THE Surah Al- Noor( The Light) has 64 verses. On a subject wise basis the Surah can be divided into nine distinct segments. Since some verses connect to an incident involving Ummul Momineen Hazrat Ayesha Siddiqa (RA), it is considered to be a Surah chronologically revealed at Medina, between 5- 6 AH. The Surah establishes with firmness and certainty what spiritual standards ought to be and how these can be violated by indiscriminate and unregulated behaviour. The Surah is significant for it provides guidelines for individual morals and for purity of society. While the Surah is mystical, it provides some key teachings. The Holy Quran invites readers to contemplate upon the mysteries of Allah’s Creation. The idea is to make available to the reader knowledge and consciousness.

Each time when I read/ recite this Surah I am filled with awe. The inability to grasp its full and real meaning consumes from within. The real meaning for an uninitiated person like this scribe remains obscured. The Surah to the reciter gives an unexplainable spirituality. 1.Verses 1- 10 relate to moral lapses , punishments for it, consequences, Oaths and solemnity and impact of wrongful Oath.” The woman and the man guilty of adultery or fornication—- flog each of them with a hundred stripes: let no compassion move you in their case, in a matter prescribed by Allah, if you believe in Allah and the Last Day: and let a party of the Believers witness their punishment “( 24: 2).

Spirituality is lost through moral lapses . The punishment is to be carried publicly, not with fanfare , but with regret, so that it acts as a deterrent to others in the society. Islam is a religion of purity. Moral transgressions render impurity to a man’s belief and character. For those who slander where they cannot provides four witnesses to corroborate and press their charges of immodesty are prescribed the strictest of punishment “for”…………Flog them with eighty stripes and reject their evidence even after : for such men are wicked transgressors “( 4: 24).

Verses 6- 9 relates to the laws........

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