Professional Documents
Culture Documents
by Mostafa Badawi
light, again inviting the People of the Book to perceive the light within the Qur’an is to
recognize him as the same light that shone perceive its eternal essence, but, at a lower
forth as previous Divine Messengers: level, it is also to perceive the various lights
that branch out from this essence, such as
People of the Book, now there has come to you
the light of outward guidance, of knowledge,
Our Messenger, making clear to you many
of faith in the heart, of certainty, the baraka it
things you have been concealing of the Book
manifests and radiates wherever it is recited,
and effacing many things. There has come to
of inward inspired knowledge, of the Divine
you from God a light, and a Book Manifest,
Names and Attributes it mentions, and so on.
whereby God guides whosoever follows His
These lights bring those who receive them
good pleasure in the ways of peace and brings
acceptingly out of the shadows of disbelief and
them forth from the shadows into the light by
into the light of faith; out of the shadows of
His leave, and He guides them to a straight
ignorance and into the light of knowledge;
path. (5:14,15)
8 out of the shadows of remoteness from God
and into ever increasing proximity, which O God, put light in my heart, light in my
sight, light in my hearing, light to my right,
brings ever intensifying lights:
light to my left, light above me, light below
…so fear god, O people of reason who believe. me, light before me, and light behind me;
and grant me light.6
God has sent you a remembrance: a
Messenger reciting to you the clear verses of
God, to bring those who believe and do good
works out of the shadows, into the light….
(65:10,11)
He also said, “There shall come on the Day And those who believe in God and His
of Arising people whose light is like the Messengers, they are the siddiq‰n. And the
light of the sun.” martyrs are with their Lord; they have their
Ab‰ Bakr asked, “Are those us, O reward and their light… . (57:19)
Messenger of God?” To return to the light of faith, God says,
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referring to the light of faith in the heart of light.” To these lights, which lead to His Light,
sincere believers in the following manner: does God lead those whom He chooses for
“God is the Light of the heavens and the eternal bliss: “God guides whom He wills to His
earth.” One of the obvious meanings of this light and strikes similitudes for the people. And God
verse, and there are many, is that God has has knowledge of everything” (24:35).
created the secondary causes that illuminate Now, since each Muslim is a more or less an
the heavens and the earth, such as the sun and imperfect reflection of the perfect prototype
moon for the terrestrial world; Scriptures, that is the Messenger of God œ the same
Prophets, and scholars for the hearts of men; similitude should apply, albeit in a much
angels for the seven heavens; and so on. “The more limited and conditioned manner.
likeness of His light,” as the verse continues, is Therefore, we may say that the niche refers to 11
the breast of the believer. It has two faces: one The ones described here are those who
turned to the Prophet, the Qur’an, and the allow nothing to distract them from the
higher Worlds, receiving the influx of divine constant remembrance of God and conformi-
mercies; the other turned toward his fellow ty with the injunctions of SharÏ ¢a, which is the
Muslims, radiating these lights among them. very definition of sincerity. Constant remem-
In the believer, the glass will be sheer and glit- brance, which is unbroken awareness of God,
tery to the extent that he is sincere in obeying is that which allows a Muslim to catch up with
his Lord, following his Prophet, and purifying such sincere believers as are described above.
his heart. In the glass is a lamp, which is the The way to achieve unbroken awareness is to
light of faith, fed by the same oil of the knowl- strengthen the light in one’s heart by abun-
edge of prophethood, but according to its dant invocations and acts of worship,
limited capacity, to be lighted by the fire of the following the Sunna in its smallest details,
Qur’an so that it too will become light upon strengthening the virtues, thinking well of all
light. The Prophet œ said that there are four Muslims, keeping company with those who
kinds of hearts: are near to God, and so on. Under such condi-
… a heart that is smooth, containing the tions, verbal remembrance, if practiced in
likeness of a lamp, radiant; a heart that is abundance and with concentration, is bound
enveloped in an envelope that is tied up; a to lead to remembrance of the heart whereby
heart that is upside down; and a heart made
one’s awareness of God remains unbroken
of layers. As for the heart that is smooth, it is
even when engaged in necessary worldly
the heart of the believer; its lamp is the light
in it. As for the heart that is enveloped, it is pursuits. At this stage, the person becomes
the heart of the disbelievers. As for the subject to the unbroken divine effulgence of
heart that is upside down, it is the heart of graces so that God becomes his WalÏ and he
the hypocrite who has recognized [the becomes the walÏ of God. ✺
truth] then denied it. As for the heart made
of layers, it is a heart containing both faith
and hypocrisy….11 references
1
Muslim, Zuhd, 60; A^mad, 6:153, 168.
Now, the blessed tree in the verse is neither 2
TirmidhÏ, (878).
of the East nor of the West to the extent of his 3
Muslim, >ah¥ra, 1; TirmidhÏ, (3517)
keeping to the middle path, not following sects 4
Ibn M¥ja, (1375)
or heresies. At a higher level, it refers to God’s 5
Ab‰ D¥w‰d, (561); TirmidhÏ, (223)
elect who have lost all inclination for the 6
Bukh¥rÏ, (6316).
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