The Profound Meaning of Light in the Quran

Nouman Ali Khan on the meaning, power, and guidance of light, in our hearts and more

Do not miss this beautiful video which explains insightfully what the parables and ayat of light in the Quran mean in very applicable and clear terms. Not just Surat Al-Nur (the sura named “Light”) and its famous “verse of Light” but other examples in the Quran and in our lives. Especially regarding light in our hearts vs external light. Very illuminating.

Why Is There No Basmalah on Surah 9 Al-Tawba (Repentance)?

The Basmalah precedes every surah except Al-Tawba, “Repentance,” for a profound reason, not just as a “fluke” confusing the two adjacent suras, Al-Tawba (9) with Al-Anfaal (8). In fact, we can understand the reason for the missing Basmalah from the surah that follows it, Yunus (Jonah). First, note that the Basmalah is the featured dhikr in the Quran, highlighting that the Quran is directly from Allah the Most High, and it shows the dynamic nature of our Creator as Almighty, All-Merciful, the ultimate authority and ultimate source of comfort, meaning, and security. Without knowledge of and faith in Him, our lives would be random and meaningless. Are we seriously satisfied to think that after we die, all that’s left is our bodies which disintegrate and everything we thought or believed or did or felt is for no reason? Do we seriously see truth and beauty in the concept, tossed around these days to “make sense of it all,” that we “become stardust?” So the Basmalah encapsules that which gives meaning and value to existence: Allah the Almighty All-Merciful. Rejecting this in effect dissociates us from Him. And the first word in Al-Tawba is “dissociated.” From which the only way out is tawba, repentance. 

Al-Fatiha as a Conquest of Denial

This sounds counterintuitive, but while discussing the nature of “conquest” in the Quran in my previous post, it occurred to me the root-word connection between fat’h meaning “conquest” and “Al-Fatiha” — the name of the Quran’s first sura — meaning “the opening,” has implications for the first sura itself. In that post I noted how the fact that both words share a root affects the understanding of of the word “conquest” to have a different nuance to it than the English definition and sense of “conquest” as being more of an “opening” in the conflict than merely a subjugation or advantage that often lends to the winner oppressing the loser. But could that same sort of victory or opening in a conflict also deepen our understanding of Al-Fatiha?

Allah’s Victories Are Always Complete, Unlike Ours

We may sometimes wonder why Allah mentions in the Quran about how He completely destroyed whole nations/communities of deniers, not leaving a single person or trace. People erroneously project human qualities on Allah the Exalted, saying He is “showing off” how wrathful or vindictive or destructively powerful He is, thus missing the point. He is telling us about Himself for us to know the difference between us and Him as a reassurance (for those who trust in Him) and a warning (for those who deny Him) about this: how all His actions are, by His categorical nature as Almighty, always complete. Unlike us, whose actions are never complete, but always deficient, missing something. Often something important. Except when we are supported by Allah and a specific victory, promise, or fulfillment/completion is also ordained by Allah. Even as a response to a human du’a (supplication/prayer). The Most High never “shows off” in the human sense. Because what He completes is always a balance of might and mercy (and mercy is also tied to Justice).