I asked al-Rida (AS) about the Word of Allah, the Mighty and High: “Allah is the Light of the Heavens and the Earth.” So he replied (AS): “He is the Guide of the Inhabitants of Heaven and the Guide of the Inhabitants of the Earth.” While the narration of al-Barqi states: “He guides whatever is in the Heavens, and He guides whatever is in the Earth.” The Compiler of this book says: The anthropomorphist interpret this verse as He is the Light of the Heavens and the Earth. If that were correct, how is it possible to find darkness on the Earth at any time, be it day or night? If Allah was the Light of the Heavens, and the Earth, according to their interpretation, He would have to be perpetually present, and could not be non-existent at times. Therefore, when we find the Earth dark at night, and when we find the inside of the Earth dark (even) during the day, then this indicates that the interpretation of : “Allah is the Light of heaves, and the Earth,” is what al-Rida (AS) has said and not that the anthropomorphist have given. So, verily, He, the Mighty and High, is the Guide of the Inhabitants in the Heavens and the Earth, and the Indicator [Mubayyin] for the Inhabitants of the Heavens and the Earth in their religious and worldly affairs. In the same way that the inhabitants of the Heavens and the Earth are guided by Allah in their religious affairs, they are guided by the Light that Allah has created for them in the Heavens and the Earth in their worldly affairs. This is what He meant when He said that He was the Light of the Heaves and the Earth. The attribute He applied to Himself is metaphorical since, intellectually – speaking, it is not logical for Allah, the Mighty and High, to be light or to glow, or to belong to the realm of lights, for the simple fact that He is the Creator of Light. His Statement also applies to the verse: “A likeness of His Light.” Verily, He intended by it the description of His Light. Evidently, this Light is other than Him since He anthropomorphized it with the lamp and its glow, as He mentioned and described in this verse. It is not permissible to anthropomorphize His Being with the lamp, because there is no likeness and no equivalent to Allah. Therefore, it is correct to say that His Light, which He anthropomorphized with a lamp, refers to His Guidance. It refers to the fact that He guides the inhabitants of the Heaves and the Earth towards His Religion, towards divine Unity, toward His Wisdom, and towards His Justice. After explaining the Clearness of His Guidance and naming it “Light,” as He guides with it His Servants to His Religion and what is in their best interests, He said: A likeness of it is a niche in which is a lamp, the lamp is in a clear glass that resembles a brightly shining star in its clearness. The brightly shining star is a star that resembles a pearl in its color. This lamp, which is in a clear glass, light from a blessed olive oil. He has intended by this Syrian oil, because it is said: It is blessed for its inhabitants. By “Neither eastern nor western,” the Mighty and High means that this oil is neither eastern, so that he sun does not shine on it at the time of sunset, nor western so that the sun does not shine on it at the time of sunrise. Rather, it is from the upper part of the tree and the sun shines on it throughout the day. This is what makes it the best, and makes its oil light. He then emphasized the clearness of its oil; that “the oil whereof almost gives light through fire touches it not” to describe its clarity. He explains that the religious guidance that Allah gives His Servants in the Heavens and the Earth, is clear, and its explanation, which is the clear glass, is equally clear. The fire ignites the clear oil as He described. The glow of the fire combines with the glow of glass and the glow of oil in it. This is the meaning of His Word: “light upon light,” and this is what He, the Mighty and High, meant: “Allah guides to His light whom He pleases.” That is, from His Servants who have reached the age of maturity so that they may recognize by that and be guided through it, and reason with it, regarding the unity of their Lord, and all religious matters. Allah, the Mighty and High, has indicated by this verse what He has mentioned of His Clear Indications and Signs with which He guides His Servants in their religion. In other words, none of them have been left in ignorance. If any of them neglect their religion, it is not due to vagueness or ambiguity on behalf of Allah, the Mighty and High, since Allah, the Mighty and High, has explained to them His Indications and Signs. Verily, they come to make mistake, due to forgetting about Allah’s sings and failing to derive through these signs the existence of Allah, the Mighty and High, and what is in their best religious interest. He has also explained that He Is All-Knowing when it comes to the interest of His Servants.