فِى بُيُوتٍ أَذِنَ ٱللَّهُ أَن تُرْفَعَ وَيُذْكَرَ فِيهَا ٱسْمُهُۥ يُسَبِّحُ لَهُۥ فِيهَا بِٱلْغُدُوِّ وَٱلْـَٔاصَالِ 36
Translations
[Such niches are] in houses [i.e., mosques] which Allāh has ordered to be raised and that His name be mentioned [i.e., praised] therein; exalting Him within them in the morning and the evenings
Transliteration
Fī buyūtin adhina -llāhu an turfa'a wa yudhkara fīhā smuh. Yusabbih lahu fīhā bil-ghuduwwi wa-l-āṣāl.
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah refers to the houses of Allah (masājid - mosques) which He has permitted to be elevated and in which His Name is remembered, with tasbīḥ (glorification) occurring therein at dawn and at dusk. Classical scholars like Al-Qurtubī and Ibn Kathīr interpret these as places sanctified for worship where believers continuously praise Allah throughout the day and night, emphasizing the spiritual elevation and purpose of mosques as beacons of divine remembrance in communities.
Revelation Context
This ayah appears within Sūrah An-Nūr (The Light), a Medinan chapter that discusses various aspects of Islamic jurisprudence and social conduct. The passage immediately precedes the famous 'Āyat an-Nūr (Verse of Light, 24:35) and contextually establishes the significance of mosques as illuminated houses of faith where Allah's light manifests through the remembrance and worship of His servants.
Related Hadiths
Sahih Muslim: The Prophet ﷺ said, 'The most beloved places to Allah are the mosques, and the most disliked places to Allah are the markets.' Additionally, Sahih Bukhari records that the Prophet ﷺ encouraged congregational prayer in mosques, calling them 'the houses of Allah.'
Themes
Key Lesson
Mosques serve as spiritually elevated sanctuaries where believers continuously connect with the Divine through remembrance at all times. For modern readers, this emphasizes the importance of maintaining regular mosque attendance and creating sacred spaces—both physical and spiritual—where Allah's remembrance remains constant in our lives and communities.
Related Ayahs
۞ وَأَقْسَمُوا۟ بِٱللَّهِ جَهْدَ أَيْمَـٰنِهِمْ لَئِنْ أَمَرْتَهُمْ لَيَخْرُجُنَّ ۖ قُل لَّا تُقْسِمُوا۟ ۖ طَاعَةٌ مَّعْرُوفَةٌ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ خَبِيرٌۢ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ
And they swear by Allāh their strongest oaths that if you ordered them, they would go forth [in Allāh's cause]. Say, "Do not swear. [Such] obedience is known. Indeed, Allāh is [fully] Aware of that which you do."
وَعَدَ ٱللَّهُ ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ مِنكُمْ وَعَمِلُوا۟ ٱلصَّـٰلِحَـٰتِ لَيَسْتَخْلِفَنَّهُمْ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ كَمَا ٱسْتَخْلَفَ ٱلَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِهِمْ وَلَيُمَكِّنَنَّ لَهُمْ دِينَهُمُ ٱلَّذِى ٱرْتَضَىٰ لَهُمْ وَلَيُبَدِّلَنَّهُم مِّنۢ بَعْدِ خَوْفِهِمْ أَمْنًا ۚ يَعْبُدُونَنِى لَا يُشْرِكُونَ بِى شَيْـًٔا ۚ وَمَن كَفَرَ بَعْدَ ذَٰلِكَ فَأُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ هُمُ ٱلْفَـٰسِقُونَ
Allāh has promised those who have believed among you and done righteous deeds that He will surely grant them succession [to authority] upon the earth just as He granted it to those before them and that He will surely establish for them [therein] their religion which He has preferred for them and that He will surely substitute for them, after their fear, security, [for] they worship Me, not associating anything with Me. But whoever disbelieves after that - then those are the defiantly disobedient.
لَّوْلَا جَآءُو عَلَيْهِ بِأَرْبَعَةِ شُهَدَآءَ ۚ فَإِذْ لَمْ يَأْتُوا۟ بِٱلشُّهَدَآءِ فَأُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ عِندَ ٱللَّهِ هُمُ ٱلْكَـٰذِبُونَ
Why did they [who slandered] not produce for it four witnesses? And when they do not produce the witnesses, then it is they, in the sight of Allāh, who are the liars.
۞ ٱللَّهُ نُورُ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ ۚ مَثَلُ نُورِهِۦ كَمِشْكَوٰةٍ فِيهَا مِصْبَاحٌ ۖ ٱلْمِصْبَاحُ فِى زُجَاجَةٍ ۖ ٱلزُّجَاجَةُ كَأَنَّهَا كَوْكَبٌ دُرِّىٌّ يُوقَدُ مِن شَجَرَةٍ مُّبَـٰرَكَةٍ زَيْتُونَةٍ لَّا شَرْقِيَّةٍ وَلَا غَرْبِيَّةٍ يَكَادُ زَيْتُهَا يُضِىٓءُ وَلَوْ لَمْ تَمْسَسْهُ نَارٌ ۚ نُّورٌ عَلَىٰ نُورٍ ۗ يَهْدِى ٱللَّهُ لِنُورِهِۦ مَن يَشَآءُ ۚ وَيَضْرِبُ ٱللَّهُ ٱلْأَمْثَـٰلَ لِلنَّاسِ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ بِكُلِّ شَىْءٍ عَلِيمٌ
Allāh is the Light of the heavens and the earth. The example of His light is like a niche within which is a lamp; the lamp is within glass, the glass as if it were a pearly [white] star lit from [the oil of] a blessed olive tree, neither of the east nor of the west, whose oil would almost glow even if untouched by fire. Light upon light. Allāh guides to His light whom He wills. And Allāh presents examples for the people, and Allāh is Knowing of all things.