93 – AN NOOR presence of glass when we look through a window. Therefore we can see the lamp through the glass. The glass is as a shining star. In this verse we are told that the glass is like a shining star. The glass surrounding the lamp usually shines when the lamp is lit. Here the opposite to the last paragraph is also true. Just as vision can see through the glass unhindered, likewise the light can shine through the glass unhindered. Kindled from a blessed tree, an olive neither of the east nor of the west. A tree takes years to grow. It begins from a seed. It grows into a plant. Then it becomes a strong tree. Then the tree produces fruit. In this example the fruit is the olive. But this tree is neither of the east or west. If we observe a tree, it is planted in a particular place. It does not move. But this particular tree is neither of the east nor of the west. Therefore this tree is either a heavenly tree or it moves! Whose oil would almost glow forth though no fire touched it. The oil in the lamp is lit. Yet fire has not touched it. It generates light. Light upon light, Allah guides to His light whom He will. And Allah speaks to mankind in allegories, for Allah is knower of all things. A man of knowledge once said: “The heavens and earth cannot contain Allah, and yet Allah lives in the heart of a true believer.” Now if we look at the entire verse, we find that the Light referred to in the above verse is Knowledge. The tree neither of the east or west is the human. The heavens and earth cannot contain knowledge, yet the human being can contain knowledge of heavens and earth. Where is this light referred to in the above verse? It is as a niche (a recess) where there is a lamp. The human heart is in a niche in the human body. The heart is lit from a blessed tree neither of the east or west. The red Indians call the trees the standing people. The human being is not rooted in one place. The heart pumps without being lit and no batteries are required! The heart is the place of revelation of the mysteries, if the Light of Allah shines in there. The heart is the place of Zikr Allah, if the Light of Allah shines in there. And as Mawlana Abul Noor Mohammad Bashir so beautifully wrote: “In this day and age we keep hearing of people having heart attacks. If there is no Zikr Allah in a heart, what do you expect? It is bound to stop!” The heart or the lamp needs fuel. The fuel or oil is the Zikr Allah. With Zikr Allah, the lamp is lit without being touched by fire. The human body becomes a blessed tree neither of the east nor of the west. Light upon light, is achieved by that tree in the form of knowledge upon knowledge. Every branch of knowledge is based on certain principles or foundation. And the knowledge is built on that principle or foundation. Our foundation is Islaam and the knowledge is the Quraan and Sunnat of Prophet Muhammad whom He will. Finally a reference from the Quraan:
. Allah guides to His light
1 Alif Laam Ra. A Book which We have revealed to you in order that you may lead mankind out of the depths of darkness into the light by the leave of their Rabb (Lord) to the way of (Him) the Mighty in Power, the Praiseworthy! [Quraan: Ibraheem, Chapter 14] If we look at the opening of the above verse we find we have Alif
Laam
Ra
. What is
missing from that? It is the letters Noon and Waw to make the Name An Noor (the Light). How? Because we are told further in the above reference …that you may lead mankind out of the depths of darkness into the Light by the leave of their Rabb…
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