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The Mosque Lamp and the Light Verse
قنديل المسجد وآية النور
In the Quran
۞ ٱللَّهُ نُورُ ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَٱلۡأَرۡضِۚ مَثَلُ نُورِهِۦ كَمِشۡكَوٰةٖ فِيهَا مِصۡبَاحٌۖ ٱلۡمِصۡبَاحُ فِي زُجَاجَةٍۖ ٱلزُّجَاجَةُ كَأَنَّهَا كَوۡكَبٞ دُرِّيّٞ يُوقَدُ مِن شَجَرَةٖ مُّبَٰرَكَةٖ زَيۡتُونَةٖ لَّا شَرۡقِيَّةٖ وَلَا غَرۡبِيَّةٖ يَكَادُ زَيۡتُهَا يُضِيٓءُ وَلَوۡ لَمۡ تَمۡسَسۡهُ نَارٞۚ نُّورٌ عَلَىٰ نُورٖۚ يَهۡدِي ٱللَّهُ لِنُورِهِۦ مَن يَشَآءُۚ وَيَضۡرِبُ ٱللَّهُ ٱلۡأَمۡثَٰلَ لِلنَّاسِۗ وَٱللَّهُ بِكُلِّ شَيۡءٍ عَلِيمٞ ٣٥ “Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth. The example of His light is like a niche within which is a lamp, the lamp is within glass, the glass as if it were a pearly [white] star lit from [the oil of] a blessed olive tree, neither of the east nor of the west, whose oil would almost glow even if untouched by fire. Light upon light. Allah guides to His light whom He wills. And Allah presents examples for the people, and Allah is Knowing of all things”
Translation of the meaning · Saheeh International
Commentary · al-Tabari (d. 310 AH)
Jami' al-Bayan 'an Ta'wil Ay al-Quran · جامع البيان عن تأويل آي القرآن24:35
هادي من في السماوات والأرض، فهم بنوره إلى الحق يهتدون، وبهداه من حيرة الضلالة يعتصمون.Reviewer's summary (not a translation)
He guides all who are in the heavens and the earth: by His light they are guided to the truth, and by His guidance they are protected from the confusion of going astray. (Researcher's paraphrase of al-Tabari.)
Quoted word for word from the book · Source
Commentary · al-Tabari (d. 310 AH)
Jami' al-Bayan 'an Ta'wil Ay al-Quran · جامع البيان عن تأويل آي القرآن24:35
ذلك مثل ضربه الله للقرآن في قلب أهل الإيمان بهReviewer's summary (not a translation)
It is a parable Allah gave for the Quran in the hearts of those who believe in it. (Researcher's paraphrase of al-Tabari's preferred reading, among several he reports.)
Quoted word for word from the book · Source
Explanation (not Quran text)
Glass mosque lamps, especially those made in Mamluk Egypt and Syria, were often decorated with the Light Verse (24:35). The verse calls Allah the Light of the heavens and the earth and offers a parable of a lamp in a niche, inside a glass like a shining star, lit with oil from a blessed olive tree (24:35). Al-Tabari explains the opening as Allah guiding all who are in the heavens and the earth, and reads the parable as the light of the Quran in the hearts of believers, while reporting that early commentators read it in several ways.
In Muslim civilisation
Enamelled and gilded glass lamps were a celebrated craft of the Mamluk period (1250–1517). Many were made for mosques and religious foundations in Cairo, and many carry the Light Verse among their inscriptions.
Sources
- Blair, S. S., & Bloom, J. M. (1994). The Art and Architecture of Islam 1250–1800. New Haven: Yale University Press.
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