Some verses

Al- Nur 35-36

Allah is the light of the heavens and the earth.

The parable of light is as if there were a Niche

And within it a Lamp;

The Lamp inclosed in Glass,

The Glass as it were a brilliant star:

Lit from a blessed tree, an olive,

Neither of the east nor of the west,

Whose oil is well neigh luminous,

Though fire scarce touched it:

Light upon Light!

Allah doth set forht parables for men:

And Allah doth know all things.

(Lit is such a light) in houses,

Which allah hath permitted to be raised to honor;

For the celebration in them, of His name:

In them is He Glorified.

In the mornings and in the evenings (again and again)

This glorious parable of light contains layer upon layer of transcendental truth about spiritual mysteries. No notes can do adequate justice to its full meaning. Here the verse is explained from Imam Ghazali's Mishkat al Anwar.

The physical light is but a reflection of the true light in the world of reality, and that the true light is Allah.

We can only think of Allah in terms of our phenomenal experience, and in the phenomenal world, light is the purest thing we know, but physical light has drawbacks incidnetal to its physical nature:

e.g., 1. It is dependent on some source external to itself,

2. it is a passing phenomenon: if we take it to be a form of motion or energy it is unstable, like all physical phenomena;

3. it is dependent on space and time; there are stars whose light takes thousands of years to reach earth.

The perfect light of Allah is free from any such defects.

The first three points in the Parable centre round the symbols of the Niche, the Lamp and the Glass.

1. The niche (Mishkat) is a little shallow recess in the wall of an eastern house, fairly high from the ground in which the light (before the days of electricity) was usually placed. Its height enabled it to diffuse the light in the room and minimise the shadows. The background of the wall and the sides of the niche helped throw the light into the room, and if the wall was white-washed, it also acted as a reflector: the opening in front made the way for light. So the spiritual light: it is placed high above worldly things: it has a niche or habitation of its own, in Revelation of other Signs of Allah; its access to men is by a special way, open to all yet closed to those who refuse its rays.
2. The lamp is the core of spiritual truth, which is the real illumination; the niche is nothing without it; the niche is actually made for it.
3. The glass is the transparent medium through which the light passes. On the other hand it protects the light from moths and other forms of low life (lower motives of men) and from gusts of winds (passions), and on the other it transmits the light through a medium which is made up of and akin to the grosser substances of the earth, so arranged as to admit the subtle to the gross by its transparency.

So the spiritual truth has to be filtered through human language or human intelligence to make it intelligible to mankind.

The glass by itself does not shine, but when the light comes into it, it shines like a brilliant star. So men of good who preach Allah's truth are themselves illuminated by Allah's light and become like illuminating media through which that light spreads and permeates human life.

The olive tree is not a very impressive tree in its outward appearance. Its leaves have a dull greenish brown color, and in size it is inconspicuous. But its oil is used in sacred ceremonies and forms a wholesome ingredient in food. The fruit has a specially fine flavor.

This mystic olive is not localized. It is neither of the east nor of the west. It is universal, for such is Allah's light. As applied to the olive there is a more literal meaning, which can be allegorised in a different way. An olive tree with an eastern aspect gets only the rays of the morning sun; one with a western aspect, only the rays of the western sun. In the northern hemisphere the south aspect will give the sun's rays a great part of the day, while a northern aspect will shut them out altogether and vice versa in the southern hemisphere. But a tree in the open plain or on a hill will get perpetual sunshine by day: it will be more mature, and the fruit and oil will be of superior quality. So Allah's light is not localized or immature; it is perfect and universal.

Pure olive oil is beautiful in color, consistency, and illumination power. Its purity is almost like itself: it may be supposed to be almost light before it is itself lit. So with spiritual truth: it illuminates the mind and understanding imperceptibly, almost before the human mind and heart have been consciously touched by it.

Glorious illimitable light, which cannot be described or measured. And there are grades and grades of it, passing transcendently into region of spiritual height, which man's imagination can scarcely conceive of. The top most pinnacle is the true prototypal Light, the real Light, of which all others were reflections; the Light of Allah. Hence the saying of the holy prophet (saw) about Allah's "seventy thousand veils of light".

The houses held in worship, like special mosques, the kabah in Mekkah, the mosques in Madinah and Jerusalem are the houses "held in honor", as understood by the commentators.

Bismillah ir rahman ir rahim,

Walaikum assalam wa rahmatullah,

Do i mean stories that have been mentioned in the Quran?

I think that will make a very informative thread of its own.

I myself want to collect these stories, as sometimes one parable is spread over several surahs.

The best I have so far is "Quran Stories for Little Hearts" , I bought from islamicbookstore, for my daughter

Maa salaama

Surah Al-A�raf (7:203)

 �And if you do not bring them a miracle, they say: �Why have you not brought it?�  Say: �I but follow what is revealed to me from my Lord.  This (Quran) is nothing but evidences from you Lord, and guidance and a mercy for a people who believe.

 Tafsir Ibn Kathir:

 Ali bin Abi Talhah reported that Ibn Abbas commented on Allah�s statement, �they say, �Why have you not brought it?�

 They say, �Why have you not received a miracle��, or �Why have you not initiated or made it?�  Ibn Jarir reported that Abdullah bin Kathir said that Mujahid said about Allah�s statement, �And if you do not bring them a miracle, they say: �Why have you not brought it?�

 �They say, �Produce a miracle of your own.��  Qatadah, As-Suddi, Abdur-Rahman bin Zayd bin Aslam and Ibn Jarir agreed with this.  Allah said next, �And if you do not bring them an Ayah� meaning, a miracle or a sign; Similarly, Allah said, �If We will, We could send down to them from the heaven a sign, to which they would bend their necks in humility.� (26:4)

 The pagans asked the Prophet, why did you not strive hard to bring us an Ayah (miracle) from Allah so that we witness it and believe in it.  Allah said to him, �Say: �I but follow what is revealed to me fro my Lord.�

 Meaning; I do not ask such things of my Lord.  I only follow that He reveals and commands me.  Therefore, if Allah sends a miracle, I will accept it.  Otherwise, I will not ask for it unless He allows me.  Certainly, Allah is Most Wise, the All-Knower.

Allah next directs the servants to the fact that this Quran is the most powerful miracle, clearest evidence and most true proof and explanation, saying, �This (Quran) is nothing but evidences from your Lord, and a guidance and a mercy for a people who believe.�