Then he explained the reason for its revelation according to this most upright tradition and precise arrangement by saying: ﴿Allah﴾ meaning the One whose power and knowledge encompass ﴿the light﴾ meaning the possessor of the light of ﴿the heavens and the earth﴾ because He is the One who manifests them by creating them and creating their inhabitants, guiding them by illuminating them with knowledge that leads its possessor to the straight path, like one walking in the light of the sun, who does not place anything in a place that is not suitable for it, just as one walking in the light does not place a foot in a place that is not appropriate for it. There is no doubt that light is what makes things appear and become clear. He, glorified and exalted is He, is the One who manifests them, and they and what is in them indicate His manifestation. He is the One of complete power, encompassing knowledge, possessing attributes of perfection, free from any defects. In the end of Ash-Shura, there is much that is very beneficial here.

And when it was impossible for anyone among the inhabitants of the two horizons to be misguided by a light that fills them, he clarified the reason for its concealment alongside the appearance of its brightness, its vastness, and the strength of its rays, until most people were misguided from it. He said, clarifying by attributing the light to His essence that the news about it as light is a metaphor, not a reality, alerting that His guiding signs appear amidst the doubts arising from the prevailing misconceptions among creation, which are like darkness. ﴿The example of His light﴾ meaning that which He has guided by to the path of righteousness, though it is concealed from some people despite its strong appearance. It is His signs that indicate Him from His words and actions. ﴿Like a niche﴾ meaning like a small opening, but not penetrating through a wall; Al-Baghawi said: If it has an opening, then it is a niche.

And when the niche entered this example subtly, he presented it to entice the explanation of it. He followed it with his saying, explaining it: ﴿In it is a lamp﴾ meaning a large, bright lamp. (p-273) And it is the wick - meaning the large, burning wick - from the dawn, which is the light of the dawn, and the lamp, which is the great star; Al-Baghawi said: Its origin is light - that is the end.

So if in the niche its rays are gathered, it becomes more illuminating, and if it were in open space, its rays would scatter; and he continued with the rest of the speech as a continuation of the question, magnifying it, saying: ﴿The lamp is in a glass﴾ meaning a lantern.

And when there is glass that is of utmost clarity, he clarified that this is from it, saying: ﴿The glass is as if it were﴾ meaning in the intensity of clarity ﴿a star﴾ he compared it to it rather than the sun and the moon because they are subject to eclipses. ﴿Brilliant﴾ meaning shining with lights. For when it is in a clear glass, the rays that are emitted from it are reflected from some sides of the glass to others due to the clarity and transparency in it, thus the light increases and reaches its peak just as the rays of the sun, when they fall on water or a clear glass, multiply the light until it appears in what faces it like that light; and the brilliant - al-Zajjaj said: it is taken from [UNTRANSLATED-LATIN: dar'a] when it rushes down and its light is multiplied. And when there are lamps whose light is also weak, he clarified that this is not like that, saying: ﴿It is fueled﴾ meaning the lamp, by which its flame intensified. And when this light differs according to what it is kindled with, if it is pure and clear oil, it is intense, and the oils that are fueled do not show clarity like the oil because they may reach the level of clarity and thinness like water along with an increase in whiteness and rays that reflect in its parts, he said: ﴿From a tree﴾ meaning its oil ﴿blessed﴾ meaning of great stability and goodness, its origin is good ﴿olive﴾.

And when the oil differs according to the difference of its tree in its exposure to the sun and its appearance to it, because the tree may weaken and its fruit may become bad due to an obstacle between it and the sun, he clarified that this tree is not like that, saying: ﴿Not eastern﴾ meaning it is not attributed to the east alone, as it is in a place where the sun cannot reach it except at sunrise, but it is in the shade of a mountain that covers it when the sun declines at sunset. ﴿Nor western﴾ because it is on the slope of a mountain that shields it from the sun at sunrise, but it is exposed to the sun from the time of sunrise until sunset, so that its fruit becomes riper and its oil becomes purer. Al-Baghawi said: this is the saying of Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them, in the narration of Ikrimah and al-Kalbi and the majority.

So it is for the purity of its element, and the cleanliness of its origin, and its exposure to the sun and the winds, such that ﴿Its oil is almost﴾ due to its extreme clarity ﴿giving light even if fire does not touch it﴾.

And when he knew from this that this parable has lights that are manifest with the help of the niche and the glass and the lamp and the oil, nothing remains that strengthens its light and increases its brightness, and provides it with a pure illumination, he said in the parable for it: ﴿Light upon light﴾ meaning that divine knowledge is vast, whenever the sight roams in it, and the thoughts are unleashed, it brings forth wonders and cannot be confined to a limit.

And when the news of the multiplication of this light necessitates the belief that it is not hidden from anyone, it indicates that – by the comprehensiveness of His knowledge and the completeness of His power – those who wish to be blind to it, despite its intense brightness and great radiance, will be blind. So He said: ﴿Allah guides﴾ meaning (p-276) by His greatness that encompasses everything ﴿to His light whom He wills﴾ just as Allah guided those whom He guided among the believers to exonerate Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, before the revelation of her exoneration.

By Allah choosing her for His Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, and He does not choose for him except that which is good and pure and similar to that. It is known that the opposite of that is “And Allah leads astray whom He wills from His light.” It is known that the reason why most people are led astray from it is merely the concealment of the Able One from them due to a deficiency in the perception of those whom He, glorified and exalted is He, intends to lead astray, not due to a deficiency in the light, as the poet said:

The stars make the eyes feel small in their image, so the fault lies with the observer, not with the stars in their smallness.

As will be clarified when He, the Most High, says: ﴿Have you not seen your Lord how He extended the shadow﴾ [Al-Furqan: 45] and it has been mentioned earlier in the hadith of Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, regarding the souls, which is beneficial here.

And when it was as if it was said: Allah struck this example for you to ponder over it so that you may benefit from it, He followed it with His saying: ﴿And Allah strikes﴾ meaning with what He has of encompassing completeness of power and comprehensive knowledge ﴿the examples for the people﴾ for His knowledge (p-277) of them, as a means of making understanding easier, perhaps they may be guided. ﴿And Allah﴾ meaning the One who has all the attributes of perfection ﴿is Knowing of everything﴾ meaning of them and of others ﴿and He clarifies everything in a way that makes its path easy, so trust in what He says, and if you do not understand it, then suspect yourselves and reflect deeply upon it, He, glorified and exalted is He, will open for you what has been closed off from it.