46وَداعِيًا إِلَى اللَّهِ بِإِذنِهِ وَسِراجًا مُنيرًاAli UnalAnd as one who calls (all humankind and jinn) to God by His leave, and a light-diffusing lamp (enlightening minds and hearts, and showing the way to those who follow that light).1The Qur’ān describes the sun as a lamp and the moon as a shining object (reflecting light) placed in the heavens (on this description and its meaning, see 25: 61, note 15). This verse presents God’s Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings, through the simile of a light-diffusing (shining) lamp. This implies that the Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings, is a sun in the heaven of humankind and jinn, enlightening their worlds and through which they can find their way. The fact that the Qur’ān uses for the Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings, the word (lamp) used for the sun, as well as the phrase light-diffusing or shining which it uses for the moon, suggests that the Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings, has a very bright light; and although he has absorbed this light, it is, in fact, from God, Who is the Source of all lights. As is known, the moon derives its light from the sun. The Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings, is like the sun with respect to his radiance, and like the moon with respect to the source of his light.