آسیه ذوعلم

The Noble Qur’an employs parables ( al-amthāl ) as a method for bringing the human mind closer to the comprehension of transcendent truths. The expression “Allah is the Light of the Heavens and the Earth” (Q. 24:35) is among the most prominent Qur’anic parables that has long invited reflection among scholars of the Islamic sciences. Using a descriptive–analytical method, this study examines the historical trajectory of the interpretation of this verse in relation to the development of theories in optics. It also analyzes the system of parables in the Qur’an and demonstrates, in light of recent scientific findings, the possibility of novel understandings of this verse that have been neglected in existing exegetical works. A review of the historical course of interpretation reveals that empirical scientific knowledge had little influence on exegetical understandings up to the 13th century CE. The interpretation of al- nūr (light) by Suhrawardī as “that which is manifest and makes manifest” has endured due to its consonance with the empirical understanding of the nature of light. This study shows that, from an ontological perspective grounded in the metaphorical nature of the cosmos, the manifestation of higher truths within it, and the expression of these truths in the Qur’an through parables, attention to recent findings in optical science leads to the discovery of new dimensions of this Qur’anic parable. Features of light, such as the reflection of light in bodies depending on their properties, the visibility of only a small portion of the electromagnetic spectrum, the absoluteness of the speed of light irrespective of the observer’s motion, and the absence of perceived temporal passage in a hypothetical motion at the speed of light, respectively evoke the levels of divine manifestation in beings, the limitations of human perception, and the absoluteness and atemporality of God.