Dreaming of Nur (Divine Light) in Islam

Light is read by where it falls and by whether the dreamer is in it. Light filling a place is read as clarity settling on a matter, and on a house as safety and blessing within it. Light going ahead of the dreamer as he walks is among the strongest readings in the chapter: guidance in something already being done, not something merely intended. Light in the chest, or light one feels rather than sees, is read as ease in acting rightly. Light that comes and goes is read as a state not yet steady. Standing in darkness while others are in light is read as a distance the dreamer has put there himself, and the interpreters read it as a call to look at the distance rather than as a judgement. Light without heat and without a visible source is the reading the tradition treats most favourably. Carrying light for others is read as a benefit given, and — as with a lamp — is read better than holding it still.

This symbol belongs to the Qur'an before it belongs to any interpreter. Allah is named the Light of the heavens and the earth (an-Nur 24:35). The one whose breast is expanded for Islam is described as upon a light from his Lord (az-Zumar 39:22), and the believers are described on the Day of Judgement with their light running before them (al-Hadid 57:12). Every reading above is downstream of those verses. What the tradition does not do is treat light as a private endorsement, and neither should anyone reading this.

Seeing light is not evidence of a rank with Allah, not a confirmation that anything is accepted, and not permission for anything. The interpreters were unanimous on this and it is the point most often broken: a dream establishes no one's standing and settles no question of religion. It is at most encouragement to keep going. If a dream of this kind troubled you rather than reassured you, the taught response is the same as for any other: seek refuge in Allah, turn onto your other side, and do not relate it.