Introduction
On the advice of a friend, I have started this blog as a forum for my own thoughts. I would like to use it as a place to refine my thinking about a variety of subjects in the field of Islamic studies, in which I am writing a dissertation and plan to pursue my career. I am hoping that presenting my ideas publicly will help me express them more formally so that I can continue to develop them over time.
The name of the blog comes from two sources. The first is the 35th ayah of the 24th sura of the Qur'an, which states, "Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth. The Parable of His Light is as if there were a Niche and within it a Lamp: the Lamp enclosed in Glass: the glass as it were a brilliant star: Lit from a blessed Tree, an Olive, neither of the east nor of the west, whose oil is well-nigh luminous, though fire scarce touched it: Light upon Light! Allah doth guide whom He will to His Light: Allah doth set forth Parables for men: and Allah doth know all things" (Qur'an 24:35). The second is from a book called mishkat al-anwar, by al-Ghazali, a Muslim theologian from the late eleventh and early twelfth centuries.
In both of these sources, the niche of light is a place of knowledge, a place from which the light of God illuminates one's knowledge of the worlds, the heavens and the earth. It is commonly interpreted as carrying a mystical meaning, that human beings can in some way participate in the light of God through their own spiritual and intellectual development. This blog, inspired by the possibility of acquiring knowledge through reflection on the world, aspires to emulate the niche of light, to be a place from which illumination comes.
I hope you enjoy it, and I look forward to meeting you.
