Abstract:
The word light (nur) has been applied in the
religious texts to a variety of instances. These instances
involve a wide spectrum of beings whose one extreme is the
visible light, whilst the other extreme is the divine Essence.
Entities situated between these two extremes such as intellect,
knowledge, faith, divine messengers and their successors,
guidance, and the like, have also been referred to as light.
Nonetheless, the possession of light by all other beings is by
virtue of the perpetual Essence of God.
Machine summary:
"The Prophetic narration which says that "God created Adam in His form [or image]" is in fact alluding to the above reality; for the power of intellection in man is a light that far represents the divine light.
1 In another narration, Imam ‘Ali applies the verse God is the Light of the heavens and the earth2 to the Holy Prophet and the twelve Shi’a Imams.
According to some scholars, it signifies that God is Manifest by Himself, whilst all that exists in the heavens and the earth are manifest because of Him. 4 Considering the fact that it is through its existence that an entity becomes manifest for other things, existence would be the most complete representation of the reality of light.
However, this bottom-to-top course of discussion is traversed in perception and at the cognitive level only, otherwise in reality (thubut), it is the other way round; it is the Divine Essence which is evident, luminous and manifest by itself at the first instance, and the visibility of all other than God is by virtue of Him: He is the First and the Last, the Manifest and the Hidden … (57:3).
2 Fakhr al-Razi maintains that the above verse either means that God is the one who guides the inhabitants of the heavens and the earth, and runs their affairs through His infinite wisdom and clear proofs; or He is the one who creates order and harmony in the heavens and the earth; or He is the one who has illuminated and beautified the heavens and the earth, the heavens with the sun, the moon and the stars, and the earth with the prophets and scholars."