`

Knowing Allah through His beautiful names 6b: How to reflect Allah’s name Al Noor in your life

Knowing Allah through His beautiful names 6b: How to reflect Allah's name Al Noor in your life
by
June 08, 2023
in Khutbah
No Comments
880

Allah Almighty is An-Noor

There are four names connected to the Allah Almighty’s existence. The first one, Al Haqq, the second one is An-Noor. An-Noor means the light, or the Provider of Light, or the Creator of Light and Guidance. There are different translations. The origin of the word An-Noor in Arabic is from 3 letters. (The majority of Arabic words are based on a root of 3 letters, some are derived from 4 letters, and then a minority come from a 5-6 letter root). An-Noor is derived from the letters, noon, wow and raa.

An-Noor is the one who illuminates and reveals the divine light of all the worlds. His light illuminates the heart, the mind and gives clarity and guidance. Anyone who turns to Allah Almighty and His  Light, will be delivered from darkness to light, from misguidance to guidance. This is where we see the Noor. It’s not literally that Allah Almighty is noor, because in the hadith Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said that the veil of Allah Almighty is light, hijabuhun noor.

عَنْ أَبِي مُوسَى، قَالَ قَامَ فِينَا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ بِخَمْسِ كَلِمَاتٍ فَقَالَ إِنَّ اللَّهَ لاَ يَنَامُ وَلاَ يَنْبَغِي لَهُ أَنْ يَنَامَ يَخْفِضُ الْقِسْطَ وَيَرْفَعُهُ يُرْفَعُ إِلَيْهِ عَمَلُ اللَّيْلِ قَبْلَ عَمَلِ النَّهَارِ وَعَمَلُ النَّهَارِ قَبْلَ عَمَلِ اللَّيْلِ حِجَابُهُ النُّورُ لَوْ كَشَفَهُ لأَحْرَقَتْ سُبُحَاتُ وَجْهِهِ مَا انْتَهَى إِلَيْهِ بَصَرُهُ مِنْ خَلْقِهِ

The Messenger of Allah stood up among us and said five things. He said: ‘Allah does not sleep, and it is not befitting that He should sleep. He lowers the scales and raises them. The deeds done during the night are taken up to Him before the deeds done during the day, and the deeds of the day before the deeds of the night. His veil is light, and if He were to remove it, the glory of his Face would burn everything of His creation, as far as its gaze reaches.’ (ibn Majah)

In the beautiful ayah, in Surat an-Noor, He stated Allahun-noor as samawati wal ard:

اللَّهُ نُورُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ مَثَلُ نُورِهِ كَمِشْكَاةٍ فِيهَا مِصْبَاحٌ الْمِصْبَاحُ فِي زُجَاجَةٍ الزُّجَاجَةُ كَأَنَّهَا كَوْكَبٌ دُرِّيٌّ يُوقَدُ مِن شَجَرَةٍ مُّبَارَكَةٍ زَيْتُونِةٍ لَّا شَرْقِيَّةٍ وَلَا غَرْبِيَّةٍ يَكَادُ زَيْتُهَا يُضِيءُ وَلَوْ لَمْ تَمْسَسْهُ نَارٌ نُّورٌ عَلَى نُورٍ يَهْدِي اللَّهُ لِنُورِهِ مَن يَشَاءُ وَيَضْرِبُ اللَّهُ الْأَمْثَالَ لِلنَّاسِ وَاللَّهُ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عَلِيمٌ

Allah is the light of the heavens and the earth; a likeness of His light is as a niche in which is a lamp, the lamp is in a glass, (and) the glass is as it were a brightly shining star, lit from a blessed olive-tree, neither eastern nor western, the oil whereof almost gives light though fire touch it not – light upon light – Allah guides to His light whom He pleases, and Allah sets forth parables for men, and Allah is Cognizant of all things. (24:35)

Allah Almighty is the illuminator of the heavens and the earth, so when we connect ourselves to this very name, and repeat this name, it brings light to our hearts. Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) used to repeat this name in his supplications as well.

Ibn al-Qayyim said beautifully, Allah Almighty described His Book as light, His Messenger (peace be upon him) as light, laqad ja’akum minallah nurun and His religion as light and He screened Himself from His creation with light.

قَدۡ جَاۤءَكُم مِّنَ ٱللَّهِ نُورࣱ وَكِتَـٰبࣱ مُّبِینࣱ

“… There has come to you light and a clear Book from Allah” (5:15)

Also Allah Almighty in many occasions He mentioned that the light comes from Him. So you are seeking the light then seek it from Allah Almighty. 

One of my favourite duas of Prophet Muhammad’s (peace be upon him) is the supplication of light:

اللَّهُمَّ اجْعَلْ فِي قَلْبِي نُورًا ، وَفِي لِسَانِي نُورًا ، وَاجْعَلْ فِي سَمْعِي نُورًا ، وَاجْعَلْ فِي بَصَرِي نُورًا ، وَاجْعَلْ مِنْ خَلْفِي نُورًا ، وَمِنْ أَمَامِي نُورًا ، وَاجْعَلْ مِنْ فَوْقِي نُورًا ، وَمِنْ تَحْتِي نُورًا ، اللَّهُمَّ أَعْطِنِي نُورًا

Allaahummaj’al fee qalbee nooran, wa fee lisaanee nooran, wa fee sam’ee nooran, wa fee basaree nooran, wa min fawqee nooran, wa min tahtee nooran, wa ‘an yameenee nooran, wa ‘an shimaalee nooran, wa min ‘amaamee nooran, wa min khalfee nooran, waj’al fee nafsee nooran, wa ‘a’dhim lee nooran, wa ‘adhdhim lee nooran. Waj’al lee nooran, waj’alnee nooran. Allaahumma ‘a’tinee nooran, waj’al fee ‘asabee nooran, wa fee lahmee nooran, wa fee damee nooran, wa fee sha’ree nooran, wa fee basharee nooran

O Allah, place light in my heart, and on my tongue light, and in my ears light and in my sight light, and above me light, and below me light, and to my right light, and to my left light, and before me light and behind me light. Place in my soul light. Magnify for me light, and amplify for me light. Make for me light, and make me light. O Allah, grant me light, and place light in my nerves, and in my body light and in my blood light and in my hair light and in my skin light. (Bukhari)

Reflecting on the name An-Noor

The majority of the scholars say An Noor is one of the beautiful names of Allah Almighty.  Though a minority of scholars say it is not. The root of the disagreement is whether you can call a child Abd-an-Noor?  If this is Allah Almighty’s name then we can call a child Abd-an-Noor, the Servant of the Light (Allah Almighty) metaphorically, as names like Abdullah, Abdul Jabbar, or Abdus Salaam and Abdul Haadi. But you cannot say Abd of a name that is not Allah’s. so this matter is one that is disagreed upon. 

We reflect this name in our practice by repeating this name and calling upon Allah Almighty with this name, and supplicating to Allah using this name as Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) used to do. We can also ask Allah Almighty for guidance and light from Him. We can ask Him to put light in our hearts, on our tongues, in our sight in our hearing in our decisions and so on. Ask Allah Almighty to give you light so you can be a beacon of light for others and a candle in someone’s darkness. If you can’t do this, then at least give someone guidance. Guide somebody to the right path, with your cheerful face, with your beautiful words, with your kindness, with your love, with your mercy, with your care.

How can we become a person of light?

There is special light Allah Almighty put in the hearts of those who are connected to Him. The heart that is full of continuous dhikr is a heart that is full of light. When you recite the Quran, Allah Almighty brings light to your house, to your heart, to your life. Then you can be a person of light. The more you connected you are to Allah Almighty the more Allah Almighty grant radiance to your face and heart and mind. You’ll take the right decisions, do the right thing. You will not be immune from mistakes, but your mistakes will be minimised. Reflecting upon this name brings tranquillity to your life as well as extra abilities. You will see the world and issues through a different lens when you have the light from Allah Almighty.  You cannot compare the one who is walking in the dark and trying to find his way, with the one has light and can navigate with ease and knows where to go and how to get there.

Take others on the journey with kindness, care and mercy

If you have this light you find the path, and when you find the path, you take others with you on this journey. Try to be the guidance for them. Try to be that light in their life. Many of us if not all of us have someone in our life who is like this light. Through him or her they’ve been introduced to the path or more practice and become closeer to Allah Almighty. When you find Allah Almighty truly in your life, it’s a life changer.

Finding the light is life changing

Ibn Ataaillaah Sikandari (may Allah be pleased with him) said:

My Lord what did he find who lost you, what did he lose who found you? (Al Hikam)

This  means if you find Allah Almighty you’ve found everything, you haven’t lost anything. But if you’ve lost Allah Almighty, even if you have everything, you have nothing.

Having this light allows you to see things that you’ve never been able to see before, the way a microscope enables you to zoom into a cell and you marvel at what you find. The more accurate the microscope the detailed your insight will be and is what closeness to Allah Almighty brings. It will be like intuition – a special opening from Allah Almighty. However this does not come easily, you have to work hard to get it.

How to receive the light of Allah in your life

  1. You need to have your prayers on time, don’t miss your prayers, do it properly with the right etiquettes.
  2. You need to have the right intention when you do things. Do it for Allah Almighty, not for our ego, to be praised to be famous or to have some Instagram followers etc. Keep your intention pure.
  3. Do things as privately as possible away from people’s sight to keep them purely for Allah Almighty.
  4. Have a regular time where you remember Allah Almighty through daily Quran recitation, supplication, morning and evening adhkar, which you can keep striving to increase, maintain and improve  inshallah.

The names Al Haqq and An-Noor are both related to Allah Almighty’s existence because He is the one who brought the beings into existence and brings them from darkness to light.

In the hadith, Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) spoke about light in different narrations. For instance on one of these occasions, Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) described one of this companions whose heart had been enlightened, which was Haritha.

There is a weak hadith supported by other narrations in which one of the companions had so much certainty he could visualise the people in Jannah and Jahannam – and the Prophet (peace be on him) said that Allah had enlightened his heart. The man said he did not belong to the dunya anymore meaning that He was not clinging to it, and his heart was connected to Allah Almighty.  

Once Rasulullah (peace be on him) asked Haritha ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him): 

‘How are you this morning?’ 

He replied: ‘I am a true believer this morning’ 

Rasulullah (peace be on him) said: ‘Every claim has a reality (proof), so what is the reality (proof) for your claim?’ 

He replied: 

‘Since this morning, I have distanced myself from the world, I spent my night awake in worship and my day fasting. [Such is my conviction, that] I can almost see the throne of my Lord being brought for accountability [on the Day of Judgement].
[Such is my conviction, that] I can almost see the inhabitants in Jannah visiting one another therein, and I can almost hear the screams of the inhabitants of Jahannam.’ 

Rasulullah (peace be on him) said to him: ‘[You are] a slave whose heart has been illuminated with imaan (belief). Remain steadfast on this perception of yours.’ (Ibn Abi Shaybah, Tabarani and Bazzar) 

When Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said his heart had been illuminated, it means his heart was not attached to the dunya. He described it as not being in the dunya anymore, but being in the akhirah. He felt as if he could see the people of Jannah visiting each other in Paradise and could hear the cries of the people of Jahannam in Jahannam. This man was working on himself and seeking the truth and asking Allah Almighty to show him the way and he was sincere, so Allah Almighty did show him the way.

This is open to any of us. Whoever is sincere and follows the footsteps of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) can be in that position of closeness to Allah Almighty and develop purity of intention and clarity of vision and heart.

By reflecting on the names of Allah Almighty, emulating them, being a person of the light and  enlightening the path for people around you with kindness and mercy, care and love, you can become like those people whose faces radiate light.

عَنْ أَسْمَاءَ بِنْتِ يَزِيدَ قَالَتْ قَالَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ أَلا أُخْبِرُكُمْ بِخِيَارِكُمْ قَالُوا بَلَى قَالَ الَّذِينَ إِذَا رُءُوا ذُكِرَ اللَّهُ

Asma’ bint Yazid (may Allah be pleased with her) reported: The Prophet (peace be upon him) said:

“Shall I not tell you about the best of you?” They said, “Of course.” The Prophet said, “Those who, if they are seen, they remind you of Allah.” (Adab al Mufrad)

In this hadith Prophet Muhammad (peace upon him) mentioned those remind you of Allah Almighty the moment you see them are special. And I can tell you from my experience, many of our shuyukh were like this. When you saw them you just remembered Allah Almighty; they had a special light on their faces, a special aura, and you felt a special serenity when you were around them, because they embodied these names and attributes, they reflected them practically not just theoretically. And they transferred this tranquillity to your heart. It is possible to achieve this with small steps and  continuous reflections.

Consistency is important

Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said the most beloved deeds to Allah Almighty are the deeds done with consistency. Consistency doesn’t mean performing 100 rakahs every night, as this is not feasible. It means consistent small deeds which you maintain regularly.   

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said:

عن أبي هريرة قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ اكْلَفُوا مِنْ الْعَمَلِ مَا تُطِيقُونَ فَإِنَّ خَيْرَ الْعَمَلِ أَدْوَمُهُ وَإِنْ قَلَّ

“Take up good deeds only as much as you are able, for the best deeds are those done regularly even if they are few.” (ibn Majah)

Ramadan comes to boost our efforts

Every Ramadan we are energised to do more. The important part is to keep up your recitation after Ramadan. Keep performing salah regularly and on time, with the right intention and the right etiquettes. Keep up the obligations and then top them up. So give zakat and then give extra charity. Be a source of goodness for people around you. Even if you don’t have money to give, you can offer your services, your expertise, your support, your help, your skills – these are a charity as well. Don’t underestimate it. By doing these it will make you closer to Allah Almighty.  When you serve His servants with the right intention Allah Almighty will give you openings. He will open for you ways to be closer to Him and to elevate your status. It is easy to start but generally Shaytaan will come and try to ruin it so you need to keep your intention pure and your resolve strong, so you can be connected to Allah Almighty.

Delivered by Shaykh Haytham Tamim – 9th May 2023 to Al Manaar Group

Transcribed by S Jawaid

share

Shaykh Haytham Tamim is the founder and main teacher of the Utrujj Foundation. He has provided a leading vision for Islamic learning in the UK, which has influenced the way Islamic knowledge is disseminated. He has orchestrated the design and delivery of over 200 unique courses since Utrujj started in 2001. His extensive expertise spans over 30 years across the main Islamic jurisprudence schools of thought. He has studied with some of the foremost scholars in their expertise; he holds some of the highest Ijazahs (certificates) in Quran, Hadith (the Prophetic traditions) and Fiqh (Islamic rulings). His own gift for teaching was evident when he gave his first sermon to a large audience at the age of 17 and went on to serve as a senior lecturer of Islamic transactions and comparative jurisprudence at the Islamic University of Beirut (Shariah College). He has continued to teach; travelling around the UK, Europe and wider afield, and won the 2015 BISCA award (British Imams & Scholars Contributions & Achievements Awards) for Outstanding Contribution to Education and Teaching.

Recommended Posts