Bismillah.
Imam Ali Zaynul-‘Ābidīn al-Sajjād (a): So, we bid farewell to it (i.e., Ramadan) with the farewell of one whose parting pains us, whose leaving fills us with gloom and loneliness, and to whom we have come to owe a safeguarded claim, an observed inviolability, and a discharged right. We say: Peace be upon you, O greatest month of God! O festival of His friends! Peace be upon you, O most noble of accompanying times! O best of months in days and hours! Peace be upon you, month in which expectations come near, and good works are scattered about! Peace be upon you, Comrade who is great in worth when found and who torments through absence when lost, anticipated friend whose parting gives pain! . . . Peace be upon you, helper who aided against Satan, companion who made easy the paths of good doing! . . Peace be upon you – How many the sins you erased! . . . Peace be upon you, month which is peace in all affairs! . . . Peace be upon you – How much evil was turned away from us through you! How much good flowed upon us because of you! Peace be upon you and upon the Night of Decree which is better than a thousand months! Peace be upon you – How much we craved you yesterday! How intensely we shall yearn for you tomorrow! (Sahīfah Sajjādiyyah, Du‘ā 45, passages 23 – 41)
وَأَشْرَقَتِ الْأَرْضُ بِنُورِ رَبِّهَا وَوُضِعَ الْكِتَابُ وَجِيءَ بِالنَّبِيِّينَ وَالشُّهَدَاءِ وَقُضِيَ بَيْنَهُمْ بِالْحَقِّ وَهُمْ لا يُظْلَمُونَ
The earth will glow with the Light of its Lord and the book will be set up and the prophets and the martyrs will be brought, and judgment will be made between them with justice, and they will not be wronged.
(Sūrat al-Zumar, No. 39, Āyat 69)
Light is essential both for a person to see as well as to be enlightened. The Holy Quran is replete with the mention of various kinds of light and their benefit to humans. Various interpretations of “the light” have been mentioned by the commentators:
1. Light of the believers
The Light of its Lord indicates the light shed by believers. This verse in cited as evidence thereof:
يَوْمَ تَرَى الْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَالْمُؤْمِنَاتِ يَسْعَىٰ نُورُهُم بَيْنَ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَبِأَيْمَانِهِم
On the Day you shall see the believing men and women, their light illuminating before them and by their right hands (Q 57:12)
This interpretation gives us insight into the strength of belief which would allow believers not just to be illuminated themselves but also illuminate others. A believer is
one who not only benefits themselves but is also of benefit to others.
2. Justice
Justice is amongst the fundamentals of faith in the school of Ahlul-Bayt ‘alayhis-salām, placed only second to the oneness of God. In his Bihār al-Anwār ‘Allāmah Majlisī says, “That is, the earth shall be illuminated with Divine Justice on the Day of Resurrection, since Justice is the Light of the earth”. (Bihār, 6:321)
Some say that the Prophetic tradition: Wrongdoing manifests itself as darkness and shadows on the Day of Resurrection substantiates this suggestion. (Tafsīr Rūh al-Ma ‘ānī, Tafsīr Atyab al-Bayān).
3. Light other than the sun and moon
Some others hold that it is a reference to a light other than that of sun and moon which shall be created by God Almighty particularly for that Day. The eminent author of al-Mīzān, ‘Allāmah Tabātabā’ī, says, “Illumination of the earth by Divine Light is regarded as one of the characteristics of the Day of Resurrection which is uncovering veils and manifestation of the truth behind things and human deeds including good, evil, obedience, disobedience, truth, and falsehood.” The following verse is also quoted in Tafsīr al-Amthāl as evidence:
لَقَدْ كُنتَ فِي غَفْلَةٍ مِّنْ هَٰذَا فَكَشَفْنَا عَنكَ غِطَاءَكَ فَبَصَرُكَ الْيَوْمَ حَدِيدٌ
You neglected it, then we unveiled the cover from you and your eyes see it clearly today!(Q 50:22)
4. Imam of our time
The blessed Verse has been interpreted it in a number of traditions narrated from Ahlul Bayt (a) to the coming of Imam Al-Mahdī (May Allah hasten his appearance) emphasizing that upon his reappearance, incidents resembling Resurrection shall occur and he will administer justice as the rightful Imam, the successor of the Prophet (s) and the Vicegerent of God Almighty on the earth.
Mufaddal ibn ‘Umar narrates from Imam Ja ‘far al-Sādiq ‘alayhis-salām: Upon the rise of our Riser, the earth shall be illuminated by Divine Light and Lord’s servants shall not need sunshine [since] darkness shall wither away. (Tafsīr al Qummī, 2:253)
All the meanings previously mentioned are encompassed in this last meaning This interpretation also gives us insight into why we are told that we should pray fervently for his reappearance as our salvation lies in it.
The verses of Quran are rich with many meanings behind each of them. The Ahlul Bayt (a) talked about how each verse has many deeper levels. May our recitation of the Quran in this holy month and reflection on it awaken our souls to the depths of the Quran. As we near the completion of this month, let us try in the remaining days to benefit as much as possible from the beauty and wisdom of the message of the Quran.
Sources: Sayyid Mahmūd Alūsi, Rūh al-Ma’ni fi tafsīr al-Qurān; Ali ibn Ibrahīm Qummī, Tafsīr al-Qummī; Ibn Babuwayh (al-Sadūq), Kamāl al-dīn wa tamām an ni’mah; Nāser Makārem Shīrazi, Al-Amthāl fi Tafsīr Kitāb Allāh; Sayyid Abdul Husayn al-Tayyib, Atyab al-Bayān fi tafsīr al-Qurān.