Assalaamu alaykum. I have seen the fatwa on this site regarding the Noor of the moon translated as reflected light, but Allaah also calls himself the Noor of the heavens and earth. And as seen on https://islamqa.info/en/255524, the scholars of the past criticized differentiating between Dhiyaa’ and Noor and said that the light of moon is its own. So how do we understand the light of the moon? The non-Muslims criticize, saying that Noor is not reflected light, as Allaah is also described as Noor and we cannot say that Allaah is reflected light. And thus moon is described as a light on its own. How do we answer them?

All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.

First of all, it should be mentioned that the fact that the light of the moon is reflected – if this is proven – does not mean that the light of Allah, Almighty, is also reflected, because there is nothing like unto Him.

Our knowledge as humans is an acquired knowledge that is preceded by ignorance; does this mean that the Knowledge of Allah is also acquired and preceded by ignorance? The answer is no. Allah is High and Exalted.

Our life is preceded by non-existence, while the life of Allah is not so. Similarly, the fact that the light of the moon is acquired or reflected and is not made by the moon itself does not necessarily mean that the light of Allah Almighty is the same.

Secondly, Allah did not mention in His Book whether the light of the moon is reflected or not reflected so that a person may argue. However, Allah, The Most Exalted, informed us that He made the moon as Noor and made the sun as Dhiyaa’. The Quran was sent down in the language of the Arabs, so these two words should be understood according to the language of the Arabs. Perhaps the term Noor is used to refer to reflected light and the term Dhiyaa’ is used to refer to what is light in itself, but this is not the original meaning in the Arabic language.

The author of At-Tahreer wat-Tanweer said:

"Dhiyaa’: strong, shining light, because it glows (Yudhee’) to the seer. It is a noun derived from Dhaw’ which is the light that makes things clear, so Dhiyaa’ is stronger than Dhaw’.

Noor: beam; a noun derived from Naar (fire). It is more general than Dhiyaa’; it is used for a strong beam or a weak beam. So the Dhiyaa’ of the sun is Noor but the Noor of the moon is not Dhiyaa’. This is the original meaning in using these nouns. But in the Arabic language these words are frequently used interchangeably and it is difficult to set a standard usage in this regard.”

For more benefit, please refer to fatwa 131810.

Allah knows best.