The Light Verse between Philosophy and Sufism: A Comparative Analysis of the Interpretations by Ibn Sīnā and al-Ghazālī

This article analyzes two treatises written from philosophical and Sufi perspectives as interpretations of the Light Verse (āyat al-nūr) (Q.24:35), namely Risāla fī Ithbāt al-Nubuwwāt and Mishkāt al-Anwār. They were authored by Ibn Sīnā (d. 428/1037) and Abū Ḥāmid al-Ghazālī (d. 505/1111) respectively, two exceptional authoritative scholarly figures of Islamic sciences with a very high representative power with their writings in diverse dimensions of philosophical and Sufi studies. The article examines the epistemological implications of the philosophical and Sufi ontological designs expressed in the treatises and compares their contents concerning the origin and beginning of existence and the relationship between God and all other beings. The article particularly concentrates on the interpretations regarding the following fundamental questions addressed in the treatises: What is the origin and reality of existence? What kind of ontological and epistemological relationships are there between different kinds of beings? Moreover, what kind of ontological and epistemological connections are there between God and man? Ibn Sina presents masterful examples of philosophical and religious symbolism in his treatise. The central intellectual theme of this work is the possibility and necessity of prophecy. He presents expositions on this subject-matter in his other works too, but we do not witness in his other books another example of him discussing the issue in full detail by focusing on a single qur’ānic verse. The semantic horizons of his expressions in the treatise go far beyond the conventional peripatetic formulations centered on logic: he speaks of spiritual pleasures and happiness, worship, acts of worship, ascetic practices, and spiritual purification. Al-Ghazālī also wrote an independent commentary on the Light Verse. His interpretations of the verse seem to be mostly following the Sufi tradition. However, as the article illustrates with multiple examples, al-Ghazālī’s statements closely resemble Ibn Sīnā’s formulations in both the structure and arrangement of his explanations and their content. Therefore, the relationship between these two treatises appears to be one of complementarity, offering two interrelated perspectives rather than presenting opposing or contradictory ontological and epistemological theories. This study aims to make a modest contribution to the relevant academic studies in Islamic philosophy and Sufism by analyzing the philosophical and Sufi contexts and implications of the statements in these two treatises concerning the Light Verse.