Surah Al-Baqarah 2:17
سُورَةُ البَقَرَةِ · Medinan · Verse 17 of 286
مَثَلُهُمْ كَمَثَلِ ٱلَّذِى ٱسْتَوْقَدَ نَارًۭا فَلَمَّآ أَضَآءَتْ مَا حَوْلَهُۥ ذَهَبَ ٱللَّهُ بِنُورِهِمْ وَتَرَكَهُمْ فِى ظُلُمَٰتٍۢ لَّا يُبْصِرُونَ
Translation
They are like people who [labour to] kindle a fire: when it lights up everything around them, God takes away all their light, leaving them in utter darkness, unable to see-
English translation: M.A.S. Abdel Haleem.
Meaning and reflection
'Their likeness is that of one who kindled a fire; but when it illuminated what was around him, God took away their light and left them in darkness, unable to see.' al-Saadi and Ibn Kathir note the parable of the hypocrites who had light, a flash of faith, a moment of guidance, and then lost it, left in a darkness worse than if they had never seen. Ask yourself: the tragedy here is not never having light but losing it, glimpsing the truth, being briefly illuminated, and then letting it go dark through insincerity. It is a warning to anyone who has tasted faith and drifted: light once received and abandoned leaves a deeper darkness than ignorance. Have I had moments of real illumination, a season of closeness, a night of clarity, that I let slip? The parable warns me to guard the light I've been given, because losing it is its own kind of ruin.
Grounded in classical tafsir: al-Saadi, Ibn Kathir, Ibn Ashur.
Topics that discuss this verse
Surah Al-Baqarah 2:17 is discussed in 6 study guides on Maani. Each guide gathers the key verses, Arabic words and lessons of one Quranic topic.
Reflect on this verse
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