Ramadan Day 18: Verses from the Quran
Sat Oct 22, 2005 at 10:33:24 PM PDT
Each day during
Ramadan, I am presenting a verse from the Quran with a few thoughts or comments. An introduction to this series is
here. Inshallah (God willing), I hope that this may be of benefit to any who are interested in learning a bit more about Islam and Muslim belief.
Quran 24:35:
Allah is the light of the heavens and the earth. The similitude of His light is a niche in which is a lamp. The lamp is enclosed in glass, glass like a shining star, (and is) kindled from a blessed tree, an olive not of the east or the west, whose oil is itself luminous even though fire did not touch it. Light upon light. Allah guides to the light whom He wills. And Allah sets forth similitudes for humankind. And Allah is knower of all things
According to the
traditional commentary on this verse, the similitude or parable has the following meanings:
The niche refers to the believer and the glass of the lamp to the his or her heart. The oil refers to the Quran and the flame in the lamp to faith.
Light of the fire and the light of the oil: when they are combined they give light, and neither of them can give light without the other. Similarly the light of the Qur'an and the light of faith give light when they are combined, and neither can do so without the other
A saying of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) is also cited:
Hearts are of four kinds: the heart that is clear like a shining lamp; the heart that is covered and tied up; the heart that is upside-down; and the heart that is clad in armor. As for the clear heart, it is the heart of the believer in which is a lamp filled with light; as for the covered heart, this is the heart of the disbeliever; as for the upside-down heart, this is the heart of the hypocrite, who recognizes then denies; as for the armor-clad heart, this is the heart in which there is both faith and hypocrisy
What kind of heart do you have?
