The Twenty-ninth Letter
God is the Light of the heavens and the earth
In the Name of God, the All-Merciful, the All-Compassionate.
God is the Light of the heavens and the earth. (24:35)
DURING THE HOLY MONTH OF RAMADAN, I EXPERIENCED ONE OF THE numerous radiances of mystery of the light-diffusing verse: God is the Light of the heavens and the earth. My heart was convinced that all living creatures make the same supplication to God, such as that of Uways al-Qarani:
O God, You are my Lord and I am Your servant;
You are the Creator and I am the one created;
You are the All-Providing and I am the one provided...
and I felt that each of the 18,000 worlds receives its light from one Divine Name.
The world may be likened to a multi-petalled rose-bud consisting of many kinds of worlds wrapped up within each other. I saw a new one behind or under each one’s veil. Each world manifested itself to me in darkness and frightening gloom, as depicted by:
Or like the veils of darkness in a vast deep ocean, overwhelmed by a great wave topped by a great wave, topped by dark clouds, one darkness over another, such that if a man stretches out his hand he can hardly see it. For whomsoever God has not appointed light, for him there is no light. (24:40)
In my vision, a Divine Name suddenly manifested and enlightened each world appearing to me in darkness because of heedlessness. This journey of the heart or the imagination lasted for a long time. What follows is a summary:
The animal world appeared very gloomy, for animals are impotent and weak, have innumerable needs, and suffer severe hunger. But the Divine Name the All-Merciful suddenly appeared like a shining sun above the tower of the All-Provider and thoroughly illuminated that world with the light of Mercy.
After that, I saw within that world another pitiful one in which the young desperately struggle in impotent need. Suddenly the Name the All-Compassionate rose above the tower of the All-Caring and so beautifully illuminated that world that it changed tears of sorrow into tears of joy, happiness, and the pleasure of thanksgiving.
Then the human world manifested itself, as if on a screen. It was so dark, gloomy, and terrifying that I was filled with panic and exclaimed: “How pitiful!” I saw that people have infinite desires and ambitions, universal ideas and imaginations, and grand inclinations and dispositions to eternity and eternal happiness in Paradise. Nevertheless, in addition to their infinite weakness, impotence, and need, they are exposed to innumerable misfortunes and hostile attacks. They flow, either singly or in groups, through a short tumultuous life, a miserable livelihood, and under the tragic blows of continual decay and separation. When they finally reach the grave, which (to the heedless) appears as a gate opening onto eternal darkness, they are hurled into a dark pit. I almost collapsed in tears, with all my senses and my intellect, heart, and soul, at the sight of such a pitifully dark and gloomy world.
But then the Divine Name the All-Just was manifested in the meaning of the All-Wise, along with the Name the All-Merciful in the meaning of the All-Munificent, the Name the All-Compassionate in the meaning of the All-Forgiver, the Name the Raiser of the Dead in the meaning of the Heir-to-All, the Name the Reviver in the meaning of the All-Beneficent, and the Name the Lord in the meaning of the Master. Those Names illuminated many spheres within that dark human world and, opening windows on them from the luminous World of the Hereafter, diffused light upon it.
Afterwards, another huge screen displayed the earth and its contents. The obscure laws of science and the principles of corrupt philosophy showed it as terrifying and gloomy. The miserable condition of humanity, floating in infinite space on the old earth in a state of continuous volcanic eruption inside and apt to disintegration, moving at such a great speed as to revolve around the sun in a year, seemed frighteningly gloomy. I was dazed and felt dizzy.
But all at once, the Names the Creator of the universe and the earth, the All-Powerful, All-Knowing, Lord, God, Lord of the heavens and the earth, and Subduer of the sun and the moon appeared in the manifestation of Mercy, Grandeur, and Lordship. They so illumined that world that I saw it as a safe, perfect, and beautiful ship subjected to humanity so that people could travel for pleasure or business.
In sum, I saw that each of the 1,001 Divine Names is like a sun illuminating one of those worlds. Each one contains many spheres, and all other Names manifest themselves in some degree of ordered relation to that Name’s full manifestation due to God’s Oneness.
Discerning a different light behind each veil of darkness, my heart wanted to mount on the imagination and make a journey upward to the world of the heavens. I saw that those radiant planets, which appear to be smiling, are bigger than the earth and revolve faster than it. If even one of them became confused, it would collide with another and destroy the universe. So I saw the heavens as a dark, boundless, and frightening space, with the moving or fixed stars radiating fire and light. I regretted coming here.
But then the Divine Beautiful Names the Lord of the heavens and the earth and the Lord of the angels and the spirit manifested themselves and disclosed the meaning of: We have adorned the nearest heaven with lamps (67:5) and: He has subdued the sun and the moon (13:2). Each star, located in darkness, received a gleam from those Names’ mighty light, and the heavens were illuminated as if as many lamps as the stars had been lit. That space, formerly imagined to be dark and empty, was thronged and animated and brightened by angels and spirit beings. The suns and stars, serving as a host of the King of eternity, seemed to demonstrate, as if performing an exalted maneuver, the Majestic King’s magnificence and His Lordship’s splendor. If I had had enough strength, if my bodily particles would have obeyed me, and if I could have done so in all creatures’ languages, I would have recited:
God is the light of the heavens and the earth. The parable of His Light is as if there were a niche and within it a lamp, the lamp enclosed in glass, the glass as it were a brilliant star, lit 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! God guides to His Light whom He wills. (24:35)
However, I recited that verse on behalf of all creatures and, awakening, returned to the earth saying: “All praise be to God for the light of belief and the Qur’an.”
Said Nursi