﴿ ۞ ٱللَّهُ نُورُ ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ ۚ مَثَلُ نُورِهِۦ كَمِشْكَوٰةٍۢ فِيهَا مِصْبَاحٌ ۖ ٱلْمِصْبَاحُ فِى زُجَاجَةٍ ۖ ٱلزُّجَاجَةُ كَأَنَّهَا كَوْكَبٌۭ دُرِّىٌّۭ يُوقَدُ مِن شَجَرَةٍۢ مُّبَٰرَكَةٍۢ زَيْتُونَةٍۢ لَّا شَرْقِيَّةٍۢ وَلَا غَرْبِيَّةٍۢ يَكَادُ زَيْتُهَا يُضِىٓءُ وَلَوْ لَمْ تَمْسَسْهُ نَارٌۭ ۚ نُّورٌ عَلَىٰ نُورٍۢ ۗ يَهْدِى ٱللَّهُ لِنُورِهِۦ مَن يَشَآءُ ۚ وَيَضْرِبُ ٱللَّهُ ٱلْأَمْثَٰلَ لِلنَّاسِ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ بِكُلِّ شَىْءٍ عَلِيمٌۭ ﴾

“God is the Light of the heavens and the earth. The parable of His light is, as it were, that of a niche containing a lamp; the lamp is [enclosed] in glass, the glass [shining] like a radiant star: [a lamp] lit from a blessed tree - an olive-tree that is neither of the east nor of the west the oil whereof [is so bright that it] would well-nigh give light [of itself] even though fire had not touched it: light upon light! God guides unto His light him that wills [to be guided]; and [to this end] God propounds parables unto men, since God [alone] has full knowledge of all things.”

God is the Light of the heavens and the earth in other words He illumines both of them with the sun and the moon. The likeness of His Light that is the description of it as it resides in the heart of a believer is as a niche wherein is a lamp. The lamp is in a glass — this glass is the case for the lantern and the misbāh is the torch that is the wick that is lit; al-mishkāt is a recess that does not penetrate to the other side in other words the tube inside the lantern the glass with the light inside it is as it were a glittering star that is a light-giving star read dirrī’un or durrī’un derived from al-dar‘ ‘to repel’ because it repels darkness; or read durriyyun derived from al-durr ‘pearls’ kindled is this lamp read past tense tawaqqada; a variant reading has the imperfect tense of awqada in the passive voice yūqadu; another reading has tūqadu in which case the reference is to al-zujāja ‘the glass’ from the oil of a Blessed Tree an olive neither of the east nor of the west but in between the two so that no harmful cold or heat affects it; whose oil would almost glow forth of itself though no fire touched it because of the extent of its purity. Light by Him upon light by fire; the light of God is His guidance of the believer light upon the light of faith. God guides to His Light that is to the religion of Islam whom He will. And God strikes He illustrates similitudes for men by approximating such similitudes to their comprehension so that they might take heed and believe; and God is Knower of all things including knowledge of how to strike similitudes.