Makna Semiotik Cahaya Ilahi dalam QS. An-Nur Ayat 35: Analisis Komparatif atas Tafsir Klasik dan Kontemporer
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.22373/substantia.v27i2.32014Keywords:
Analisis Semiotik, Cahaya Ilahi, Tafsir Al-Qur’an, QS. An-Nūr: 35Abstract
The symbol of divine light (nūr ilāhī) in Surah An-Nūr verse 35 contains one of the deepest metaphors in the Qur’an. It describes the human spiritual process of receiving divine guidance and awareness. This study explores how classical and contemporary exegetes interpret the symbol of light and how semiotic analysis reveals its multiple layers of meaning. The research uses a library-based qualitative approach that combines classical tafsir such as Mafātīḥ al-Ghayb, Al-Jāmiʿ li Aḥkām al-Qurʾān, and Mishkāt al-Anwār with modern interpretations by Sayyid Quṭb, Muhammad Asad, and Seyyed Hossein Nasr. The semiotic theories of Roland Barthes and Charles S. Peirce are applied to analyze how elements such as mishkāt, miṣbāḥ, zujājah, and syajarah mubārakah form a symbolic structure that represents the journey of the human soul from potential faith to full spiritual awareness. The findings show that the symbol of light is not only theological in nature but also serves as an ontological and psychological guide for modern humans who seek meaning in their spiritual life. This study contributes to Qur’anic interpretation by offering an integrative framework that connects classical exegesis, linguistic study, and modern spiritual context.
Abstrak: Simbol cahaya ilahi (nūr ilāhī) dalam Surah An-Nūr ayat 35 mengandung salah satu metafora paling mendalam dalam Al-Qur’an. Ayat ini menggambarkan proses spiritual manusia dalam menerima petunjuk dan kesadaran ilahi. Penelitian ini menelaah bagaimana para mufasir klasik dan kontemporer menafsirkan simbol cahaya serta bagaimana analisis semiotik dapat mengungkap lapisan maknanya. Penelitian dilakukan melalui studi kepustakaan dengan pendekatan kualitatif yang menggabungkan tafsir klasik seperti Mafātīḥ al-Ghayb, Al-Jāmiʿ li Aḥkām al-Qurʾān, dan Mishkāt al-Anwār dengan tafsir modern karya Sayyid Quṭb, Muhammad Asad, dan Seyyed Hossein Nasr. Teori semiotika Roland Barthes dan Charles S. Peirce digunakan untuk menganalisis bagaimana unsur seperti mishkāt, miṣbāḥ, zujājah, dan syajarah mubārakah membentuk struktur simbolik yang menggambarkan perjalanan ruhani manusia dari potensi iman menuju pencerahan spiritual yang utuh. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa simbol cahaya tidak hanya memiliki makna teologis tetapi juga berfungsi sebagai panduan ontologis dan psikologis bagi manusia modern dalam mencari makna kehidupan spiritual. Kajian ini memberikan kontribusi bagi pengembangan tafsir Al-Qur’an dengan menawarkan kerangka yang menghubungkan penafsiran klasik, analisis kebahasaan, dan konteks spiritual masa kini.
References
’Abd al-Baqi, Muhammad Fuad;, Al-Mu`jam al-mufahras li alfaz al-Qur’an al-Karim (Dār al-Kutub al-Miṣriyyah, 1970), Beirut
Abu Zayd, Nasr Hamid, Mafhūm An-Naṣṣ (al-Markaz al-Tsaqāfī al-‘Arabī, 1990)
Ahmad, Nur, ‘Reading Metaphor of God in the Qur’an (al-Nūr [24]: 36) from Paul Ricoeur’s Theory of Metaphor’, Ulumuna, 21.2 (2017), pp. 211–27, doi:10.20414/ujis.v21i2.279
Al-Qurṭubī, Al-Jāmi‘ Li Aḥkām al-Qur’Ān (Dār al-Fikr, 2003), Juz 12
Al-Razi, Fakhruddin, Tafsīr Al-Kabīr, 1st edn (Beirut: Dār al-Fikr, 1976), XXIII
Bagir, Haidar, Islam Tuhan, Islam Manusia: Agama Dan Spiritualitas Di Zaman Kacau, Cetakan I (Mizan, 2017)
Barthes, Roland, and Roland Barthes, Elements of Semiology, 34. [print] (Hill and Wang, 1977)
Bershadska, Iryna, with O. Yarosh, ‘INTERPRETATION OF THE QURANIC NUR’, unpublished paper delivered at DÉBATS SCIENTIFIQUES ET ORIENTATIONS PROSPECTIVES DU DÉVELOPPEMENT SCIENTIFIQUE (5 February 2021), DÉBATS SCIENTIFIQUES ET ORIENTATIONS PROSPECTIVES DU DÉVELOPPEMENT SCIENTIFIQUE VOLUME4, doi:10.36074/logos-05.02.2021.v4.20
Eliade, Mircea, and Mircea Eliade, The Sacred and the Profane: The Nature of Religion ; [the Groundbreaking Work by One of the Greatest Authorities on Myth, Symbol, and Ritual], trans. by Willard R. Trask, A Harvest Book (Harcourt, Brace, 1987)
Fadhilah, Nur, ‘Variasi Makna Nūr Dalam Al-Qur’an(Trichotomy Relations Charles Sanders Peirce)’, Al-Qolamuna: Journal Komunikasi Dan Penyiaran Islam, 1.4 (2024), pp. 248–61, doi:10.71242/jc1d4852
Ghazālī, Abū Ḥāmid al-, Mishkāt Al-Anwār (Dār al-Kitāb al-‘Arabī, 1986)
Harfi, Muhammad, ‘Konsep Cahaya Allah Dalam Q.S. An-Nur 24:35 (Analisis Semiotika Roland Barthes)’, At-Ta’wil: Jurnal Pengkajian al-Qur’an Dan at-Turats, 2.02 (2024), pp. 76–85, doi:10.62490/tawil.v2i02.1021
Haryanti, Masruroh, Muh Nurrohim Maksum, and Dartim, ‘An Ontological Analysis of Rububiyah Educational Values in the Qur’an Surah An-Nur Verse 35’, 28 September 2023, pp. 260–70, doi:10.2991/978-2-38476-102-9_24
Humaidi, Humaidi, and Yusuf Rahman, ‘Light in The Qur’an: Ibn Sina’s Psycho-Philosophical Interpretation on The Surah Al-Nūr [24:35]’, Afkaruna: Indonesian Interdisciplinary Journal of Islamic Studies, 19.1 (2023), pp. 1–18, art. 1, doi:10.18196/afkaruna.v19i1.16381
Kementerian Agama RI. ‘Qur’an Kemenag’, n.d. <https://quran.kemenag.go.id/quran/per-ayat/surah/24?from=35&to=40> [accessed 21 September 2025]
Manẓūr, Ibn, Lisān Al-‘Arab (Dār Ṣādir, 1994)
Muhammad Asad (Leopold Weiss), The Message of the Qur’ān (Gibraltar: Dar al-Andalus Limited, 1980) <http://archive.org/details/message-asad> [accessed 14 August 2025]
Muzaki, Bagus Ahmad, Abdul Natsir, and Iskandar Zulkarnain, ‘Makna Estetika Qs. An-Nur [24]:35 (Analisis Tematik Terhadap Penafsiran Ibnu Katsir Dalam Kitab Tafsirnya Al-Qur’an Al ‘Adhim)’, Hamalatul Qur’an : Jurnal Ilmu Ilmu Alqur’an, 6.1 (2025), pp. 75–87, art. 1, doi:10.37985/hq.v6i1.495
Naṣr, Ḥusain, Knowledge and the Sacred, The Gifford Lectures, 1981 (State University of New York Press, 1989)
Nasr, Seyyed Hossein (ed.), The Study Quran: A New Translation and Commentary, First edition (HarperOne, an imprint of Collins Publishers, 2015)
Peirce, Charles Sanders, Collected Papers of Charles Sanders Peirce (Harvard University Press, 1934)
Quraish Shihab, M, Tafsir Al-Mishbah (Lentera Hati, 2002)
Quṭb, Sayyid, Fī Ẓilāl Al-Qur’ān (Dār al-Shurūq, 2001), Juz 5
Rahman, Fazlur, Islam, Second edition (University of Chicago Press, 2020)
Rāzī, Fakhruddin al-, Mafātīḥ Al-Ghayb (Dār al-Fikr, n.d.), Juz 23
Sayyid Quṭb, Fī Ẓilāl Al-Qur’ān (Dār al-Shurūq, 2001), Juz 5
Schuon, Frithjof, Light on the Ancient Worlds, trans. by Lord Northbourne (Bloomington, IN: World Wisdom, 2006)
Shihab, M. Quraish, and Muhammad Quraish Shihab, Tafsir Al-Mishbah : pesan, kesan dan keserasian Al-Qur’an, Tafsîr Al-Mishbâẖ : Pesan, Kesan, dan Keserasian al-Qurʾan / M. Quraish Shihab, 9, Cetakan V (Lentera Haiti, 2012)
Suhemi, Emi, ‘Semiotics in Qur’anic Interpretation: The Application of Semiotic Theory in the Tafsir of Jalalain, Ibn Kathir, and Al-Tabari on QS. An-Nur Verse 35’, El-Sunan: Journal of Hadith and Religious Studies, 2.1 (2024), pp. 93–108, doi:10.22373/el-sunan.v2i1.5695
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2017 Mariyatul Kibtiyah, Maulana Bagus Rahmat, Yusuf Baihaqi, Siti Badi'ah, Sabanul Yamin

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish in this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal the right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY-NC 4.0) that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).


