Light of Heavens

Theory of Light and its motion

Imam Jaʿfar al‑Ṣādiq’s (AS) teachings on light, vision, and the physical power of radiation form one of the most astonishing clusters of scientific insight in his legacy. When expressed clearly and placed beside modern optics, photonics, and laser physics, the parallels are extraordinary.


Optical magnification

The Imam taught that:

  • Light reflected from objects reaches the eye.
  • Only a portion of the rays actually enter the eye.
  • Because of this limited intake, distant objects appear unclear or small.
  • If a device could gather all the rays from a distant object and direct them into the eye, the object would appear much closer.


He gave a concrete example:


If all the rays coming from camels grazing at 3000 zirāʿ (about 10,000 feet) entered the eye,

they would appear as if they were only 60 zirāʿ away.



This is exactly how telescopes, binoculars, and lenses work:

  • They collect more light than the naked eye can.
  • They focus that light into the eye.
  • The result is magnification and the appearance of closeness.


The Imam described the principle of optical magnification centuries before the invention of the telescope (1608) or the microscope (1670s).


His Theory of Light as Motion

The Imam also said:

“Light is a kind of motion which is very fast.”


This aligns perfectly with modern physics:

  • Light is electromagnetic radiation.
  • It behaves as both a wave and a particle.
  • It travels at a constant speed of 3\times 10^8 m/s.
  • It is literally oscillatory motion of electric and magnetic fields.


This understanding did not emerge until the 19th century with Maxwell’s equations—over 1,000 years later.



Light Can Move Heavy Objects — A Foundation of Laser Physics

The Imam stated:


“A powerful beam of light can move heavy objects. The light which Moses saw at Mount Sinai was of that kind.

It could have moved the mountain if God had so desired.”


This is astonishingly close to what modern physics calls radiation pressure:

  • Light carries momentum.
  •  When light strikes an object, it exerts force.
  • Strong enough beams can push, move, or levitate objects.
  • Lasers today can move microscopic particles (optical tweezers) and even propel spacecraft (laser‑sail propulsion).
  • The Imam’s statement anticipates:
  • Photon momentum
  • Radiation pressure
  • Laser propulsion
  • Optical manipulation of matter


These ideas were not discovered until the 20th century.  Some modern examples:


  • NASA’s laser‑sail spacecraft concepts
  • Optical tweezers (Nobel Prize in Physics, 2018)
  • Laser ablation propulsion
  • Solar sails pushed by sunlight


The Imam’s description is not metaphorical—it is scientifically accurate.  In the 8th century:


  • Optics was primitive.
  • No one understood how vision worked.
  • Telescopes and microscopes did not exist.
  • The speed of light was unknown.
  • Radiation pressure was unimaginable.
  • Laser physics was more than a millennium away.


Yet the Imam described:

  • The principle of magnification
  • The nature of light as motion
  • The physical force of light
  • The ability of concentrated light to move objects
  • These insights align with:
  • Modern optics
  • Electromagnetic theory
  • Quantum physics
  • Laser technology


Within the Shia understanding, this is part of ʿilm ladunnī—knowledge granted directly by Allah (SWT).