Qur'an Verse of the Day
Wednesday 3rd June 2026 Today
Chapter 24, Verse 36
اَللّٰہُ نُوۡرُ السَّمٰوٰتِ وَالۡاَرۡضِ ؕ مَثَلُ نُوۡرِہٖ کَمِشۡکٰوۃٍ فِیۡہَا مِصۡبَاحٌ ؕ اَلۡمِصۡبَاحُ فِیۡ زُجَاجَۃٍ ؕ اَلزُّجَاجَۃُ کَاَنَّہَا کَوۡکَبٌ دُرِّیٌّ یُّوۡقَدُ مِنۡ شَجَرَۃٍ مُّبٰرَکَۃٍ زَیۡتُوۡنَۃٍ لَّا شَرۡقِیَّۃٍ وَّلَا غَرۡبِیَّۃٍ ۙ یَّکَادُ زَیۡتُہَا یُضِیۡٓءُ وَلَوۡ لَمۡ تَمۡسَسۡہُ نَارٌ ؕ نُوۡرٌ عَلٰی نُوۡرٍ ؕ یَہۡدِی اللّٰہُ لِنُوۡرِہٖ مَنۡ یَّشَآءُ ؕ وَیَضۡرِبُ اللّٰہُ الۡاَمۡثَالَ لِلنَّاسِ ؕ وَاللّٰہُ بِکُلِّ شَیۡءٍ عَلِیۡمٌ ﴿ۙ۳۶﴾
English Translation
Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth. The similitude of His light is as a lustrous niche, wherein is a lamp. The lamp is in a glass. The glass is as it were a glittering star. It is lit from a blessed tree — an olive — neither of the east nor of the west, whose oil would well-nigh glow forth even though fire touched it not. Light upon light! Allah guides to His light whomsoever He will. And Allah sets forth parables to men, and Allah knows all things full well.
Allah is the Light[2046A] of the heavens and the earth. His light is as if there were a lustrous niche,[2046B] wherein is a lamp. The lamp is inside a glass-globe.[2046C] The globe is, as it were, a glittering star. The lamp is lit from the oil of a blessed tree—an olive— neither of the East nor of the West, whose oil well-nigh would shine forth even though fire touched it not. Light upon light! Allah guides to His light whomsoever He pleases. And Allah sets forth parables for men, and Allah knows all things full well.[2047]
Nur means, light as opposed to darkness. It is more extensive and more penetrating as well as more lasting in its significance than Diya’ (Lane).
Mishkat means, a niche in a wall, i.e. a hole or hollow in a wall, not extending through, in which a lamp placed gives more light than it gives elsewhere; a pillar on the top of which the lamp is put (Lane).
Zujajah means a glass; a globe of glass (Lane).
The verse is a beautiful metaphor. It speaks of three things—a lamp, a glass-globe and a niche. The Divine Light is stated to have been confined to these three things which combined together make its brightness and effulgence complete and perfect. ‘The lamp’ is the very source of the light; the ‘glass-globe’ which is over the lamp protects its light from being extinguished by the puffs of wind and increases its brightness; and ‘the niche’ preserves the light. The simile may aptly apply to an electric torch of which the constituent parts are the electric wires which give light, the bulb which protects the light and the reflector which spreads and diffuses the light and gives it direction. In spiritual terminology, the three things—’the lamp,’ ‘the glass-globe’ and ‘the niche’—may respectively stand for Divine Light, God’s Prophets who protect that light from being extinguished and add to its effulgence and brightness, and the Khalifahs or Successors of the Prophets who diffuse and disseminate the Divine Light and give it a direction and purpose for the guidance and illumination of the world. The verse further states that the oil used to light the lamp is of the highest possible purity and is inflammable to a degree which makes it (the oil) burst out into a flame even without being ignited. It is extracted from a tree which belongs neither to the East nor to the West, i.e. which does not discriminate in favour of or against any particular people.
The verse may have another interpretation. The light mentioned in the verse may be taken to refer to the Holy Prophet because he has been spoken of as ‘light’ in the Qur’an (5:16); ‘the niche’ in that case would signify the heart of the Holy Prophet, and ‘the lamp’ his most pure and unsullied nature which is endowed with the best and noblest attributes and qualities, and ‘the glass’ would signify that the Divine Light with which his nature has been invested is as clear and bright as crystal. When the light of heavenly revelation descended upon the light of the Holy Prophet’s nature, it shone with a twofold effulgence which in the words of the Qur’an has been described as ‘light upon light.’ This light of the Prophet was sustained by an oil which emanated from a blessed tree, which means that the Holy Prophet’s light was not only bright and brilliant but abundant and stable and perpetual (as the word Mubarakah signifies), and was meant to illumine both the East and the West. Further, the Holy Prophet’s heart was so pure and his nature gifted with such noble qualities that he was almost lit to discharge the duties of his great mission even before the light of Divine revelation had descended upon him. This is the significance of the words, whose oil well-nigh would shine forth even though fire touched it not.
The metaphor may have yet another explanation. The niche in the verse is the human body. The human body contains the spirit which makes itself manifest through the organs of the body. Like the niche the human body protects the light, namely, the spirit, and guides its expression, i.e. the human body contains Misbah or the lamp of the soul which illumines the human mind and brings it into touch with God. The lamp is contained in a ‘Zujajah‘ (globe of glass), which protects it from harm or injury and enhances and reflects its light. This Zujajah which is the human brain of which the mechanism is so perfect as to have led some philosophers to think that it is the ultimate source of the Divine Light. The light is sustained by the oil from a blessed tree, namely from those basic and eternal truths which are not the exclusive possession of any people of the East or of the West. These eternal truths are implanted in the very nature of man and would almost make themselves manifest even without the help of Divine revelation.