The Lamp in the Niche: 'Abdu'l-Bahá on the Light of God

The Master, the listeners record, would draw out for inquirers the famous Quranic Verse of Light: *God is the light of the heavens and the earth. The likeness of His light is as a niche in which is a lamp; the lamp is in a glass; the glass is as it were a glittering star, kindled from a Blessed Tree, an olive neither of the East nor of the West, whose oil would shine even though no fire touched it. Light upon Light.*

1 / 9

The verse, He would explain, was an icon of the spiritual life. It must be unfolded slowly, and with each image considered in its place.

2 / 9

The light, He would say, is from God. It is the source. It is not the lamp; it is not the glass; it is not the niche; it is the radiance that those things only carry. The light, in itself, would shine whether or not there were lamps to receive it. *Light upon Light.*

3 / 9

The lamp is the human heart. The heart, like a lamp, is fashioned to hold the oil and to bear the wick of the burning. A lamp left empty bears no flame. A heart left unprepared bears no light. The believer’s task is to keep the lamp filled — by prayer, by remembrance, by service.

4 / 9

The glass is the surface that the light passes through to reach the world. It must be kept clear. A lamp surrounded by a smoked or cracked glass shines, but its shining is broken and dim. The glass is the believer’s outward life — the words, the actions, the courtesies. The glass must be cleaned, daily.

5 / 9

The niche is the place where the lamp is set: the household, the community, the work, the calling, in which the burning is to take place. A lamp without a niche burns as well, but the niche directs the light to where it is needed.

6 / 9

The Verse of Light, the Master would conclude, is not a metaphor only. It is a working description. The believer is to keep the heart full of God, the glass clear of self, and the niche set in the place where the light is most needed by the world. The light itself is given. The receiving and the shining are the believer’s work.

7 / 9

The friends who heard the explanation, several recorded, would go away and look at the lamps in their own houses with quieter eyes.

8 / 9

*Paraphrased from Stories Told by 'Abdu'l-Bahá (Bahá'í Publishing Trust, 2000); see original for full text.*

9 / 9