“ Allah is the light of the heavens and the earth; a likeness of His light is as a niche in which is a lamp, the lamp is in a glass, (and) the glass is as it were a brightly shining star, lit from a blessed olive-tree, neither eastern nor western, the oil whereof almost gives light though fire touch it not, —light upon light— Allah guides to His light whom He pleases, and Allah sets forth parables for men, and Allah is Cognizant of all things. [24:35] ” Since “The Verse of Light” is probably one of the most profound verses in terms of its symbolic connotations, there are various interpretations of it. It also presents a good example of the history of interpreting the mutashabih verses and where the various schools of thought diverge concerning the text. Although all interpreters mention the hadith attributed to Ibn Abbas as to what is meant by the “God is the light..,” still the actual meaning of the “Light,” the “niche,” the “lamp-glass,” the “olive tree,” and “it belongs neither to the West nor to the East,” provokes discussion. The Shi’i interpretation of this verse, due to their respect for and sanctification of the Imams, applies the symbols of this verse, especially the meaning of the word “light,” to the Imams. Al-Kulayni, in a passage entitled “A Chapter that the Imams (pbuh) are the light of God the Glorious and the Majestic,” cites many sayings attributed to the Prophet and the Imams themselves, and describes the Imams of the Family of the Prophet as “the light of God.” In a hadith attributed to Imam Jafar al-Sadiq (as) regarding this verse: God is the light of the heavens and earth, the similitude of His light is a niche, he said: Fatima (daughter of the prophet and wife of Imam Ali), is [the niche]. In her [Fatima] there is a lamp-glass, which is [The Imam] Al-Hasan [her first son]. The lamp-glass- as if it is a shining star, Fatima is the shining star from among the women of the world. It is lit from a blessed tree, [the tree] is Ibrahim(pbuh). An olive tree belongs neither to the east nor to the west, [means] neither Jewish nor Christian. Its oil well-night luminous, [means] knowledge about to kindle it. Even though fire touches it not, light upon light [means] one imam after another [issuing] from her (imam minha ba’d imam). God guides to His light whoever He wills [means] and God guides to the imams whoever He wills. The verse of light: A study of Mulla Sadra’s philosophical Qur’an exegesis | Mohsen M. Saleh
Posted on: Wed, 21 Jan 2015 20:22:31 +0000
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