The Blazing Lamp (the Sun) سِرَاجًا وَهَّاجًا

Overview

Among the signs of creation that open Sūrah An-Naba, God names the sun “a blazing lamp” (سِرَاجًا وَهَّاجًا, 78:13). It is set in the same sweep of signs as the earth made a resting place (78:6) and the mountains as pegs (78:7) — everyday realities offered as evidence of deliberate design.

Etymology and meaning

The word سِرَاج (sirāj) means a lamp or lantern — a source that both lights and warms. Pairing it with وَهَّاج (wahhāj), “blazing” or “intensely radiant,” the phrase captures two gifts at once: the sun's light, by which the day is seen, and its heat, on which life depends.

Qur'anic references

• 78:13 — “and made [therein] a blazing lamp”
• 25:61 — “and placed therein a lamp and a luminous moon”
• 71:16 — “and made the moon therein a light and made the sun a lamp”
• 78:14 — “And We sent down, from the rain clouds, pouring water”

Significance

The lamp image is given as a sign (āya) inviting reflection. The sun's light and warmth are not decoration but provision: by the same passage's logic, its heat lifts water that returns as rain to bring forth grain and gardens (78:14). Across the Qur'an the sun governs the rhythm of night and day, so that one sign turns into another. The argument of the sūrah is that the One who hung this lamp and ordered its service can also raise the dead.

See also

• Signs of Creation
• Night and Day
• Earth as a Resting Place

References

1. The Qur'an, Sūrah An-Naba 78:13; cross-references 25:61, 71:16, 78:14.