And when the revelation was a spirit that governs the spirit, just as the spirit governs the body, He made it clear by saying: ﴿And likewise﴾ meaning, and similar to what We have informed you of the qualities that We reveal to Our servants ﴿We have revealed to you﴾ directing the saying towards the manifestation of greatness, magnifying what was revealed to him and pouring out His blessings upon him in all those categories. Thus, it was mentioned in awe, not denied, and hearing without a veil is fundamentally transmitted in the narration of the Night of Ascension, and it is also rational to hear from behind the veil. He also mentioned in His saying: "I have fulfilled My obligation and alleviated for My servants." And the revelation through the angel is indeed very abundant. He magnified the revelation and honored it by saying, denying it, to exalt what is with Him of the commanding spirit, by informing that this book has silenced the eloquent and incapacitated the articulate, and bewildered the minds of the wise. It is but a branch of it and a prominent particle from it. It may be that the denial indicates magnification, reverence, and honor. ﴿A spirit﴾ meaning, whoever mingles with it, his heart becomes alive, and whoever is stripped of it, his heart is dead. Its greatness increased by His saying: ﴿Of Our command﴾ meaning, by making it part of the command and manifesting it in a manifestation of greatness. How exalted it is, every lofty thing diminishes before it, and every praiser feels small in its grandeur. The intent of this is to refute what has been previously attributed to him, blessings and peace be upon him, as a fabrication, for He, glorified and exalted is He, did not seal his heart but opened it by the hand of power and revived it with the spirit of revelation, causing him to speak with the wisdom to which the wise have submitted, and which the minds of scholars have acknowledged their inability to comprehend. This is indicated by His saying, negating and clarifying his state, blessings and peace be upon him, before this revelation: ﴿You were not﴾ meaning, before the forty that have passed for you, while you were among your people, equal to them in being unaware of anything and not speaking of any of that, which is the meaning of ﴿You do not know﴾. He expressed it with an interrogative tool, indicating that what follows it is something that must be attended to and inquired about. He linked the entirety of the inquiry to knowledge of the action, and it sufficed as a substitute for the two objects of knowledge. ﴿What is the book﴾ meaning, (p-363) what was in your nature that you would know that with the least types of knowledge through debate or otherwise. ﴿Nor faith﴾ meaning, in detailing the laws as We have specified for you in what We have revealed to you. And he, blessings and peace be upon him, although before prophethood affirming the oneness of Allah, glorified and exalted is He, and His greatness, he did not know the messengers as they are. There is no doubt that the testimony for him, blessings and peace be upon him, of the message is a pillar of faith, and he had no knowledge of that. Likewise, the angels and the Last Day, thus the negation of the negated is valid due to the absence of its part.

And when the meaning was: But we have informed you of all that, he expressed it as a notification that the creation was in darkness due to their actions of placing things in their improper places, like one who walks in the dark. By saying: "But We made it," meaning the spirit which is the Book revealed from Us to you, informing about faith and all knowledge of what We have of greatness, "a light by which We guide" to Our greatness, "whomever We will," specifically, no one is able to guide him without Our will, "from Our servants," by creating guidance in his heart. Ibn Burjan said: Whoever is granted the criterion that distinguishes between the similar and the light by which he walks in the darkness, that is the one who has seen the ray of light and witnessed the light spread in the created world. And according to the extent of his inclination towards it and his detachment from everything else, his acceptance of it and his guidance by it will be. Al-Asbahani said in Surah An-Nur: It is the quality that overflows from the sun, the moon, and fire, for example, onto the earth, the wall, and others. It is said: The earth became illuminated. And the Proof of Islam, Al-Ghazali, may Allah be pleased with him, said: It is known that this quality is specifically distinguished by virtue and honor because the visible things become apparent due to it. Then it is known that just as the perception of these visible things depends on their being illuminated, so too does it depend on the existence of the seeing eye, which is the perceiving one, and by it is perception. Thus, the description of manifestation by the seeing light is more appropriate than the light that is seen. Therefore, they have named the light of the seeing eye as light. They said about the bat: Indeed, the light of its eyes is weak, and about the blind man: He has lost the light of sight. If this is established, we say: For man, there is sight and insight. The sight is the apparent eye that perceives lights and colors, and the insight is the rational power. Each of the two perceptions requires light, and the light of the mind is stronger and more intense than the light of the eye. This is because the seeing power does not perceive itself, nor its perception, nor its tools, while the rational power perceives itself, its perception, and its tools. Thus, the light of the mind is more complete than the light of sight, and the rational power perceives the universals, while the seeing power does not perceive them. The perception of universals is more noble than that of particulars, and the perception of the mind is productive, while the perception of particulars is not productive. The seeing power can only perceive the apparent surface of the body and the color that exists on that surface, provided there is light. When it perceives a person, it does not perceive anything from him except the apparent surface of his body and the color that exists with it. The rational power perceives the apparent and the hidden of things, for the hidden and the apparent are equal in relation to it. Thus, the rational power is a light in relation to the apparent and the hidden, while the seeing power is darkness in relation to the hidden. The perceiver of the rational power is Allah and His attributes and actions, while the perceiver of the seeing power is colors and shapes. Therefore, the ratio of the nobility of the rational power to the nobility of the seeing power is like the ratio of the nobility of the essence of Allah to the nobility of colors and shapes. The seeing power is like a servant, and the rational power is like a prince. The prince is more noble than the servant. The seeing power can err, while the rational power does not err. Thus, it is established that the rational perception is more complete, stronger, and nobler than the visual perception. Each of the two perceptions requires the manifestation that is one of the noblest properties of light. Therefore, the rational perception is more deserving of being a light. The rational perception is of two types: one is necessary to obtain when the powers and tools are intact, which are the innate concepts, and the second is what is acquired, which are the theoretical concepts. It is not one of the necessities of the essence of man, for in the state of childhood, he was not knowledgeable at all. These lights only occur after they did not exist, so they must have a cause. The human nature may be subject to deviation, so there must be a guide and a mentor, and there is no mentor above the words of Allah and His Prophets. Thus, the status of the verses of the Qur'an in the sight of the mind is like the status of the light of the sun. Just as the light of the sun is called light, the light of the Qur'an resembles the light of the sun, and the light of the mind resembles the light of the eye. With this, the meaning of His saying, the Exalted, becomes clear: "So believe in Allah and His Messenger and the light which We have sent down" [At-Taghabun: 8], "Indeed, there has come to you a proof from your Lord" [An-Nisa: 174], "And We have sent down to you a clear light" [An-Nisa: 174]. If it is established that the explanation of the Messenger, blessings and peace be upon him, is stronger than the light of the sun, then his sacred self must be greater in luminosity than the sun, just as the sun in the realm of bodies gives light to others and does not benefit from others. Likewise, the self of the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, gives intellectual lights to all human souls and does not benefit the intellectual light from anything of the human souls. Therefore, Allah described the sun as a lamp, and He described Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him, as a lamp. Then he said: And for the ranks of lights in the realm of spirits, there is an example. It is that the light of the sun, when it reaches the moon, then enters through a window of a house and falls on a mirror placed on a wall, then it is reflected from it to a basin filled with water placed on the ground, then it is reflected from it to the ceiling of the house. The greatest light is in the sun, which is the source, the second is in the moon, the third is in the mirror, the fourth is in the water, and the fifth is in the ceiling. And whatever is closer to the source is stronger. Likewise, the heavenly lights, when they are arranged, the light that benefits is indeed more radiant. Then those lights continue to be arranged until they reach the greatest light, and the spirit which is the greatest of spirits in rank with Allah, which is intended by His saying: "The Day the Spirit and the angels will stand in rows" [An-Naba: 38]. Then we say: These sensory lights are either lower like the lights of fires or higher like lights, for they are possible for themselves, and the possible for itself does not deserve existence for itself, rather its existence is from another. And non-existence is darkness, and existence is light. Everything other than Allah is dark for its essence and illuminated by the illumination of Allah, the Exalted. Likewise, all its knowledge and existence are obtained from the existence of Allah, the Exalted, for the truth, glorified is He, is the one who manifested them into existence after they were in the darkness of non-existence, and He bestowed upon them the lights of knowledge after they were in the darkness of ignorance. There is no manifestation of anything except by His manifestation, especially light is the granting of manifestation, unveiling, and revelation. At this point, it becomes clear that the absolute light is Allah, glorified is He, and that the attribution of light to anything else is metaphorical. Everything other than Allah, in terms of its essence, is pure darkness because it is, in terms of its essence, pure possibility. Rather, the lights, when viewed in terms of their essence, are darkness because they are, in terms of their essence, possibilities. The possible, in terms of its essence, is non-existent, and the non-existent is dark. Thus, light, when viewed in terms of its possibility, is dark. However, when it is turned to it in terms of the fact that the truth, glorified is He, has bestowed upon it the light of existence, by this consideration, it became lights. Thus, it is established that He, glorified is He, is the light, and that everything other than Him is not light. He added light to the two horizons in His saying: "The light of the heavens and the earth" [An-Nur: 35] because they are filled with intellectual lights and sensory lights. As for the sensory, it is what we observe in the heavens from the stars and others, and in the earth from the rays spread on the surfaces of bodies until the different colors appeared with them. If it were not for them, there would be no appearance of colors, rather no existence. As for the intellectual lights, the upper world is filled with them, and they are the jewels of the angels. The lower world is filled with them, and they are the vegetative, animal, and human powers. With the human sensory light, the system of the lower world appeared just as with the royal light, the system of the upper world appeared. If you know this, you know that the entire world is filled with apparent sensory lights and hidden intellectual lights. Then you know that the lower lights overflow from one another, like the overflow of light from the lamp, and the lamp is the prophetic spirit. Then the sacred lights are derived from the higher lights, like the lamp is derived from light. And the higher lights are derived from one another, and there is an arrangement among them in their purposes. Then their totality ascends to the light of lights, and its source and origin is Allah alone, with no partner for Him. Thus, all is His light. Then he said: Imam Al-Ghazali said: It has become clear that the perceiving powers are lights.

The levels of human perceived power are five. One of them is the sensitive power, which receives what the five senses convey. It is as if it is the essence of the animal soul, for through it the animal becomes an animal. It exists for the child and the infant. The second is the imaginative power, which causes what the senses have conveyed and preserves it stored within it for when it is needed by the intellectual power. The third is the intellectual power that perceives universal truths. The fourth is the thinking power, which takes intellectual knowledge and composes it into a composition from which knowledge of the unknown is derived. The fifth is the sacred power, which is specific to the prophets and some of the saints. In it, the signs of the unseen and the secrets of the kingdom become manifest. To this, His saying refers: "And thus We have revealed to you a spirit from Our command." If you know these powers, they are collectively lights, for through them the types of existents appear. These five levels can be likened to the five things mentioned by Allah in the parable of the niche, the glass, the lamp, the tree, and the oil. As for the sensitive soul, when you look at its characteristic, you find its lights emanating from openings like the eyes, ears, and nostrils. The best example of it from the world of bodies is the niche. As for the second, which is the imaginative soul, it has three characteristics: the first is that it is from the substance of the dense lower world, for the imagined thing has form and space. The nature of bodily relations is to obstruct the pure intellectual lights. The second is that this dense imagination, when it becomes pure and refined, becomes equal to the intellectual knowledge and conveys its lights. Therefore, the interpreter uses imaginative images to indicate intellectual meanings, just as one uses the sun to indicate kingship, the moon to indicate a minister, and the seals of people's private parts and mouths to indicate the ears before dawn. The third is that imagination, in the beginning, is needed to organize the intellectual knowledge so that it does not become confused. You do not find anything in bodies that resembles imagination in these attributes except for glass, for it is originally from a dense essence, but it has become pure and refined until it does not obstruct the light of the lamp but rather conveys it on its surface, then preserves it from extinguishing with the glass. As for the third, which is the strong intellectual power for perceiving universal essences and divine knowledge, it is not hidden from you how to liken it to the lamp. As for the fourth, which is the thinking power, its characteristic is that it takes a single essence and then divides it into two parts, as in our saying: existence is either necessary or possible. Then it makes each part into two parts, and so on until it reaches what cannot be divided. Then it concludes with results that are its fruits. Therefore, it is appropriate that its example from this world is the tree. If its fruits are a substance for the increase of the lights of knowledge and their clarification, it is more appropriate that it should not be represented by the quince or the apple tree but rather by the olive tree, especially since the essence of its fruit is the oil, which is the substance of lamps, and it has, among all other oils, a special increase in brightness and a decrease in smoke. If the livestock that produces much milk and offspring, and the tree that bears much fruit, is called blessed, then that which has no end to its benefit and fruit is more deserving to be called a blessed tree. If the branches of pure intellectual thoughts are abstracted from the attachments of bodies, then it is more appropriate that they should not be eastern or western. As for the fifth, which is the prophetic sacred power, it is at the pinnacle of honor and purity. The thinking power divides into what needs teaching and what does not need it. This division must exist to prevent a chain of transmission. It is more appropriate that this division be expressed in terms of its completeness and characteristics by saying that its oil almost lights up even if it has not been touched by fire. This example corresponds to these divisions. These lights are arranged one upon another. The sense is the first and is like the introduction to the imagination, and the imagination is like the introduction to the intellect. - This is the end of the words of Al-Ghazali, may Allah have mercy on him, as transmitted by Al-Asfahani in his tafsir from him - and Allah knows best.

And when the meaning is based on what has preceded regarding the description of the divine spirit: 'So We have guided you by it,' He followed it with His saying, glorified and exalted is He: ﴿And indeed, you guide﴾ meaning you clarify and direct. And He confirmed it due to their denial of that ﴿to a straight path﴾ meaning a very clear way. And if you struggle in the clarification by yourself and by means of what has been indicated by the preposition 'to,' it is understood from that that He guides to the path without that care for whom Allah has made his affair easy, and He guides the path for whom is greater in success than that ﴿straight﴾ meaning strongly upright, for it is as if He intends to make himself upright, so after the existence of his uprightness, he preserves it from the slightest flaw. And it is all that he calls to from the qualities of this upright religion, which is the creed of Ibrahim, blessings and peace be upon him. Then He replaced it with a glorification of its status, His saying replacing every knowledge from an indefinite one, drawing the saying from the manifestation of greatness to a greater one, indicating the majesty of this path by what is in it of the summation of mercy and punishment, encouraging and frightening.