“Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth. His light is like a niche in which there is a lamp, the lamp is in a crystal, the crystal is like a shining star, lit from ˹the oil of˺ a blessed olive tree, ˹located˺ neither to the east nor the west,2 whose oil would almost glow, even without being touched by fire. Light upon light! Allah guides whoever He wills to His light. And Allah sets forth parables for humanity. For Allah has ˹perfect˺ knowledge of all things.” 24:35
The above statement is one of the most beautiful and mysterious ayahs in the Quran; yet even to the casual reader, it solidifies one thing: Allah is the light for every creation including humanity. This not only refers to physical light but to the light of guidance; without it, we’ll be left wandering through the dark, struggling to find the right path relying solely on our flawed intuition. Moving a little forward in surah An-Nur reading:

“Or ˹their deeds are˺ like the darkness in a deep sea, covered by waves upon waves,1 topped by ˹dark˺ clouds. Darkness upon darkness! If one stretches out their hand, they can hardly see it. And whoever Allah does not bless with light will have no light!” 24:40

When these verses are put together, these verses bring forth a stern reminder that light leads to more light, and darkness will only give way to further darkness. That is unless we turn back to Allah and ask for His help. As a revert, these reflections remind me of my Shahadah: it was my first true step towards Allah and my first taste of the light of guidance. At only 17, there was a ninety to my worship, but I knew I was making the right decision; as I progressed in my deen, my moral backbone improved, I held myself to better standards, and through experiencing Islam, I settled into who I was. That one statement during a random Skype call led to innumerable good in this world and the next.