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What is the interpretation of the Noble Verse, "The example of His Light is like a lamp within a glass," until the end of it, from Surat An-Nur?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

Correcting the noble verse: “Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth. The example of His light is like a niche within which is a lamp, the lamp is in a glass, the glass as if it were a brilliant [shining] star, lit from [the oil of] a blessed olive tree, neither eastern nor western, whose oil would almost illuminate even if no fire touched it. Light upon light. Allah guides to His light whom He wills. And Allah presents examples for the people, and Allah is Knowing of all things.” {An-Nur:35}.

Interpretation of the verse: "Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth" means He is the Guide of the inhabitants of the heavens and the earth. "The example of His light" meaning the light of Allah in the heart of the believer, "is like a niche" which is a recess without an opening, "within which is a lamp" meaning a lantern, "the lamp is in a glass" meaning a lamp holder, "the glass as if it were a brilliant star" meaning intensely luminous due to its clarity and beauty, "lit from [the oil of] a blessed olive tree" meaning from the oil of a blessed tree, "neither eastern nor western" meaning it is exposed to the sun throughout the day, so its oil is more radiant, "whose oil would almost illuminate even if no fire touched it" meaning due to its purity before fire touches it, "Light upon light" meaning the light of the lamp upon the light of the glass, "Allah guides to His light whom He wills" meaning to the religion of Islam or the Quran, "And Allah presents examples for the people" meaning He explains things to approximate them to understandings, "and Allah is Knowing of all things."

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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