Sunlight and moonlight

Sunlight and moonlight

“It is He who has made the Sun ZIA and the Moon NOOR” (Qur’an 10:5) ZIA and NOOR both mean “light”. But according to the Arabic Language, there are various differences between ZIA and NOOR, which are significant according to the context these words are used. One of the differences between ZIA and NOOR is that ZIA is a light that subsists by itself, while NOOR is a light that subsists by some other thing. Sun’s light is its own. That is why the word ZIA is used for the sunlight. Moon’s light is not its own; it is because that of the Sun, hence the word NOOR for the moonlight.