Volume 17, Issue 2 (2026 2026)
JIM 2026, 17(2): 96-110 |
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Khosroshahi K, Esfandiar M, Jalali Sheyjani J. (2026). Black Light in Mystical Qur’anic Exegeses: From Presence to Annihilation. JIM. 17(2), 96-110.
URL: http://erfanmag.ir/article-1-1723-en.html
URL: http://erfanmag.ir/article-1-1723-en.html
Islamic Azad University, Yadegar-e-Imam Khomeini (RAH) Branch
Abstract: (1452 Views)
Light is a key concept in the Holy Qur’an, associated with multiple meanings such as guidance, mercy, knowledge, and manifestation. The most significant verse that explicitly refers to this concept is verse 35 of Sūrat al-Nūr, which has long been a subject of exegetical and mystical reflection. Mystical commentators, adopting an esoteric approach to the concept of light, have offered different and at times paradoxical interpretations of it. One of these readings is the concept of “Black Light”—a term that appears paradoxical at first glance, yet in its technical sense refers to the intensity of light and the seeker’s annihilation before the divine lights. In the view of mystical exegeses, this concept transcends its literal meaning and acquires symbolic and intuitive dimensions. Though little known, this fundamental concept is manifested in the works of mystics such as Ibn ʿArabī, Najm al-Dīn Kubrā, Rūzbihān Baqlī, and others, and refers to a stage of mystical wayfaring in which the seeker so encounters the intense divine lights that intellect and the self (nafs) are effaced within them. Despite its name, this light is not a sign of the darkness of ignorance, but rather evidence of the intense presence of the Real and the beginning of mystical bewilderment; indeed, this darkness is an intuitive consciousness and a passage beyond the limits of rational apprehension. Adopting an analytical-descriptive approach, this article seeks to examine the epistemological status of Black Light in the mystical exegeses of the Holy Qur’an and to demonstrate how the mystics, by moving beyond conventional meanings and entering intuitive and symbolic layers, have created novel concepts such as Black Light in order to express their deeper experiential (sulūkī) insights.
Type of Study: Research |
Subject:
تصوف و عرفان
Received: 2025/07/8 | Accepted: 2025/09/7 | Published: 2026/07/28
Received: 2025/07/8 | Accepted: 2025/09/7 | Published: 2026/07/28
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