An-Nur
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سورة النور An-Nūr The Light |
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Arabic text · English translation |
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| Classification | Medinan |
| Position | Juzʼ 18 |
| Hizb no. | 36 |
| No. of Rukus | 9 |
| No. of verses | 64 |
Arabic text · English translation
Sūrat an-Nūr (Arabic: سورة النور, "The Light") is the 24th sura of the Qur'an with 64 ayat.
The general agreement of scholars is that this sura was revealed shortly before or after the Battle of the Trench in 5 AH.
This sura opens with a short introduction to the revelation of the Quran, as many other sura do – that is a reminder and a clear sign for people to look to.
The surah thus begins with various explanations and decrees on or relating to corrupt sexual acts, family law, and specifications on the giving of testimony. Foremost amongst these rulings is God's punishment for adultery. This section ends with the pronouncement that good men and women should be paired together, as should corrupt men and corrupt women. This discussion turns into reflections on privacy and modesty, namely of hosts and women. Contained herein are several regulations and explanations of modesty, most directly lines traditionally used to argue for the wearing of hijab. After these prohibitions are cast for women, the text turns towards men, asking them not to oppress slavegirls into prostitution, and to marry those women who need husbands, despite their poverty.
After a second statement of the Quran's status as a clear sign from Allah, the famed Ayat an-Nur appears. This is often referred to as "the Light Verse", or "the Parable of Light", a mystical group of lines that has been the subject of much scholarship and reflection.
The Qur'an here briefly returns to a slightly more literal form of speech as it reassures believers that their remembrance will be rewarded, as the forgetfulness of the sinners will be punished. In keeping with the Light Verse, the unbelievers too are explained in metaphor, returning to the deeply symbolic tone above:
"And as for the unbelievers, their works are as a mirage in a spacious plain,
in which a thirsty man thinks there to be water,
...
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