The blog will pick a word of the week, to share & explore the selected word. Here’s an expression for the word – Noor (light in Arabic).
Recently, the author has received interesting questions, specifically asking “why write a blog or write at all? What’s the value it brings to you or the purpose of your blog?” Here’s a humble response.
When was the last time we truly experienced Noor in our lives? I write because creative writing helps me connect with Noor. So, what is Noor?
Noor (نور) is the Arabic word for light. Philosophically, Noor represents much more than the light we can see. It can be found in true joy, compassion, peace, passion, hope, innocence & love. Our inner light helps reflect on life experiences to better understand our world & ourselves. Motivates to find meaning, healing, purpose & positivity even while living through uncertainty, stress or suffering. Noor is the truth our soul recognises in stillness, it is where our heart discovers its own light.
In Islam, Noor has a profound connection to the divine as a source of deeper guidance & light. Here, light evokes radiance & the illumination of the soul. Noor inspires to observe our thoughts, question our beliefs & believe that we are more than our fears or circumstances. Noor also represent a way of living – bringing kindness without seeking recognition, offering wisdom without arrogance, giving love without expectations. “When the world grows dark, seek not the sun, but the Noor within your own heart. The steps towards Noor is a curious journey closer to the essence of our being” – Sufism.
Perhaps, our modern world has become surrounded by so much artificial light. We live in a time when everything is lit, yet, many of us feel lost. Our cities glow through the night. Our phones never stop shining. Data is available at our fingertips, we can virtually reach people in seconds. Sometimes, we may have unprecedented information, yet it doesn’t necessarily produce wisdom. We may explain how things work, without really knowing why they matter. We may measure success without understanding fulfilment. We may communicate constantly while feeling profoundly disconnected.
Loneliness, sadness, emptiness & the search for meaning still remain deeply human experiences. This is the paradox of our time. Often, we can struggle to illuminate what is truly within us. Perhaps, the world is losing its relationship with light. Noor helps us question what is meaningful with silence, self-compassion, humility & time.
Noor asks – who are we when we remove everything we use to define ourself? It beautifully represents the possibility that human worth is not created solely by material achievement. It can be discovered through an honest & simple relationship with existence. Noor begins with a simple act – learning to trust & see clearly, without allowing fear, ego, belief or desire determine everything we see. The challenge is to preserve what is valuable in modern life without allowing its dominant incentives to define the meaning of being human.
The question Noor leaves us with is therefore not merely, where has the light gone? It is – what must evolve in us before we can recognise the light that was ours to seek, to reflect & live by? So, creative writing offers me the space, silence, stillness & solitude to momentarily connect with Noor.
