The following hymn is found in the Mandaean scriptures of Iraq.  It sounds 
somewhat like an ancient NDE or near-death experience. When crossing over, 
the soul meets "a discharge of Radiance."  This inner guide brought the 
ascending soul a garment made of Light, often a theme in Mandaean and other 
Syrian/Persian traditions (Books of Adam and Eve, Hymn of the Pearl in the 
Acts of Thomas). The soul was escorted by this heavenly guide to the Place 
of Light where God, called "the Great Life," resides. The soul is then 
embraced by the Light.
 

IN THE NAME OF THE GREAT LIGHT,
SUBLIME LIGHT BE PRAISED
 

The Song of Ascent

I fly and proceed thither,
until I reach the watch-house of the sun.
I cry:
"Who will guide me past the watch-house of Sãmïs?"
"Your reward, your works, your alms, and your goodness
will guide you past the watch-house of Sãmïs."
How greatly I rejoice,
how greatly my heart rejoices.
How much I look forward
to the day when my struggle is over,
to the day when my struggle is over
and my course is set towards the Place of Life.
I hasten and proceed thither,
until I reach the watch-house of the moon.
 

When I arrived at the water-brooks,
a discharge of Radiance met me.
It took me by the palm of my right hand
and brought me over the streams.
Radiance was brought and I was clothed in it,
light was brought and I was wrapped in it.
The Life supported the Life....
Son of the good ones,
show me the way to the uthras *
and the ascent upon which your father
rose up to the Place of Light.

* spirits, angels,

The house of the heart that remains without illumination from the rays of the Magnificent Sun is narrow and dark like a miser's soul, empty of the Loving King's sweet taste. The Sun's light does not shine in that heart, space does not expand, doors do not open: The grave would be more pleasant for you -- so come, arise from the tomb of your heart!
(The Sufi Path of Love: The Spiritual Teachings of Rumi, p. 37)

Wait for the illuminating openness, as though your chest were filling with light, as when God said, Did we not expand you? (Koran 94:1).(The Essential Rumi, p. 255)

The Image of the heart-expanding Moon entered my heart. Since there is neither road nor door, I wonder from whence He came... How happy is my firelike, iron heart as the locus of His Light! Does not a mirror rejoice when purity enters?... The attributes of human nature have been annihilated, the Attributes of God have come!... All pride has gone, all Glory has come!
(The Sufi Path of Love: The Spiritual Teachings of Rumi, pp. 264-265)

At the time of union, only God knows what that Moon is! For even during separation, what incredible joy and expansion of spirit!
(The Sufi Path of Love: The Spiritual Teachings of Rumi, p. 244)

Oh my moon, my bright candle! From the time I first saw Thy Face, wherever I sit I am joyful, wherever I go I dwell in the midst of roses. Wherever the King's Image may be, that is a garden and place of contemplation; whatever station I enter, I am wrapped in pleasure. Although the doors of this six-sided monastery are closed, the Moon-faced Beloved sticks His head in my window from No-place.
(The Sufi Path of Love: The Spiritual Teachings of Rumi, p. 298)

How could the rays of God's light fit into the heart? Yet when you search you will find it there, not from the point of view of containment such that it could be said that the light is in that place. You will find it through that place ...
(Signs of the Unseen: The Discourses of Jalaluddin Rumi, p. 173)

The window determines how much light enters the house, even if the moon's radiance fills the east and the west.
(The Sufi Path of Love: The Spiritual Teachings of Rumi, p. 10)

He is overflowing with God's light -- he has broken the cup of the body, he is Absolute Light.
(The Sufi Path of Love: The Spiritual Teachings of Rumi, p. 314)

... the reality of day is the inmost consciousness of the saints: Beside their noon, day is but a shadow.
(The Sufi Path of Love: The Spiritual Teachings of Rumi, p. 100)

When man receives light from God, he becomes the object of the angel's prostration, since he was chosen...
(The Sufi Path of Love: The Spiritual Teachings of Rumi, p. 193)

Do you know what shines into the heart's mirror? Only he who knows purity knows the Image displayed there.