The meaning of this verse is “Allah the Exalted is the guide of the people of the skies and the people of the earth to the light of belief.”[1] Al-Bayhaqiyy related that from ^Abdullah Ibn ^Abbas, may Allah Accept his and his father’s deeds. So Allah the Exalted is not a light with the meaning of an illumination; rather, He is the One who Created the light. Allah said:

﴿وَجَعَلَ الظُّلُمَاتِ وَالنَّورَ﴾

[which means] “And He Made the darkness and the light.” This means that He Created the darkness and the light, so how would it be that He would be a light like His creation? Allah is Exalted from that with a great Exaltation.

The judgment of whoever believes that Allah is a light, meaning an illumination, is that he is definitely charged with blasphemy. The verse:

﴿الْحَمْدُ للهِ الَّذِي خَلَقَ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ وَجَعَلَ الظُّلُمَاتِ وَالنُّورَ﴾

[which means] “Praise is due to Allah, the One who Created the Heavens and the Earth and Made the darkness and the light,” is the most explicit evidence that Allah is not a tangible entity like the skies and the earth or an intangible entity like darkness and light.[2]

So whoever believes that Allah is a volume that is tangible or intangible has likened Allah to His creation, and the verse is a witness for that. Most of the people who liken Allah to the creation believe that Allah is a tangible body, and some of them believe that He is an intangible body; they said, “He is a shining light.” This verse alone is sufficient to refute both groups.

There are many blasphemous convictions, like the conviction that Allah is someone with a color or a shape. So let the person be aware of that with his utmost effort in every situation.

[1] The verse translates literally as: “Allah is the light of the heavens and earth.”

[2] Because it explicitly mentions both types of bodies and that He is their Creator, therefore He would not be of either type.