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Ayat an-Nur, the Verse of Light (An-Nur 24:35): Arabic, translation and tafsir
۞ ٱللَّهُ نُورُ ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ ۚ مَثَلُ نُورِهِۦ كَمِشْكَوٰةٍ فِيهَا مِصْبَاحٌ ۖ ٱلْمِصْبَاحُ فِى زُجَاجَةٍ ۖ ٱلزُّجَاجَةُ كَأَنَّهَا كَوْكَبٌ دُرِّىٌّ يُوقَدُ مِن شَجَرَةٍ مُّبَٰرَكَةٍ زَيْتُونَةٍ لَّا شَرْقِيَّةٍ وَلَا غَرْبِيَّةٍ يَكَادُ زَيْتُهَا يُضِىٓءُ وَلَوْ لَمْ تَمْسَسْهُ نَارٌ ۚ نُّورٌ عَلَىٰ نُورٍ ۗ يَهْدِى ٱللَّهُ لِنُورِهِۦ مَن يَشَآءُ ۚ وَيَضْرِبُ ٱللَّهُ ٱلْأَمْثَٰلَ لِلنَّاسِ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ بِكُلِّ شَىْءٍ عَلِيمٌ ٣٥
35. Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth. The similitude of His light is as a niche wherein is a lamp. The lamp is in a glass. The glass is as it were a shining star. (This lamp is) kindled from a blessed tree, an olive neither of the East nor of the West, whose oil would almost glow forth (of itself) though no fire touched it. Light upon light. Allah guideth unto His light whom He will. And Allah speaketh to mankind in allegories, for Allah is Knower of all things.
Tafsir from Al-Mukhtasar (Concise Tafsir of the Noble Quran)
35. Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth, and the Guide of all those in them. The example of His light in the heart of a believer is like a closed niche which contains a lantern. The lantern is in a bright glass, as though it is a shining star like a pearl. The lantern is lit by the oil of a blessed tree, which is the olive tree. Nothing conceals the tree from the sun, neither in the morning nor in the evening. The oil is about to glow, due to its purity, even though a fire has not touched it; imagine how it will be when it touches it? The light of the lantern is on the light of the glass. Likewise is the heart of the believer when the light of guidance shines in it. Allah enables whomever He wishes amongst His servants to follow the Qur’ān. And Allah makes things clear through their likenesses, by giving examples. And Allah is Knowing of everything, nothing being hidden from Him.
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Quran text (Uthmani script) from the Tanzil Project — Tanzil Quran Text (Uthmani, Version 1.1), Copyright (C) 2007-2026 Tanzil Project, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0. Translation: M. Pickthall (public domain), text via Tanzil.net. Tafsir: Al-Mukhtasar fi Tafsir al-Quran al-Karim (English), Tafsir Center for Quranic Studies, quoted verbatim from QuranEnc.com (edition available October 2026). Hadith texts are quoted from the cited collections via Sunnah.com; the English meanings are our own brief rendering. See our sources.