of the words. It is said that the meaning is: when he puts out his hand, he can not see it. So He negated seeing and its approximation. It is said that he sees it after great difficulty because "he can scarcely" negates the positive. If it is positive, it demands the negation. Ibn 'Atiyya said: that is when the letter of negation enters the verb after it.

Ibn Juzayy:

i.e. the one whom Allah does not guide is not guided. Light is an allusion to guidance and belief in this world. It is said that He means in the Next World, i.e. the one to whom Allah shows no mercy has no mercy. The first is more in keeping with what preceded it.

Al-Qurtubi:

Ibn 'Abbas said, "The one for whom Allah does give a deen has no deen, and the one for whom Allah does not make a light by which he will walk on the Day of Rising will not be guided to the Garden." As He says, "He will grant you a light by which to walk" (57:28). Az-Zajjaj said that that is in this world, so that one whom Allah does not guide is not guided.

Anas said that the Prophet said, "Allah created me from light and He created Abu Bakr from my light, and He created 'Umar and 'A'isha from the light of Abu Bakr, and He created the male believers of my community from the light of 'Umar and He created the female believers of my community from the light of 'A'isha, Whoever does not live me or love Abu Bakr, 'Umar and 'A'isha has no light."

As-Sawi: one can infer from this that light is not by strength nor power, but it is a blessing which Allah grants to whomever He wishes. It means that whoever Allah does not appoint a deen for and faith has no deen.