The Duality of Light - al-Karkari Institute

Shaykh Mohamed Faouzi al-Karkari is a Moroccan Sufi shaykh and living founder of the Karkariya Tariqa, a newly formed branch of the prominent Shadhili order; whose mother zawiya is located in Al Aaroui, Morocco.

Light (al-nūr) is the source of all that exists, the wellspring from which everything flows. It is not the created world that gives rise to light, but rather, the created world bears the imprint, the trace (athar), of this primordial light. The first luminous trace of this divine radiance was the light of the Prophet ﷺ, as revealed in the sacred ḥadīth qudsī: "I grasped a handful of My light, and said: Be Muḥammad," [1] and again: "The first thing Allāh created was the light of your Prophet, O Jābir." [2]

The concept of light (nūr) invites both wonder and bewilderment. We encounter ḥadīths that seem to speak of two distinct lights: the light of the Prophet ﷺ as the first creation, and the light of the Divine witnessed by the Prophet ﷺ himself. This apparent paradox unveils a profound truth: there are indeed two lights—the Light of the Creator and the light of the created, which is the light of the Prophet ﷺ.

When one speaks of witnessing the light (nūr) of the Chosen One ﷺ, it is to speak of the highest exemplification of Allāh’s light. This light, the pinnacle of similitudes, takes the example of the niche, the lamp, the crystal, and the radiant star. As for the Light of the Almighty, it transcends all comparison, delimitations, and description. It is the boundless, absolute light of the Creator, the source of all illumination and being.

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