An-Nur
An-Nur is the Light — the Light of the heavens and the earth, by whom what is hidden becomes clear.
Name 93 of 99
النُّورُ
An-Nur
The Light
- In Arabic
- النُّورُ
- Transliteration
- An-Nur
- Position in the list
- Name 93 of 99
An-Nur — The Light
What the name means
Nur is light. Scholars read the name on more than one level: Allah is light in Himself, He is the source of all light, and He is the one who gives guidance, which the Quran repeatedly calls light.
The verse that names Him goes straight into an image — a niche, a lamp, a glass like a brilliant star — because light is easier shown than defined.
Living by this name
Guidance in the Quran is consistently a movement out of darkness into light, always in the singular: one light, many darknesses.
Its response is to ask for light, as the Prophet ﷺ did — in the heart, the hearing, the sight, and every direction around him. See also Al-Hadi and Az-Zahir.
An-Nur in the Quran
The verse below contains this name. Each reference is checked against the Arabic text of the Quran before it is published, so An-Nur really is in the verse it is cited from.
۞ ٱللَّهُ نُورُ ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ ۚ مَثَلُ نُورِهِۦ كَمِشْكَوٰةٍۢ فِيهَا مِصْبَاحٌ ۖ ٱلْمِصْبَاحُ فِى زُجَاجَةٍ ۖ ٱلزُّجَاجَةُ كَأَنَّهَا كَوْكَبٌۭ دُرِّىٌّۭ يُوقَدُ مِن شَجَرَةٍۢ مُّبَٰرَكَةٍۢ زَيْتُونَةٍۢ لَّا شَرْقِيَّةٍۢ وَلَا غَرْبِيَّةٍۢ يَكَادُ زَيْتُهَا يُضِىٓءُ وَلَوْ لَمْ تَمْسَسْهُ نَارٌۭ ۚ نُّورٌ عَلَىٰ نُورٍۢ ۗ يَهْدِى ٱللَّهُ لِنُورِهِۦ مَن يَشَآءُ ۚ وَيَضْرِبُ ٱللَّهُ ٱلْأَمْثَٰلَ لِلنَّاسِ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ بِكُلِّ شَىْءٍ عَلِيمٌۭ
Allah 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. Allah guides to His light whom He wills. And Allah presents examples for the people, and Allah is Knowing of all things.
Surah An-Nur 24:35Read the full surah →
How reliable is the list of ninety-nine?
That Allah has ninety-nine names is established in Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim, and both are agreed upon. The specific enumeration — this list of ninety-nine — comes from a narration in Jami' at-Tirmidhi that at-Tirmidhi himself called gharib, and which many hadith scholars grade weak; several held that a narrator compiled the names by searching the Quran and Sunnah. Classical scholars including al-Khattabi, Ibn Hazm, al-Qurtubi and al-Ghazali compiled lists of their own that differ from it. None of this touches the names themselves, every one of which is established elsewhere; it means the count of exactly these ninety-nine is a scholarly arrangement rather than a revealed roster, and Allah's names are not limited to them.
Questions about An-Nur
An-Nur (النُّورُ) means "The Light". Like every one of the ninety-nine names, it describes an attribute of Allah rather than serving as a label — the names are how the Quran teaches who Allah is.
Yes. This page cites 1 verse containing An-Nur, each checked against the Arabic text before publishing.
Address Allah with "Ya" before the name — "Ya Nur" — and ask for what that attribute gives. The Quran instructs it directly: "To Allah belong the most beautiful names, so call upon Him by them" (7:180).
It is number 93 in the well-known list. The order comes from the narration of at-Tirmidhi and is a scholarly arrangement, so numbering can differ slightly between printed lists — the names themselves do not.