مثنوی اور قرآنِ کریم میں نور کی علامتی معنویت: ایک اشراقی مطالعہ اور بلاغی تجزیہ

Symbolic Representations of Light in the Mathnawi and the Qur’an: An Illuminationist Reading and Rhetorical Analysis

Abstract

This paper examines the symbolism of light in Jalal al-Din Rumi’s Mathnawi and the Qur’an through the lens of Illuminationist (Ishrāqī) philosophy and classical rhetorical analysis. Light, as a central metaphysical and spiritual symbol in Islamic thought, functions simultaneously as an ontological principle and a rhetorical device. The study explores how Qur’anic imagery of light informs Rumi’s poetic symbolism and how both texts employ light to articulate divine presence, guidance, and epistemic awakening. Through a comparative analysis, the paper demonstrates that the Mathnawi reinterprets Qur’anic light symbolism within a poetic framework that emphasizes spiritual experience and inner illumination. Rhetorical techniques such as metaphor, allegory, and gradation are analyzed to show how light imagery shapes meaning and affects the reader’s spiritual perception. The study argues that illuminationist philosophy provides a coherent interpretive framework for understanding the shared metaphysical assumptions underlying both texts. By bridging philosophy, rhetoric, and mysticism, this research highlights the continuity between scriptural discourse and Persian Sufi poetry in articulating a unified vision of divine knowledge.