Qur'anic Studies 1: 3. THE MEANINGS OF NĀR (نَار, FIRE) AND NŪR (نُور , LIGHT) IN THE QUR’ĀN

 

3. THE MEANINGS OF NĀR (نَار, FIRE)  AND NŪR (نُور , LIGHT) IN THE QUR’ĀN  

 The basic meaning of nār is fire, and of nūr is light. Both are derived from the same root, namely, ن-و-ر which means البَيَاض  (“the whiteness”) according to the lexicographer Abū Hilāl al-‘Askarī (d. 395/1005),  whereas according to Muqātil ibn Sulaymān (d.150/767) it means “light.” For example, the expression نَارَ الشَّيْءُ وَأَنَارَ َواسْتَنَارَ  means أَضَاءَ “it gave light.” As the term نُور (light) is from نَار (fire), if we say تَنَوَّرْتُ النَّار  it means “I got some light from the fire.” If we sayأَنَارَ فُلَانٌ َكَلَامَه  (“So-and-so gave light to his words”) means “he explained it.”

 

A.   THE MEANINGS OF NĀR (نَار, FIRE) IN THE QUR’ĀN

 Muqātil ibn Sulaymān mentions three meanings of nār in the Qur’ān as follows:

 1. نُور (nūr, light, i.e. the glow, flame, light of fire ضَوْءُ النِّار), as in the following verses:

                     إِذْ رَأَى نَارًا فَقَالَ لِأَهْلِهِ امْكُثُوا إِنِّي آنَسْتُ نَارًا لَعَلِّي آتِيكُمْ

مِنْهَا بِقَبَسٍ أَوْ أَجِدُ عَلَى النَّارِ هُدًى (طه:١٠)

When he saw a fire, he said to his family: “Wait!

 Verily, I have seen a fire [i.e. flame (of fire)]; perhaps

 I can bring you some burning brand therefrom,

or find some guidance at the fire.” (Q. 20:10)

 Prophet Moses was on his way to Egypt with his wife after having been away from it for more than ten years. One wintery night he lost his way in the dark, then he made a camp between some mountain passes. He tried to make fire but failed. He saw a flame from the right side of the mountain from where he was. He told his wife that he would go to bring some burning brand and to find someone who would guide him to the road.

إِذْ قَالَ مُوسَى لِأَهْلِهِ إِنِّي آنَسْتُ نَارًا سَآتِيكُمْ مِنْهَا بِخَبَرٍ

 أَوْ آتِيكُمْ بِشِهَابٍ قَبَسٍ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَصْطَلُونَ (النمل:۷)

(Remember) when Mūsā (Moses) said to his

 household: “Verily, I have seen a fire [i.e. flame

 (of fire)]; I will bring you from there some

 information, or I will bring you a burning

 brand, that you may warm

 yourselves.” (Q. 27:7)

فَلَمَّا قَضَى مُوسَى الْأَجَلَ وَسَارَ بِأَهْلِهِ آنَسَ مِنْ جَانِبِ الطُّورِ نَارًا

 قَالَ لِأَهْلِهِ امْكُثُوا إِنِّي آنَسْتُ نَارًا لَعَلِّي آتِيكُمْ مِنْهَا بِخَبَرٍ أَوْ جَذْوَةٍ

 مِنَ النَّارِلَعَلَّكُمْ تَصْطَلُونَ (القصص:٢۹)

Then, when Mūsā (Moses) had fulfilled

the term, and was travelling with his family,

he saw a fire [i.e., light (of fire)] in the direction

 of Tūr (Mount). He said to his family: “Wait, I have seen a fire [i.e. flame (of fire)]; perhaps I may

 bring to you from there some information,

or a burning firebrand that you may

 warm yourselves.” (Q. 28:29)

         In these three verses Muqātil interprets the term nār as light or glow of fire rather than fire, probably what Prophet Moses saw from a distance was the glow or the flame caused by the fire, not the fire itself, like al-Ṭabarī’s view, ضَوْءُ النِّار (the light of fire) mentioned above. 

There is no discrepancy in these statements of Prophet Moses. He told his wife as mentioned in these three verses, namely, he repeats himself to emphasize his intention to get some fire brands and to get some information in three slightly different ways. He will bring a burning fire brand or at least a fire brand. 

2.  مَثَلٌ ضَرَبَهُ اللَّه لِاِجْتِمَاعِ الْيَهُودِ عَلَى عَدَاوَةِ النَّبِيِّ ص.م (a simile given by Allah of the Jewish conspiracy against the Prophet), which is also Mujāhid’s view, as in the following verse: 

... وَأَلْقَيْنَا بَيْنَهُمُ الْعَدَاوَةَ وَالْبَغْضَاءَ إِلَى يَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ  كُلَّمَا

 أَوْقَدُوا نَارًا لِلْحَرْبِ أَطْفَأَهَا اللَّهُ وَيَسْعَوْنَ فِي الْأَرْضِ

 فَسَادًا وَاللَّهُ لَا يُحِبُّ الْمُفْسِدِينَ (المائدة:٦٤)

…  We have put enmity and hatred amongst

 them till the Day of Resurrection. Every time

 they kindled the fire of war, Allah extinguished

 it; and they (ever) strive to make mischief

 on the earth. And Allah does not like the

Mufsidūn (mischief-makers) (Q. 5:64)           

           It means that they continue to live in a state of enmity and hatred, because they do not agree on the truth, and because they oppose the Prophet. Every time they try to plot against him and kindle the fire of war Allah extinguishes it and turns the plot against them. They always strive to cause mischief on the earth, and Allah does not like those who make mischief.

 

النَّارُ الَّتِي تُحْرِق  . 3 (fire that burns, hell), as in the following verses:

 

فَإِنْ لَمْ تَفْعَلُوا وَلَنْ تَفْعَلُوا فَاتَّقُوا النَّارَ الَّتِي وَقُودُهَا النَّاسُ

 وَالْحِجَارَةُ أُعِدَّتْ لِلْكَافِرِينَ (البقرة:٢٤)

But if you do not, and you can never do it,

then fear the Fire (Hell) whose fuel is men

and stones, prepared for the

 disbelievers. (Q. 2:24)

 

Allah told the Arab pagans, the Jews, and the Christians that if they doubted that the revelations were from Him to Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. to produce something like it. If they could not, and could never do it, they had to bear His punishment in the Hellfire.

 

... وَقِيلَ ادْخُلَا النَّارَ مَعَ الدَّاخِلِينَ (التحريم:١٠)

… and it was said: “Enter the fire along with

those who enter.” (Q. 66:10)

 

This is the last part of the verse dealing with the wives of Prophet Nūḥ (Noah) and Lūṭ (Lot). The whole verse runs as follows:

                 Allah sets forth an example for those who

 disbelieve the wife of Nūḥ and the wife of Lūṭ.

They were under two of our righteous servants,

 they both betrayed them. So, they avail them not

against Allah, and it was said, Enter the Fire

 along those who enter! (Q. 66:10)

 

The wife of Prophet Noah and the wife of Prophet Lot betrayed their husbands, not committing adultery, but not following their religion. According to Ibn ‘Abbās, the wife of Prophet Noah used to expose his secrets and informed his oppressive people whenever any person followed his religion, whereas the wife of Prophet Lot informed the people of the city of Sodom who committed sodomy whenever a guest entertained her husband. He also said, “No wife of a Prophet ever committed adultery and fornication. Rather, they betrayed them by refusing to follow their religion.” This is also the view of other commentators, such as ‘Ikrimah who said that their betrayal was their being idolater, whereas Sa‘d ibn Jubayr, and al-Ḍaḥḥāk said that their betrayal was their disbelief in Allah. The “parable” (mathal) of these two wives of prophets implies that even a prophet, cannot save his unbelieving wife.

النَّارِ ذَاتِ الْوَقُودِ (البروج:٥)  

Of fire fed with fuel (Q. 85:5)             

This verse is about the story of “the People of the Ditch, the Makers of the Pit of Fire,” namely, “those responsible for the pit of fire abounding in fuel”  (أَصْحَابُ الْأُخْدُودِ) in Q. 85:4-9, as follows:

 

Cursed were the People of the Ditch. Of fire

 fed with fuel. When they sat by it. And they witnessed what they were doing against the

 believers and they had no fault except that

 they believed in Allah, the Almighty, Worthy

 of all praise! To Whom belongs the

 dominion of the heavens and the

 earth! And Allah is Witness

 over everything.

 

         This topic has been dealt with extensively in Khuṭab I, pp. 20-23, and therefore, it will be treated briefly here. The early commentator Muqātil ibn Sulaymān says that there are three stories applicable to this, namely, Dhū Nuwās in Najrān, Antonianus in Syria, and Nebuchadnezzar in (Babylon rather than) Persia without giving any details. Some examples are as follows:

 -       A king in the past persecuted the Christians as mentioned by the Prophet reported by Muslim (it has been mentioned in Khuṭab I, pp. 20-23). 

-       According to al-Ḍaḥḥāk forty years before the Prophet Muhammad became a messenger a king in Yemen called Yūsuf ibn Sharāḥîl ibnTubba‘ (also called Dhū Nuwās) and his soldiers (seventy-thousand men according to al-Kalbī) persecuted about eighty Christians for refusing to convert to Judaism. 

-       King Nebuchadnezze Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego for their rejection to worship idols. Like Prophet Abraham the three me his subjects because they rejected to accept that marriage between brother and sister was allowed by God. He had been drunk and committed adultery with his sister and wanted to justify his sin.

Muhammad Asad’s commentary to this is as follows:

None of these legends needs, of course, to be

 seriously considered in this context. As a matter of fact,

the very anonymity of the evildoers referred to in the

 above Qur’anic passage shows that we have here

 a parable and not an illusion to “historical” or even legendary events. The persecutors are people who,

having no faith whatsoever, hate to see faith in others

 (see verse 8 below); the “pit of fire” is a metaphor

for the persecution of the latter by the former:

a phenomenon not restricted to any particular

time or to a particular people but recurring in

 many forms and in varying degrees of

 intensity throughout recorded history.[1]

 

These are the three meanings of nār in the Qur’ān given by Muqātil ibn Sulaymān above, namely, the light of fire (ضَوْءُ النِّار), the fire of war, and the fire that burns

Al-Dāmaghānī mentions six meanings of nār in the Qur’ān, as follows:

 

1.    الْعَدَاوَة (al-‘adāwah, enmity, hostility), as in the following verse:

وَأَلْقَيْنَا بَيْنَهُمُ الْعَدَاوَةَ وَالْبَغْضَاءَ إِلَى يَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ كُلَّمَا أَوْقَدُوا

 نَارًا لِلْحَرْبِ أَطْفَأَهَا  اللَّهُ وَيَسْعَوْنَ فِي الْأَرْضِ فَسَادًا

وَاللَّهُ لَا يُحِبُّ الْمُفْسِدِينَ (المائدة:٦٤)

…. We have put enmity and hatred amongst them

 till the Day of Resurrection. Every time they kindled the

fire of war [i.e. hostility], Allah extinguished it; and

 they (ever) strive to make mischief on the earth.

 And Allah does not like the Mufsidūn

 (mischief-makers). (Q. 5:64)

 

It means that the hypocritical Jews and the Christians will never be united till the Day of Resurrection.  They belong to various groups and sects, and they have enmity and hatred for each other, as they do not agree on the truth, and oppose the Prophet and the Muslims. Whenever they try to plot against the Prophet and the Muslims and kindle the fire of war, Allah extinguishes it, and turns the plot against them, and they work hard to spread corruption on the earth which Allah does not like.

 

2.          الْحَرَام (al-ḥarām, something forbidden), such as:

 

إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يَكْتُمُونَ مَا أَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ مِنَ الْكِتَابِ وَيَشْتَرُونَ بِهِ ثَمَنًا قَلِيلًا

أُولَئِكَ مَا يَأْكُلُونَ فِي بُطُونِهِمْ إِلَّا النَّارَ وَلَا يُكَلِّمُهُمُ اللَّهُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ

وَلَا يُزَكِّيهِمْ وَلَهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ (البقرة:١۷٤)

Verily, those who conceal what Allah has sent down

Of the Book, and purchase a small gain therewith (of worldly things), they eat into their bellies nothing but

fire [i.e. something forbidden]. Allah will not speak to

them on the Day of Resurrection nor purify them,

 and theirs will be a painful torment. (Q. 2:174)

The Jews of Madinah concealed the description of the Prophet Muhammad in their Book (Torah) testifying that he was a true Prophet and Messenger of Allah. It was because they did not want to lose authority and position that they had with the Arabs who honoured them and gave them gifts. But the Arabs followed him and became his supporters against them. The “small gain” in this verse means “the joys and delights of this earthly life.” Allah will punish them in the Hereafter. In its generic sense, whoever concealed the contents of the Qur’ān as well as earlier revelations would be punished in the Hereafter.

 

إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يَأْكُلُونَ أَمْوَالَ الْيَتَامَى ظُلْمًا إِنَّمَا يَأْكُلُونَ فِي بُطُونِهِمْ

نَارًا وَسَيَصْلَوْنَ سَعِيرًا (النساء:١٠)

Verily, those who unjustly eat up the property of

orphans, they eat up only fire [i.e. something

 forbidden], and they will be burnt in the

 blazing Fire! (Q. 4:10)

 

Like the verse mentioned above it is a warning, that if you consume the orphan’s wealth unjustly which is ḥārām (forbidden) it is like consuming fire in your belly which will kindle in your stomach on the Day of Resurrection. It is one of the seven destructive sins  (السَّبْعُ الْمُوْبِقَات).[2]

 

3.      جَهَنَّم (jahannam, hell), as in the following verse:

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا قُوا أَنْفُسَكُمْ وَأَهْلِيكُمْ نَارًا ... (التحريم:٦)

O you who believe! Ward off yourselves and your families against a Fire (Hell) .... (Q. 66:6)

Some commentaries of this verse are as follows:

-       Ibn ‘Abbās: “Work in the obedience of Allah, avoid disobedience of Allah and order your families to remember Allah, then Allah will save you from the Fire.”

-       Mujāhid: “Have taqwā of Allah and order your family to have taqwā of Him.”

-       Qatādah: “He commands obedience to Allah, not to disobey Allah, he orders his family to obey His orders and helps them to act upon His orders. When one sees disobedience, he stops them and forbids them from doing it.”

-     Al-Ḍaḥḥāk and Muqātil: “It is an obligation for the Muslim to teach to his near family members, and his male and female slaves what Allah has made obligatory for them and what Allah has forbidden for them.”

The term أَهْلِيكُمْ means “your families or your people”; “however, the term ahl denote also people who share one’s race, religion, occupation, etc., as well as dependants’ in the most comprehensive sense of this word (Jawharî, Rāghib; also Mughnî).[3]

 

فَإِنْ لَمْ تَفْعَلُوا وَلَنْ تَفْعَلُوا فَاتَّقُوا النَّارَ الَّتِي وَقُودُهَ النَّاسُ

وَالْحِجَارَةُ أُعِدَّتْ لِلْكَافِرِينَ(البقرة:٢٤)

But if you do not, and you can never do it, then fear

 the Fire (Hell) whose fuel is men and stones, prepared

 for the disbelievers. (Q. 2:24)

      this verse is the continuation of its previous one which reads:

And if you (Arab pagans, Jews, and Christians) are

in doubt concerning that which We have sent down  (i.e. the Qur’ān) to our slave (Muhammad), then bring

a Surah (chapter) of the like thereof and call your

witnesses (supporters and helpers) besides

Allah, if you are truthful (Q.2:23)

          It means that if they claimed that the revelations did not come from Allah, then Allah challenged them to produce something like it. Since they were unable to do so, then Allah warned them of the punishment in the Hellfire.

 

4.   الْكُفْر (al-kufr,  unbelief, infidelity), as in the following verse:

 

... أُولَئِكَ يَدْعُونَ إِلَى النَّارِ وَاللَّهُ يَدْعُو إِلَى الْجَنَّةِ وَالْمَغْفِرَةِ بِإِذْنِهِ

 وَيُبَيِّنُ آيَاتِهِ لِلنَّاسِ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَتَذَكَّرُونَ (البقرة:٢٢١)

…. Those (idolaters) invite you to the Fire [i.e., infidelity],

 but Allah invites (you) to Paradise and forgiveness by

 His Leave, and makes His Ayāt (proofs, evidence,

verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.) clear to

mankind that they may remember. (Q. 2:221)

 

The first part of this verse states the prohibition of Muslims from marrying idolaters, men or women, until they believe in Islam. Slave men or women, if they believe is better than idolaters, as marrying them would lead you to infidelity and Hellfire, whereas Allah calls the Muslims to Paradise and His forgiveness

         

5.  نَارُ القُرْبَان (nār al-qurbān, fire of sacrifice), as in the following verse:

الَّذِينَ قَالُوا إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَهِدَ إِلَيْنَا أَلَّا نُؤْمِنَ لِرَسُولٍ حَتَّى يَأْتِيَنَا بِقُرْبَانٍ

تَأْكُلُهُ النَّارُ قُلْ قَدْ جَاءَكُمْ رُسُلٌ مِنْ قَبْلِي بِالْبَيِّنَاتِ وَبِالَّذِي قُلْتُمْ

 فَلِم قَتَلْتُمُوهُمْ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ صَادِقِينَ (ال عمران:١۸۳)

Those (Jews) who said: “Verily, Allah has taken our

promise not to believe in any Messenger unless he

 brings us an offering which the fire (from heaven)

 shall devour.” Say: “Verily, there came to you

 Messengers before me, with clear signs and

 even with what you speak of; why then did

 you kill them, if you are truthful?” (Q. 3:183)  

 

The Jews claim that in their Book, Allah took a covenant from them to only believe in the Messenger whose miracles include fire from the sky that consumes the charity offered by the Messenger’s nation (commentary of Ibn ‘Abbās and al-Ḥasan). Allah refuted their claim that Messengers had come before Prophet Muhammad with proof and evidence, and even with a fire that consumes the accepted charity as they asked.  Why then, if they followed the truth and obeyed the Messengers, they denied and even murdered them?

 

Asad’s commentary is that,

 

…, unless he confirms to Mosaic law, which

 prescribes burnt offerings as an essential part of

 divine service. Although this aspect of the Law had

 been left in abeyance ever since the destruction of

 the Second Temple in Jerusalem, the Jews of post-

Talmudic times were convinced that the Messiah

 promised to them would restore the Mosaic rites

 in their entirety; and so they refused to accept as

 a prophet anyone who did not conform

to the Law of the Torah in every detail.”[4]

 

6.  نَارُ الزِّنَاد (nār al-zinād, fire of the stick of fire drill), as in the following verse:

أَفَرَأَيْتُمُ النَّارَ الَّتِي تُورُونَ (الواقعة:۷١)

Then tell Me about the fire which you kindle. (Q. 56:71)

In previous verses from verse 63 to verse 72 Allah asks the human beings in general and the deniers of the truth in particular three questions about three things, namely, the seed they sow, the water they drink and the fire they kindle: Do they make it grow, or Allah does it? If they claim it, Allah could destroy it and they would become helplessly ruined and deprived. Do they make the water comes down from the clouds, or Allah does it? If Allah wills, He could make it salty and undrinkable and unfit for growing plants. If they admit it, why then they do not appreciate and thank Allah for them by sending down fresh rain? Do they start the fire with using trees, do they make kindling fire possible or Allah does it, do they grow the tree or Allah does it? (Q. 56:63-72)

Asad translates the last verse, namely,

أَأَنْتُمْ أَنْشَأْتُمْ شَجَرَتَهَا أَمْ نَحْنُ الْمُنْشِئُونَ (الواقعة:72)

Is it you who have brought into being the tree that

 serves as its fuel – or are We the cause of its

 coming into being?  (Q. 56:72

 

Then he gives his commentary on the termشَجَرَتَهَا  )“its tree”( as follows:

Lit., “its tree”: a metonym pointing to the plant-

origin,direct or indirect, of almost all the known fuels, including mineral fuels like coal, which is but petrified

wood, or petroleum, which is a liquified residue of

a plant-nourished organism buried in the earth

for millions of years.[5]

 

B. THE MEANINGS OF NŪR (نُوْرُ, LIGHT) IN THE QUR’ĀN

  The classical philologist al-Rāghib al-Aṣfahānī (d. 502/ 1109) in his Mufradāt systematically divided the use of the term nūr in the Qur’ān into:

 (a) دُنْيَوِى (dunyawī), namely, occurring in this world, and

 (b) أُخْرَوِي (ukhrawī), namely, occurring in the Hereafter.

 Then he divided the dunyawī  into:

(1)      what is comprehensive through insight itself (مَعْقُوْلٌ بِعَيْنِ الْبَصِيْرَة) which deals with divine affairs, such as the light of reason (نُوْرُ الْعَقْل) and the light of the Qur’ān (نُوْرُ الْقُرْان). Among the divine light (النُّوْرُ الإلهي) are in the following verses: Q. 5:15; 6:122; 42:52; 39:22; and 24:35.

(2)      what is sensed through eyesight itself (مَحْسُوْسٌ بِعَيْنِ الْبَصَر)  which deals with luminous bodies, such as, the sun, the moon, the stars and other luminous bodies, such as in the  verse Q. 10:5. As brightness (ضَوْء) is more particular than light(نُور) , the sun has brightness (radiant light, as a lamp), whereas the moon has light in Q. 25:61). However, there are some verses where both are sensed through eyesight and comprehended through insight, such as the verses: Q. 6:1; 57:12; and 39:69. 

Al-Rāghib al-Aṣfahānī gives some examples where nūr is used in the Hereafter, as in the following verses: Q. 57:12, 13; and 66:8. He says further that Allah called Himself “the Light of the heavens and the earth” (Q. 24:35) to emphasize that He is “the Light Giver” (الْمُنَوِّر).[6]

 

Abū Hilāl and al-Dāmaghānī mention eight, whereas Muqātil and Ibn al-Jawzī mention ten meanings of the term nūr in the Qur’ān as follows: 

1.    الإسْلَام (Islam), as in the following verses: 

يُرِيدُونَ أَنْ يُطْفِئُوا نُورَ اللَّهِ بِأَفْوَاهِهِمْ وَيَأْبَى اللَّهُ إِلَّا

 أَنْ يُتِمَّ نُورَهُ وَلَوْ كَرِهَ الْكَافِرُونَ (التوبة:۳٢)

They (the disbelievers, the Jews and the Christians) want to extinguish Allah’s Light (with which Muhammad s.a.w. has been sent—Islamic Monotheism) with their mouths, but Allah will

 not allow except that His Light should be

 perfected even though the disbelievers

hate (it) (Q. 9:32)

 

    The disbelieving idolators and the People of the Scriptures (the Jews and the Christians) intend to extinguish the Light of Allah, namely, the guidance and religion of truth (Islam). But Allah will not allow it. Instead, He will make it perfect, although disbelievers hate it.

 

يُرِيدُونَ لِيُطْفِئُوا نُورَ اللَّهِ بِأَفْوَاهِهِمْ وَاللَّهُ مُتِمُّ نُورِهِ

وَلَوْ كَرِهَ الْكَافِرُونَ (الصف:۸)

They intend to put out the Light of Allah (i.e.

the religion of Islam, this Qur’ān, and Prophet Muhammad s.a.w.) with their mouths. But Allah

will bring His Light to perfection even though

the disbelievers hate (it) (Q. 61:8)

 

They intend to extinguish the Light of Allah (Islam) “with their mouths” in the above verses means, they describe it as “nothing but a spellbinding eloquence” of Prophet Muhammad.

 

... يَهْدِي اللَّهُ لِنُورِهِ مَنْ يَشَاء... (النور:۳٥)

… Allah guides to His Light whom

He wills… (Q. 24:35)

 

It means that it is Allah Who guides to Islam whom He wills. 

2.    الإيْمَان (īmān, faith), as in the following verses: 

... يُخْرِجُونَهُمْ مِنَ النُّورِ إِلَى الظُّلُمَاتِ أُولَئِكَ أَصْحَابُ النَّارِ

هُمْ فِيهَا خَالِدُونَ (البقرة:٢٥۷)

… they [Ṭāghūt] bring them out of light [i.e. faith]

into darkness. Those are the dwellers of the Fire,

and they will abide therein forever. (Q. 2:256) 

    In the first part of this verse, it is said that those who disbelieve, their supporters and helpers are Ṭāghūt (false deities and false leaders). Then the verse continues as above, that they misguide them from belief into disbelief. 

أَوَمَنْ كَانَ مَيْتًا فَأَحْيَيْنَاهُ وَجَعَلْنَا لَهُ نُورًا يَمْشِي بِهِ فِي النَّاسِ

 كَمَنْ مَثَلُهُ فِي الظُّلُمَاتِ لَيْسَ بِخَارِجٍ مِنْهَ... (الأنعام:١٢٢)

Is he who was dead (without Faith by ignorance and disbelief) and We gave him life (by knowledge and Faith) and set for him a light (of Belief) whereby he

 can walk amongst men—like him who is in the darkness (of disbelief, polytheism and hypocrisy)

 from which he can never come out?.... (Q. 6:122) 

This is the parable of the disbeliever and the believer. A person without guidance is like a spiritually dead person. Then Allah gives him life, life to his heart with faith guiding him to obeying His Messenger. Allah gives him light to guide him where he should go and how to keep himself in the right path.  The light here is the Qur’ān, whereas according to al-Suddī it is Islam.  According to al-Dāmaghānī it is faith (īmān), and these meanings are correct. A disbeliever is like a person in darkness of ignorance and unable to find a way out of the darkness. Here Allah asks a rhetorical question: is a believer like a disbeliever? This verse is one of the examples of verses where the term nūr (light) belonging to the category of divine light, or the light of reason by al-Iṣfahānī above. 

... وَمَنْ لَمْ يَجْعَلِ اللَّهُ لَهُ نُورًا فَمَا لَهُ مِنْ نُورٍ (النور:٤٠)

…  And he for whom Allah has not appointed light

 [i.e. faith], for him there is no light (Q.24:40) 

        This is a second part of a long verse which has been explained in Khuṭab IV, pp. 102-103 dealing with scientific interpretation of the Qur’ān as well as Khuṭab XII, pp. 82-84 dealing with the kinds of darkness in deep seas. 

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَآمِنُوا بِرَسُولِهِ يُؤْتِكُمْ كِفْلَيْنِ              

مِنْ رَحْمَتِهِ وَيَجْعَلْ لَكُمْ نُورًا تَمْشُونَ بِهِ وَيَغْفِرْ لَكُمْ            

 وَاللَّهُ غَفُورٌ رَحِيمٌ (الحديد:٢۸)      

O you who believe [in Mūsá (Moses) (i.e. Jews)

and ‘Īsá (Jesus) (i.e. Christians]! Fear Allah, and

believe in His Messenger (Muhammad s.a.w.),

 He will give you a double portion of His Mercy,

and He will give you a light by which you shall

walk (straight). And He will forgive you. And

 Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful (Q. 57:28)

This verse is about the double rewards for Jews and Christians who convert to Islam. A similar verse is as follows: 

الَّذِينَ آتَيْنَاهُمُ الْكِتَابَ مِنْ قَبْلِهِ هُمْ بِهِ يُؤْمِنُونَ. وَإِذَا يُتْلَى عَلَيْهِمْ

 قَالُوا آمَنَّا بِهِ إِنَّهُ الْحَقُّ مِنْ رَبِّنَا إِنَّا كُنَّا مِنْ قَبْلِهِ مُسْلِمِينَ. أُولَئِكَ

 يُؤْتَوْنَ أَجْرَهُمْ مَرَّتَيْنِ بِمَا صَبَرُوا وَيَدْرَءُونَ بِالْحَسَنَةِ السَّيِّئَةَ

وَمِمَّا رَزَقْنَاهُمْ يُنْفِقُونَ (القصص:٥٢-٥٤)

 Those to whom (Jews and Christians) We gave

the Scripture [i.e., Taurāt (Torah) and the Injīl

 (Gospel)] before it, they (i.e., their scholars) believe

 in it (the Qur’ān. And when it is recited to them,

 they say: “We believe in it. Verily it is the truth from our Lord. Indeed, even before it we have been from those who submit themselves to Allah in Islam as Muslim (like ‘Abdullah bin Salām and Salmān

al-Fārisī. These will be given their reward twice

 over, because they are patient, and repel

evil with good, and spend (in charity)

 out of what We have provided

for them (Q. 28:52-54)

 

    Besides the Jews and the Christians who will get double reward for their belief in their respective prophet and Prophet Muhammad, the Prophet also mentions two kinds of people who will get double reward. They are: a slave who fulfills Allah’s rights and obligations as well as the duties of his master, and a person who has a slave-girl, and he educates her properly and teaches her good manners properly (without violence) and then manumits and marries her. (Reported by al-Bukhārī and Muslim).

 

(Abū Hilāl does not mention īmān as one of the meanings of the term nūr)

 3.      الْهُدَى (al-hudá, guidance), as in the following verses:

 

اللَّهُ نُورُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ مَثَلُ نُورِهِ كَمِشْكَاةٍ فِيهَا

مِصْبَاحٌ ... (النور:۳٥ )

Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth. The

parable of His Light [i.e. His Guidance] is as (if there

were a niche and within it a lamp… (Q. 24:35)

Like the view of al-Rāghib al-Aṣfahānī, according to Abū Hilāl the term nūr in the above verse means munawwir (“enlightener,” giver of light), so that the above verse means that Allah enlightens the heavens and the earth with guidance to the true religion(أي: منورهما بالهداية إلى الدين) .  He contends that the expression “Allah is the Light…” is only as majāz (metaphor, figurative expression), and as Allah always exists, if He were light, there would be no darkness in this world.

 

4.      النَّبِيّ (al-nabī, Prophet Muhammad), as in the following verses:

 

... قَدْ جَاءَكُمْ مِنَ اللَّهِ نُورٌ وَكِتَابٌ مُبِينٌ (المائدة:١٥)

…. Indeed, there has come to you from Allah a light (Prophet Muhammad s.a.w.) and a plain

book (this Qur’ān) (Q. 5:15)

This verse is the continuation of the following verse:

O people of the Scripture! Now has come

 to you Our Messenger explaining to you much

 of that which you used to hide from the

Scripture and passing over much…

 

        Therefore, Allah addresses the People of the Scripture that He has sent His Messenger Muhammad s.a.w. to explain what they have altered, changed, and distorted, a light, i.e. Prophet Muhammad s.a.w.  and a plain book, i.e., the Qur’ān. 

نُورٌ عَلَى نُورٍ... (النور:۳٥)

…. Light upon light…  (Q. 24:35)         

The first part of this verse is as follows:

للَّهُ نُورُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ مَثَلُ نُورِهِ كَمِشْكَاةٍ فِيهَا مِصْبَاحٌ الْمِصْبَاحُ فِي زُجَاجَةٍ الزُّجَاجَةُ كَأَنَّهَا كَوْكَبٌ دُرِّيٌّ يُوقَدُ مِنْ شَجَرَةٍ مُبَارَكَةٍ زَيْتُونَةٍ لَا شَرْقِيَّةٍ وَلَا غَرْبِيَّةٍ يَكَادُ زَيْتُهَا يُضِيءُ وَلَوْ لَمْ تَمْسَسْهُ نَارٌ... (النور:۳٥)

Allah is the Light of heavens and the earth. The

 parable of His Light is as (if there were) a niche and

 within it a lamp: the lamp. Is in a glass, the glass as if it were a brilliant star, lit from a blessed tree, an olive, neither of the east (i.e. neither it gets sun-rays only

 in the morning) nor of the west (i.e. nor it get sun-

rays only in the afternoon, but it is exposed to the

 sun all day long), whose oil would almost glow

forth (of itself), tough no fire touched it…

  The term مَثَلُ نُورِهِ  is translated as “the  parable of His Light” namely, Allah’s Light as above. There are other interpretations among which are:

 a.  Ubayy ibn Ka‘b and Sa ‘īd ibn Jubayr: The parable of the light of the believer in whose heart are faith and the Qur’an…

b.   Ka‘b al-Aḥbār: The parable of the light of Muhammad s.a.w. …

c.    Ibn ‘Abbās: The parable of His Guidance in the heart of the believer …

 

In this verse we learn that there are things which give light: the glass of the lamp like a brilliant star, the lamp itself using the best kind of oil which shines even when it is not touched by fire. Therefore, Allah calls it “light upon light,” and this is its literal meaning. Some interpretations of classical scholars of this term are as follows: 

a.    Ibn ‘Abbās: it means the faith and the deed of a person.

b.  Al-Suddī: It means the light of the Qur’ān and the light of faith when they are combined, and neither can do without the other.

c.    Zayd ibn Aslam: It means the contents of the Qur’ān explain one another.

d.   Abū Ja‘far al-Ṭabarī: It means the Qur’ān and the evidence of Allah’s true sense of Oneness prior to its being revealed.

e.      Al-Dāmaghānī and Ibn al-Jawzī , quoting from unknown ahl al-tafsīr (Qur’ān commentators): It means  a prophet who comes  one after the other. Al-Qāḍī Abū Bakr ibn al-‘Arabī mentions Prophet Muhammad who comes after Prophet Ibrāhīm a.s. 

(Abū Hilāl does not include al-nabī as one of the meanings of the term nūr) 

5.      ضَوْءُ النَّهَار (ḍaw’u ’l-nahār, daylight), as in the following verse: 

... وَجَعَلَ الظُّلُمَاتِ وَالنُّورَ... (الأنعام:١)

, … and [He] originated the darkness and

the light; … (Q. 6:1)

 

In this verse as well as elsewhere in the Qur’ān whenever both terms are used together[7] the term “darkness” is always in the plural ظُّلُمَاتِ  rather than its singular ظُّلْمَة to indicate  its intensity. Asad tranmslates it as “deep darkness” or “depths of darkness” and both "darkness” and " light” here are used in their spiritual connotation.[8]

 

6.    ضَوْءُ الْقَمَر (ḍaw’u ’l-qamar, moonlight), as in the following verse:

تَبَارَكَ الَّذِي جَعَلَ فِي السَّمَاءِ بُرُوجًا وَجَعَلَ فِيهَا سِرَاجًا

وَقَمَرًا مُنِيرًا (الفرقان:٦١)

Blessed is He (Allah) Who has placed in the

heaven big stars, and has placed therein

 a great lamp, and a moon giving

light (Q. 25:61)

The term بُرُوج is translated above as “big stars,” “giant stars” according to Mujāhid, Sa‘īd ibn Jubayr, Abū Ṣāliḥ, al-Ḥasan and Qat  whereas Asad translated it as “great constellations” based on al-Sayyid Murtaḍá al-Zubaydī’ (d. 1205/1791)‘s lexicon Tāj al-‘Arūs.[9] “A great lamp” is the sun which shines like a lamp. “A moon giving light” means it is shining and illuminated by something else, different from the light of the sun.

(نوح:١٦) وَجَعَلَ الْقَمَرَ فِيهِنَّ نُورًا وَجَعَلَ الشَّمْسَ سِرَاجًا

And [see you not how Allah] has made the

 moon a light [reflected] therein, and made the

 sun a [radiant] lamp? (Q. 71:16)A similar verse is as follows:

هُوَ الَّذِي جَعَلَ الشَّمْسَ ضِيَاءً وَالْقَمَرَ نُورًا... (يونس:4)

He it is who has made the sun a [source of] radiant

 light and the moon light [reflected] …  (Q. 10:4)

      Asad explains the above verse as follows:

The nouns ḍiyā’ and nūr are often interchangeable,

inasmuch as both denote “light”; but many philologists

are of the opinion that the term ḍiyā’ (or ḍaw’) has

 a more intensive connotation, and is used to describe

 “a light which subsists by itself, as that of the sun and

 fire” – that is, a source of light – while nūr signifies

 “a light that subsists by some other thing” (Lane V,

1809, on the authority of Tāj al-‘Arūs): in other

 words, light due to an extraneous source

or – as in the case of the

 moon – reflected light.[10]

 

7.    ضَوْءُ الْمُؤْمِنِيْنَ عَلَى الصِّرَاط  (the light of the believers at the Ṣirāṭ),[11] as in the following verses:

 

يَوْمَ تَرَى الْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَالْمُؤْمِنَاتِ يَسْعَى نُورُهُمْ بَيْنَ

أَيْدِيهِمْ وَبِأَيْمَانِهِمْ... (الحديد:١٢)

On the Day you shall see the believing

 men and the believing women—their

 light running forward before them and

 (with their Records – Books of deeds)

in their right hands … (Q. 57:12) 

Some commentaries of this verse among which are as follows: 

Ibn Mas‘ūd: “They will pass over the Ṣirāṭ according to their deeds. Some of them have a light as large as a mountain, some as a date tree, some as big as a man in the standing position. The least among them has a light as big as his index finger, it is lit at times and extinguished at other times.” 

al-Ḍaḥḥāk: “Everyone will be given a light on the Day of Resurrection. When they arrive at the Ṣirāṭ, the light of the hypocrites will be extinguished. When the believers see this, they will be concerned that their light also will be extinguished, just as the light of the hypocrites was. This is when the believers will invoke Allah, ‘O our Lord! Perfect our light on us’” This is the appropriate view according to al-Ṭabarī. 

Qatādah: “It is reported to us that the Prophet said that   some believers will have a bright light like that between Madinah and Aden, or between Madinah and San‘ā’, and below it some will have light enough to light  his foot-steps.” 

... يَوْمَ لَا يُخْزِي اللَّهُ النَّبِيَّ وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا مَعَهُ نُورُهُمْ يَسْعَى

 بَيْنَ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَبِأَيْمَانِهِمْ ... (التحريم:۸)

… -- the Day that Allah will not disgrace the

Prophet (Muhammad s.a.w.) and those who

 believe with him. Their Light will run

 forward before them and (with their

 Records – Books of deeds) in their

 right hands…. (Q. 66:8).

 

The above verses belong to the category of verses dealing with light in the Hereafter by al-Aṣfahānī above.

 

8.    الْبَيَان (al-bayān, explanation), of what is ḥalāl and what is ḥarām as in the following verses:

 

إِنَّا أَنْزَلْنَا التَّوْرَاةَ فِيهَا هُدًى وَنُورٌ يَحْكُمُ بِهَا النَّبِيُّونَ الَّذِينَ

 أَسْلَمُوا لِلَّذِينَ هَادُوا وَالرَّبَّانِيُّونَ وَالْأَحْبَارُ بِمَا اسْتُحْفِظُوا

 مِنْ كِتَابِ اللَّهِ ... (المائدة:٤٤)

Verily, We did send down the Taurāt (Torah) [to Mūsā (Moses)], therein was guidance and light, by which the Prophets who submitted themselves to Allah’s will,

 judged the Jews. And (also) the Rabbaniyyun and

 Aḥbar for to them the protection of

Allah’s book … (Q. 5:44)

 

     Allah sent the Torah containing guidance and Divine laws, namely, the Law of Moses intended only for the children of Israel, and was never meant to have universal validity. Also “the men of God” (those who devote themselves exclusively to endeavor to know the Lord and to obey him), and the scholars. They are entrusted to take care some of the revelations in the Torah, as more yet to be revealed.

 

... قُلْ مَنْ أَنْزَلَ الْكِتَابَ الَّذِي جَاءَ بِهِ مُوسَى نُورًا

 وَهُدًى لِلنَّاسِ ... (الأنعام:۹١)

Say (O Muhammad sa.w.): “Who then

 sent down the Book which Mūsā (Moses)

 brought, a light and a guidance

 to mankind  …” (Q. 6:91)

In the first part of this verse Allah said that those who rejected the Messengers (the Quraysh according to Ibn ‘Abbās, Mujāhid, and Abdullah Ibn KathĪr; some say they are some Jews) did not give Allah due consideration. They said that Allah did not send down any revelation to any human being.

So, Allah told the Prophet to ask them the question: “Who then sent down the Book which Mūsá brought, a light  and a guidance to mankind”  (so that it could shed light on the answers to various disputes) “which you have made into (separate) paper sheets (تَجْعَلُونَهُ قَرَاطِيسَ) ,[12] disclosing (some of it)  and concealing (much) (i.e., making the Torah into separate sheets, copying from the original, altering and distorting as they wished, and said that this was from Allah); “And you were taught that neither you nor your fathers knew?” (i.e., Allah sent the Qur’ān containing news of the people of the past and of the future unknown by them, nor by their fathers).

Then Allah told the Prophet to tell them that it was Allah who did it, and to “to play in their vain discussions”, i.e., leave them play in ignorance and misguidance until they found the true news and the consequence of their disbelief.\ 

9.    القران  (the Qur’ān), as in the following verses: 

... فَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا بِهِ وَعَزَّرُوهُ وَنَصَرُوهُ وَاتَّبَعُوا النُّورَ الَّذِي أُنْزِلَ

 مَعَهُ أُولَئِكَ هُمُ الْمُفْلِحُونَ (الأعراف:١٥۷)

… So those who believe in him, honor him, help

 him, and follow the light (the Qur’ān) which has

 been sent down with him, it is they who will

be the successful (Q. 7:157)

The first part of this verse said about the Jews and the Christians who follow the Messenger, the illiterate Prophet Muhammad found in the Torah and the Injīl (Gospel) whose description were that he commands them to do good, and forbids them from evil, makes lawful for them the good things, and forbids them from the evil things, and releases them from their heavy burdens and from the fetters that were upon them. Then the verse continues as above. Allah promises the Jews and the Christians who believe in him, honor him, help him, and follow the Qur’ān that they will be successful.

It is reported by Imām Aḥmad that the Prophet went by a Jewish man reading the Torah, mourning his dying son.  The Prophet asked him: “I ask you by Him Who has sent down the Torah, do you not find the description of me and my advent in your Book?” He denied it, but his son confirmed it and said, “I bear witness that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah and that you are the Messenger of Allah.” So, the Prophet said to his companions, “Stop the Jew (the father) from taking care of your brother (in Islam).”  The Prophet himself took care of the son’s funeral and led the funeral prayer for him.[13]

فَآمِنُوا بِاللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ وَالنُّورِ الَّذِي أَنْزَلْنَا وَاللَّهُ بِمَا

 تَعْمَلُونَ خَبِيرٌ (التغابن:۸)

Therefore, believe in Allah and His Messenger

 (Muhammad s.a.w.) and in the Light (this Qur’ān)

which We have sent down, and Allah will Well-

Acquainted with what you do. (Q. 64:8)

                    The previous verse it reads:

The disbelievers pretend that they will never

 be resurrected. Say: “Yes! By my Lord, you will

certainly be resurrected, then you will be

 informed of what you did; and that

is easy for Allah.”  (Q. 64:7).

 

They claim that they will never be resurrected implies a conviction that they will not be called upon, after death, to answer for what they did in life. Allah told the Prophet to counter this claim, not they will be resurrected and will be accounted for what they did in life. Therefore, believe in Allah, the Prophet, and the light of revelation (the Qur’ān).

 

10.      الْعَدْل (al-‘adl, justice), as in the following verse:

 

وَأَشْرَقَتِ الْأَرْضُ بِنُورِ رَبِّهَا وَوُضِعَ الْكِتَابُ وَجِيءَ بِالنَّبِيِّينَ

 وَالشُّهَدَاءِ وَقُضِيَ بَيْنَهُمْ بِالْحَقِّ وَهُمْ لَا يُظْلَمُون (الزمر:٦۹)

And the earth will shine with the light of its Lord

 (Allah, when He will come to judge among men),

 and the Book will be placed (open), and the Prophets

 and the witnesses will be brought forward, and it

 will be judged between them with truth, and

 they will not be wronged (Q. 39:69)

The commentary of this verse is as follows:

“And the earth will shine with the light of its Lord”  means “it will shine brightly on the Day of Resurrection when the Truth (Allah) manifests Himself to His creation, to pass judgement.”  “The earth will shine neither with the light of the sun, nor of the moon, but light created by Allah to lighten the earth.” (Ibn ‘Abbās).

 “With the light of its Lord” means “with the justice of its Lord” (al-Ḥasan), “with the judgement of its Lord” al-Ḍaḥḥāk)

“and the Book will be presented” means, “the book of the deeds of people, presented either from their right side or their left side” (Qatādah), “the Preserved Tablet” (Ibn ‘Abbās)

    “and the Prophets will be brought forward” means, “they will bear witnesses against their nations, testifying that they conveyed the Message of Allah to them” (Ibn ‘Abbās)

“and the witnesses” means, “witnesses from among the angels who record the deeds of all, good and evil alike.” “They are the witnesses among the Muslims against other nations”’ “The martyrs will be witnesses for those who defended Islam” (al-Suddī)

        “and it will be judged between them with truth” means, “with justice.”

“and they will not be wronged.”  It means, “Their good deeds will not be decreased, and their bad deeds will not be increased” (Sa‘īd ibn Jubayr). 

 Other verses confirming Allah’s justice on the Day of Resurrection are:

And We shall set up Balances of justice on the

 Day of Resurrection, then none will be dealt

with unjustly in anything. And if there be the

 weight of a mustard seed, We will bring it. And

 sufficient are We to take account (Q. 21.47) 

Surely, Allah wrongs not even of the weight

 of a speck of dust, but if there is any good

(done), He doubles it, and gives from Him

 a great reward (Q. 4:40)

 

He who shall have done an atom’s weight

of good, shall behold it; and he who shall

 have done an atom’s weight of evil, shall

 behold it (Q. 99:7-8)

Abū Hilāl’s commentary on this verse is that wrong- doings and misfortunes are like darkness, and people say هَذَا يَوْمٌ مُظْلِم (“This is a dark day”), i.e., an unlucky day.

We are told that the angels are created from light, and the jinn (demons) are created from fire.  In a ḥadīth narrated by ‘Ā’shah r.a. the Prophet said:

خلقت الملائكة من نور وخلق الجان من مارج

من نار وخلق آدم مما وصف لكم (رواه مسلم)

The angels are created from light, and the jinn are

 created from fire, and Adam was created form what

 has been related to you [i..e. from clay]

(Reported by Muslim)

      Allah said in the Qur’ān,

خَلَقَ الْإِنْسَانَ مِنْ صَلْصَالٍ كَالْفَخَّارِ. وَخَلَقَ الْجَانَّ مِنْ مَارِجٍ

 مِنْ نَارٍ (الرحمن: ١٤-١٥)

He created man (Adam) from sounding clay

like the clay of pottery. And the jinn He created

 from a smokeless flame of fire (Q. 55:14-15)

      Although human-beings cannot see angels and jinn in their original forms, some animals can. The Prophet was reported to have said:

"When you hear the crowing of cocks, ask for Allah's

blessings for (their crowing indicates that) they have

 seen an angel. And when you hear the braying of donkeys,

seek Refuge with Allah from Satan for (their braying

 indicates) that they have seen a Satan."

(Reported by al-Bukhārī and Muslim)

      Light is electromagnetic radiation that acts like both a wave and a particle. The visible light man can see is limited to six, namely, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet. They cannot see infrared light, microwaves light, radar light waves, and radio light waves. They cannot see UV (ultraviolet) light, X-rays, Gamma rays, and cosmic rays. Since donkeys can see jinn (demons, satans) which are created from smokeless flame of fire, they are most probably can see infrared which emits heat. Similarly, since roosters can see angels which are created from light, they are probably can see ultraviolet light.

It is said that cold-blooded animals can see infrared, such as vampire bats, frogs, and snakes. Mosquitoes, bedbugs, and other insects may have an infrared vision. They depend on it to feed. They use that ability to detect body heat. It is also said that there are seven animals that can see UV light: reindeers, birds, bats, bees, rats, salmons, and butterflies. A study now suggests that cats, dogs and other mammals can, too. As roosters are birds, then they can see UV light, and probably angels, too, who are created from light, as mentioned above.

Can humans see the jinn (demon)? There are four views among Muslim scholars:

 (1). Jumhūr (majority of scholars): yes, sometimes by some people if the jinn transform their real forms, such as snakes, scorpions, cattle, birds, etc.  Ibn Mas‘ūd who accompanied the Prophet to a group of jinn saw them in various forms: eagles, mountain quails, and black men with white clothes. While Ibn Taymiyyah was imprisoned people saw him often outside the prison. When asked, he said it was not him, but a righteous jinni helping needy people imitating his form. In modern terminology, he was called “doppelgänger” (lit. “double-goer”), spiritual counterpart.

(2). al-Shāfi‘ī, Ibn Ḥazm, al-Naḥḥās, and some ḥadīth scholars: prophets only can see them.

(3)   Some ḥadīth scholars: nobody can see them, even prophets.

(4) Al-Alūsī and Ibn al-‘Arabī: prophets and some divinely selected people can see the jinn in their original forms.

With the advance of science and technology humans can see infrared light with specific conditions, that when human infrared vision is triggered by two-photon (the smallest amount of electromagnetic radiation) chromophore (i.e. the part of a molecule responsible for its color) somerization (i.e., the process in which a molecule, ion or molecular fragment is transformed into an isomer, namely, molecules or polyatomic ions with identical molecular formulas — that is, same number of atoms of each element — but distinct arrangements of atoms in space with a different chemical structure(. Therefore, they can probably see jinn (demons).

Regarding angels, nobody can see them in their original (true) forms, except Prophet Muhammad ­s.a.w. who saw them, such as the archangel Jibrīl (Gabriel). Angels can be seen only if they transform themselves into humans. Then they can be seen as ordinary humans unless they identified themselves or suddenly disappeared. He appeared to Mary as a man informing her that Allah had sent him to give her a glad tiding of becoming the mother of a righteous son, Jesus, as mentioned in the Qur’ān, sūrat Maryam (chap. 19, Mary): 17-21.

We have seen here various interpretations of the terms nār and nūr in the Qur’ān given by classical commentators (mufassirīn). These interpretations and commentaries give us deeper understandings of the texts of the Qur’ān. I have also included some scientific research dealing with visible and invisible lights.                             (Turner, 15/012/2020)

المراجع:

تفسير الطبري (ت. ٣١٠/۹٢٢)

تفسير القرطبى (٦١١ - ٦٧١ هـ / ١٢١٤ - ١٢٧٣ م)

تفسير ابن كثير (ت. ٧٧٤/ ١٣٧٣)

الراغب الأصفهاني. (ت. ٥٠٢/١١٠۹) مُفْرَدَاتُ أَلْفَاظِ الْقُرْآن

محمد الدامغاني (ت. ٤٧٨ هـ). قاموس القرآن أو إصلاح الوجوه والنظائر       

مقاتل بن سليمان (ت. ١٥٠هـ). الوجوه والنظائر في القرآن العظيم

أبو هلال العسكري المعتزلي (ت. ۳۹٥ هـ). كتاب الوجوه والنظائر

عبد الرحمن ابن الجوزي (ت. ٥٩٧ هـ). نزهة الأعين النواظر

Muhammad Asad. The Message of the Qur’ān

https://islam.stackexchange.com/questions/33383/can-nimals-see-the-angels-and-jinn-and-hear-the-cries-of-the-dead

https://siheem.wordpress.com/2012/07/16/the-donkey-can-see-satan-and-the-rooster-can-see-angels/

https://www.scientificlights.com/home/7-animals-that-can-see-ultraviolet-light

https://dorar.net/aqadia/4310/ ثانيا:-مدى-إمكانية-رؤيتهم

https://au.search.yahoo.com/search?fr=m

https://dol.org/10.1073/pnas.140162111

https://islamqa.info/ar/answers/70364/هل- يمكن- للبشر- رؤية الملائكة و... –

---

[1] Muhammad Asad, The Message of the Qur’ān, p. 942, n. 4

[2] عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ، عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ: «اجْتَنِبُوا السَّبْعَ المُوبِقَاتِ»، قَالُوا: يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ وَمَا هُنَّ؟ قَالَ: «الشِّرْكُ بِاللَّهِ، وَالسِّحْرُ، وَقَتْلُ النَّفْسِ الَّتِي حَرَّمَ اللَّهُ إِلَّا بِالحَقِّ، وَأَكْلُ الرِّبَا، وَأَكْلُ مَالِ اليَتِيمِ، وَالتَّوَلِّي يَوْمَ الزَّحْفِ، وَقَذْفُ المُحْصَنَاتِ المُؤْمِنَاتِ الغَافِلاَتِ" (رواه البخاري و مسلم)   Abū Hurayrah said that the Messenger of Allah s.a.w. said: “Avoid the seven great destructive sins.” The people asked, “O Allah’s Messenger! What are they?” He said, “To join others in worship along with Allah, magic, to kill the life which Allah has forbidden except for a just cause, to consume interest, to consume an orphan’s property, to turn your back to the enemy and flee from the battlefield at the time of fighting, and to accuse chaste women who never even think of anything harmful to their chastity being good believers,” (Reported by al-Bukhārī and Muslim)

[3] Muhammad Asad, The Message of the Qur’ān, p. 876, n.11.  اهل الرجل: من يجمعه وإياهم نسب او دين, او ما يجرى مجراهما من صناعة و بيت و بلد (مفردات الفاظ القران, ص.٩٦)

[4] Muhammad Asad, The Message of the Qur’ān, p. 96, n. 141.

[5] Muhammad Asad, The Message of the Qur’ān, p. 833, n. 23.

[6] Al-Rāghib al-Aṣfahānī, al-Mufradāt, pp. 827-828, sv. nūr.

[7] See Q. 2:257; 5:16; 13:16; 14:51; 33:43; 35:20; 57:9; and 65:11.

[8] Asad, The Message of the Qur’ān, p. 171, n. 1.

[9] Ibid., p. 384, n. 15.

[10] Ibid., p. 288, n. 10.

[11]Al-Ṣirāṭ (الصِّرَاط)  originally means “a road”; it also means the bridge that will be laid across Hell-fire for the people to pass over on the Day of Judgement. It is described as sharper than a sword and thinner than a hair by which all who enter paradise must pass.

[12] Asad translates it as “[and] which you treat as {mere} leaves of paper” and said: “This passage is obviously addressed to those followers of the Bible who pay lip-service to its sacred character as a revealed scripture but, in reality, treat it as ‘mere leaves of paper’ – that is, as something that is of little consequence to their own conduct: for, although they pretend to admire the moral truth which it contains, they conceal from themselves the fact that their own lives have remained empty of those truths.” Muhammad Asad, The Message of the Qur’ān, p. 185, n. 73.

[13] For the Old Testament prediction of the advent of Prophet Muhammad s.a.w.   it is stated, “The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken.” (Deuteronomy xviii, 15), and  “I will raise them up  a prophet  from among thy brethren, like unto thee, and will put My words1 in his mouth.”  (Deuteronomy xviii, 18). With regard to the prediction in the Bible we quote Asad’s statement as follows: “This prediction is supported by several references in the Gospel of St. John to the Paráklētos (usually rendered as ‘Comforter’) who was to come after Jesus. This designation is almost certainly the corruption of Periklytos (‘the Much-Praised’), an exact Greek translation of the Aramaic term or name Mawḥamana. (It is to be borne in mind that Aramaic was the language used in Palestine at the time of, and for some centuries later, Jesus, and was thus undoubtedly the language in which the original – now lost – texts of the Gospels were composed). In view of the phonetic closeness of Periklytos and Paráklētos it is easy to understand how the translator – or, more probably, a later scribe – confused these two expressions. It is significant that both the Aramaic  Mawḥamana and the Greek Periklytos have the same meaning as the two names of the Last Prophet, Muḥamad and Aḥmad, both of which are derived from the verb  ḥamida (‘he praised’)  and the noun ḥamd (‘praise’) An even more unequivocal  prediction of the advent of the Prophet Muḥammad – mentioned by name, in its Arabic  form - is said to be forthcoming from the so-called Gospel of St. Barnabas, which, though now regarded as apocryphal, was accepted as authentic and was read in the churches until the year 496 of the Christian era, when it was banned as ‘heretical’ by a decree of Pope Gelasius. However, since the original text of the Gospel is not available (having come down to us only in an Italian translation dating from the late sixteenth century), its authenticity cannot be established with certainty.”  Ibid., p. 861, n.6.