Light
نُّورٌ عَلَىٰ نُورٍۢ
“Light upon light”
Surah An-Nur 24:35
On the first day, we begin with light, “light upon light”. An invitation to open the heart and allow love and light to pour in. Let the lamp within your heart be ignited by the Divine. As humans, we often close up, yet Ramadan calls us to begin this journey with an open heart, ready to receive and be filled.
Let go of tightening up and surrender, allowing the light to pass through you. Fear can fill our being, what if we allowed that light to truly enter us?
No matter your background, religion, gender, there is a remembrance within you of this light upon light: the light of your soul meeting the light of the Divine. The vastness of this verse can never be fully contained in words, yet maybe it can be felt, in moments of connection, clarity, presence, and meaning. It is this light that allows you to love, to remain open, to feel the nearness of the Divine, and to extend that love to others. When the light overflows, you begin to radiate, like an inner sun.
Reflect on moments of light upon light, turning toward Allah ‘Al-Nūr’, connecting to the Prophets, sensing the unseen, touching an inner truth filled with light. “Light upon light” is not merely recited; it is a living reality. It descended as light upon the Prophet (PBUH), and it continues to arrive as light, now, into you.
The lamps are different, but the Light is the same. One matter, one energy, one Light, one Light-mind, endlessly emanating all things.
Rumi
Feel the light within your heart, and take a moment to journal about those instances:
Where you were in touch with your soul and felt at ease.
When you felt the closest to God and reflect on how it felt.
Times when you were radiating kindness to others.
Tune into Prophet Muhammad’s (PBUH) Prayer of Light:
“O Allah
Place within my heart light,
And upon my tongue light,
And within my ears light,
And within my eyes light,
And place behind me light,
And in front of me light,
And above me light,
And beneath me light,
O Allah, bestow upon me light.”
“Everything dissolves into the light. There’s no body, no me, no mind, no universe. Only the light. The light simply is. It has no beginning and no end. It stretches to infinity. It’s all there is; there’s nothing else in this real world of light other than the light. I lose myself in oneness with the light.”
Bliss Brain: The Neuroscience of Remodeling Your Brain for Resilience, Creativity, and Joy – Dawson Church
“When the attributes of darkness lift, light takes its place, and the one with the eye of the soul sees. He recognizes what he sees with the light of the Names of divine attributes. Then he himself is flooded by light and becomes light. These lights are still veils hiding the light of the divine Essence, but the time comes when they too are drawn back, leaving only the light of the divine Essence itself.”
The Secret of Secrets – Hadrat ‘Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani
