Festivals of Light - Islam

Mosque lamp of Sultan Hasan, about 1360. Museum no. 323-1900. At this period, mosque lamps from the Middle East were made from metal or glass. The enamel decoration on this lamp was created by mixing ground glass with oil, painting the paste on the lamp, and then heating it in a flame until the interlacing patterns fused and adhered to the surface. When the lamp was lit, the effect would have been similar to stained glass. Today mosque lamps are often electric although their references remain the same.

'God is the Light of the heavens and earth. His Light is like this: there is a niche, and in it a lamp, the lamp inside a glass, a glass like a glittering star, fuelled from a blessed olive tree from neither east nor west, whose oil almost gives light even when no fire touches it  - light upon light - God guides whoever He will to his Light; God draws such comparisons for people; God has full knowledge of everything - shining out in houses of worship. God has ordained that they be raised high and that His name be remembered in them, with men in them celebrating His glory morning and evening.'
Qur'an 24: 35-6, translation by M.A.S. Abdul Haleem

In Islam, as in Judaism, God is never depicted. Nor is it possible to describe Him through references to the physical world. God can, though, be understood through reference to light. This practice is sanctioned by the Qur'an, which Muslims believe to be the actual word of God sent down to the Prophet Muhammad.

In the verses quoted above, the Qur'an provides a striking parable of God as Light. Parts of these verses are frequently inscribed on mosque lamps. In this example, the inscription includes the first line of the above verse from the Qur'an and a dedication to an un-named ruler.