✨🕎 The Menorah in the Torah and the Light Verse in the Qur’an: A Theological Connection

🌟 Introduction

Sacred symbols often embody profound theological truths that transcend ritual and enter the realm of spiritual metaphors. Among these symbols, the Menorah 🕎 of the Torah and the Light Verse 🌙📖 (Ayat al-Nūr, Qur’an 24:35) occupy a special place in Jewish and Islamic thought. Both reflect divine light 💡, guidance 🕊️, and the sustaining presence of God in the world. The Qur’anic commentators further deepen this connection by associating the “blessed olive tree 🌿🫒” with the Holy Land and Jerusalem 𓂆🕊️, tying the imagery to a sacred geography central to all Abrahamic traditions.

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🕎 The Menorah in the Torah

The Menorah, described in Exodus 25:31–40 and Exodus 27:20–21, was a golden seven-branched lampstand placed in the Tabernacle and later in the Temple. Its lamps were to burn continually, fueled by pure olive oil:

📖 “You shall command the children of Israel, that they bring to you pure oil of beaten olives for the light, to cause a lamp to burn continually.” (Exodus 27:20)

🌿 The use of olive oil was not incidental. It symbolized purity, divine blessing, and Israel’s covenant relationship with God. The Menorah thus became both a ritual object and a spiritual metaphor: God’s eternal light shining in the midst of His people.

This seven-branched lampstand 🕎 symbolized the eternal light 🔥 of God’s presence among the Israelites. It was to burn continually in the Tabernacle ⛺ and later in Solomon’s Temple 🏛️ (Exodus 27:20–21; 1 Kings 7:49).

✨ The Menorah became not only a ritual object but also a metaphor for divine wisdom 📜, Torah 📖, and Israel’s mission to be a light to the nations 🌍 (cf. Isaiah 42:6).

Rabbinic literature often linked the Menorah’s seven lamps to the seven days of creation 🌅, the seven heavens ☁️, or the sevenfold Spirit of God 🕊️ (cf. Zechariah 4:2–6), emphasizing completeness and illumination.

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🌙 The Qur’an’s Light Verse (Surah 24:35)

The Qur’an presents a parallel yet unique imagery in the celebrated Light Verse ✨:

“Allah is the Light 🌟 of the heavens and the earth. The parable of His Light is as if there were a niche 🪟, and within it a lamp 🪔, the lamp enclosed in glass 💎—the glass as if it were a brilliant star ⭐—lit from a blessed olive tree 🫒🌿, neither of the East nor of the West, whose oil would almost glow forth though no fire touched it 🔥. Light upon Light. Allah guides to His Light whom He wills.” (Qur’an 24:35).

This verse offers a multilayered parable:

• 🪟 The niche symbolizes the receptacle of divine guidance.

• 🪔 The lamp and 💎 glass represent the purity and brilliance of revelation.

• 🌿🫒 The olive tree signifies continuity, blessing, and universality.

• ✨ “Light upon Light” encapsulates the inexhaustible guidance of God.

Classical commentators (e.g., al-Tabari 📚, al-Ghazali 🕊️, Ibn Kathir 📖) interpret this verse as pointing to the illumination of the human heart ❤️ by divine revelation, with the lamp 🪔 symbolizing faith 🕌 and the Qur’an itself.

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🌿🫒 The Olive Tree and the Holy Land

A distinctive feature of the Qur’anic parable is the blessed olive tree 🌿. Many exegetes (e.g., Fakhr al-Din al-Razi 📚, al-Qurtubi 📖) explicitly identify this with the Holy Land 𓂆🕊️—especially Jerusalem.

The olive tree 🌳🫒, deeply rooted and long-living, became a metaphor for the endurance of revelation 🕊️, while Jerusalem 🕌 (al-Quds) was viewed as a sacred center 🌍✨ where divine light shone forth through successive prophets.

In this sense, the Qur’an situates its parable in continuity with the biblical landscape 📜, the same region that housed the Temple 🏛️ and the Menorah 🕎, now linked to the eternal light of guidance 💡 in Islam.

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🔥 Theological Parallels Between the Menorah and the Light Verse

1. 🌟 Source of Divine Guidance

• 🕎 The Menorah’s perpetual flame 🔥 symbolized the Shekhinah (Divine Presence) ✨.

• 🌙 The Light Verse identifies God Himself 🕊️ as the Light that sustains creation.

2. 🫒 Olive Oil as Medium

• 🕎 The Menorah was fueled by pure olive oil 🌿 (Exodus 27:20).

• 🌙 The Light Verse describes a lamp 🪔 lit by oil 🫒 from a blessed olive tree.

3. 🕌 Sacred Geography

• 🕎 The Menorah stood within the Tabernacle ⛺ and Temple 🏛️ in Jerusalem.

• 🌙 The Qur’anic olive tree 🌿 is tied to Jerusalem 🕌, reinforcing continuity.

4. 💡 Mission of Light

• ✡️ In Judaism, Israel is called to be a light to the nations 🌍 (Isaiah 42:6).

• ☪️ In Islam, the Qur’an 📖 is “light upon light ✨”, guiding humanity universally (Qur’an 5:15).

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🌟 Conclusion

The Menorah 🕎 of the Torah and the Light Verse 🌙📖 of the Qur’an converge on a shared theological vision: God is the source of true illumination 💡, and revelation is the lamp 🪔 that guides humanity through darkness 🌌.

Both traditions place this light in a sacred geography 🌍🕌—the land of the olive tree 🌿🫒, Jerusalem—underscoring the continuity of divine purpose ✨ across Abrahamic faiths.

By connecting the Menorah’s golden flame 🔥 with the Qur’an’s parable 🌙🪔, one perceives a profound truth:

👉 The divine light ✨ transcends time, sanctuary, and nation, shining forth to guide all who seek God 🕊️❤️.

— Azahari Hassim

Founder, The World of Abrahamic Theology