Qur'an's Brilliant Verse (24:35) - 'Light UPON Light'

Epigraph:

“God is the light of the heavens and the earth. [In the heart of [The parable is that]  a person,] the example of this light of His is as if there is a niche which has a lamp. The lamp is in crystal. The crystal is such as if it is a shining star. It is lit up by oil that comes from a lush olive tree which is neither eastern nor western. Its oil is [so transparent] as if it will light up even without fire touching it. Light upon light. God grants this light of His guidance to whomsoever He wills.” - Qur'an (24:35)

YOU ASKED: My name is xxxxx. I’m from xxxxx. Currently, I’m enrolled in a course entitled Decoding Islam. I would really appreciate it if you would consider my question. I was reading a verse of Surah Nur: Light.

Meaning:

“God is the light of the heaven and earth. His light may be compared to a niche containing a lamp, the lamp inside a crystal of star-like brilliance lit from a blessed olive tree, neither of the east nor of the west.”

Some tafseer say the Light means Allah’s guidance, and the lamp is the human heart. Others say the lamp means Fitrah (Human nature). What does “Light” exactly mean here?

MY RESPONSE:

Yes, the light in the verse means Allah’s GUIDANCE. Why so? Please see the shared image of the verse in Arabic and English. The Verse itself explains the ‘light’ as Allah’s GUIDANCE.

What does ‘Light UPON Light’ mean in the verse? Since light means Allah’s GUIDANCE, it implies the latter mention of light in ‘Light UPON Light’ is the Fitrah (Human Nature), as you have rightly pointed out.

Why is it the Fitrah? Because the Qur’an claims that the human race was not born in darkness. It has been born in the light of God’s Guidance.

Let me present two verses of the Qur’an. First is (7:172): “O Prophet!] Remind them of that time too when your Lord had brought forth from the loins of Adam’s children their progeny and had made them testify to themselves. [He had asked:] “Am I not your Lord?” They replied: “Yes, [You alone are our Lord.] We bear witness to it.” This, We did lest you should say on the Day of Judgement: “We had no knowledge of this,…”

The other verse is (91:7-9): “and the soul and the way it is perfected, then inspired it with its evil and its good that the Day of Judgement is certain to come;[hence,] he succeeded who purified his soul.”

Please note these two verses show us man is not born in darkness. The concept of God, the Hereafter (7:172), based on good deeds (91:8), defines human nature (Fitrah). This is the latter part of ‘Light UPON Light’.

The former part of this expression (Light UPON Light) is God’s Guidance in the form of His revelations through His Prophets. That is the reason God ascribes His message as a REMINDER (15:9): “Rest assured, [O Prophet!] Undoubtedly, We Ourselves have sent down this reminder and only We shall protect it.” - A knowledge of which our conscience testifies when we come across it, or when it is presented to us, OR when the prophets used to show it to their people.

This is mentioned, for instance, in the Qur’an (2:38): “We said: 'Get down from here all of you; then if ever comes to you any guidance from Me, follow it…”

So, Light UPON Light.

YOU ASKED: Also, later in the Surah, it says: “the one from whom God withholds His Light will have no light at all.” Does that mean the Light is our conscience, or a special light of Iman that only believers have? It, which here symbolises a lamp inside a crystal.

MY RESPONSE:

No, it is not a special light of Iman that only believers have.

Every human being, irrespective of caste, colour, creed, or religion, carries this light of inner guidance called a conscience. That is why we have universal commonalities like respecting parents, not telling lies, and fulfilling commitments. These are all the inner light of guidance (conscience).

The light is Allah’s innate inborn Guidance. Conscience. That is why Allah produces this as evidence when He mentions in the Qur’an (75:2): “[Do they deny the Day of Judgement?] By no means! I present as witness the Day of Judgement. And by no means! I present as witness this reproaching soul [within you].”

The ‘reproaching soul’ here is our conscience. It refers to the human conscience — the inner self that blames, questions, or reproaches itself when one commits wrong or falls short. We criticise ourselves - self-criticism, self-guilt.

Interestingly, Allah also states that man usually falters in front of his conscience. Qur’an (75:5): “[No, this is not so]; in fact, the truth is that man wants to be mischievous before his conscience.”

So, yes, the latter light in ‘Light UPON Light’ is our inner conscience. It is claimed that our conscience never falters. It always guides us towards the Truth. Obviously, everyone has varying levels of potential, environment, and IQ levels. Some are super intelligent, some are not. Some are imbecile. That is another matter. Conscience, in essence, guides all towards good – hence, the universal commonalities of good.

It is only when the person KNOWINGLY, WILLINGLY, DELIBERATELY denies the Truth (in any form) that Allah declares as ARROGANCE. Such arrogant people in the eyes of Allah are KAFIR (infidels). Allah detests such behaviour.

The sentence: ‘Who withholds Allah’s light shall have no light at all’ means whoever deliberately rejects both these guidance: the former light and the latter light of ‘Light UPON Light’ in the eyes of Allah shall be in darkness. The universe is dark for those who do not believe in God or deny His attributes. It leaves them without clarity on life's purpose, morality, or destiny. Without this divine light, one remains lost in darkness, with no other source of guidance.

YOU ASKED: And if it’s Fitrah, and Fitrah is very human to human. What does that mean? And what does the olive tree in the verse symbolise?

One more question: Does conscience always guide us correctly? Sometimes people make wrong choices and later say, “My heart was telling me to do this at the time.” How do we know if it’s a real conscience (light from Allah) or just our own desire?

I know the nature of the questions is straightforward without any elaboration because I’m confused about it. I would really appreciate it if you could explain this verse.

MY RESPONSE:

The original referred verse (24:35). The olive tree is a fantastic metaphor used by Allah.

He states there is a lamp in a niche (the human heart called the conscience). And the conscience of the person is intact and operative. Meaning the person listens and pays heed to the voice of the conscience. This means the lamp is burning (with the light of guidance). But the oil of the lamp is so pure (human nature) coming from an olive tree (the oil) which belongs to the middle of the olive tree farm and not from the edges (eastern or western) of the farm - this depicts the purity of the tree. Hence, the oil is so pure that it is as if it were ready to catch fire by itself! This means as soon as the inner conscience comes across the FORMER light of the ‘Light UPON Light’, it’ll catch fire - the fire, the light of Allah’s revelations coming down through His prophets!

What does Allah mean by eastern or western, I mentioned above? The farmers know the best fruit the farm yields is from fruit trees within the dense farm and not as much as on the edges. So, to mention the purity of the oil derived from the olive tree, Allah says this fruit tree is from within the dense inner part of the farm and not from the edges.

Now, let me reproduce the whole translation here: Qur’an (24:35):

“God is the light of the heavens and the earth. [In the heart of [The parable is that]  a person,] the example of this light of His is as if there is a niche which has a lamp. The lamp is in crystal. The crystal is such as if it is a shining star. It is lit up by oil that comes from a lush olive tree which is neither eastern nor western. Its oil is [so transparent] as if it will light up even without fire touching it. Light upon light. God grants this light of His guidance to whomsoever He wills.”

Hope it is relatable. Do feel free to comment or ask further questions. You are welcome.

Regards, Aamir Yazdani