Fatir · Makki · ayah 20 of 45

Fatir 35:20

وَلَا ٱلظُّلُمَـٰتُ وَلَا ٱلنُّورُ

“Nor are the darknesses and the light,”

Saheeh International

Essence

Darkness and light never meet in the middle; even the sharpest eye needs light, and light needs an open way in.

A reflection

Perfect eyes, and the power goes out

Halfway through an operation, the power in the theatre fails. For four seconds there is total darkness. The surgeon has excellent eyes, steady hands and twenty years of skill. In those four seconds, none of it helps him at all. Then the backup lights come on, and he can work again.

One commentary explains why this ayah follows the last one. The previous ayah set the blind beside the seeing. But a seeing person, however sharp his sight, sees nothing without light. So the Quran adds a second pair. Faith is light, and the believer is seeing; light is never hidden from the one who sees. Disbelief is darkness, and the disbeliever is blind. He has one barrier on top of another.

This answers a common modern confidence. 'I am intelligent and sincere. Surely that is enough to find my way.' Intelligence and sincerity are the eyes. They are real gifts, and the Quran honours them. But eyes do not make light. They only use it. A brilliant mind in a dark room is still in a dark room.

Revelation is the light the eyes were made for. It does not replace thinking; it gives thinking something true to see. That is why the believer asks every day to be guided. Not because his eyes are weak, but because he knows they are useless without a light he cannot make himself.

There is humility in that, and relief. The surgeon does not resent the backup lights. He is grateful they exist. In the same way, a thinking believer does not feel smaller for needing revelation. He feels rescued from four seconds that could have lasted a lifetime.

The full entry has 5 more reflections, questions to sit with, and "Live it today" - with the words, the roots and the tafsir alongside. Free, no account, works offline.