Most classical commentators other than Sufis took the statement "God is the light of the heavens and the earth" as a metaphor, and considered that God should not be literally equated with the natural phenomenon of light. Al-Tabari (839–923) in his Jami al-bayan says that the best interpretation is to substitute "guide" for "light", as "God is the guide of the heavens and the earth". Other interpretations make God the source of illumination rather than the light itself, as "God lights the heavens and the earth.[5] The Persian scholar Al-Zamakhshari (c. 1074 –1144) says that the phrase "God is the light" is like saying "Zayd is generous and munificent".