الاضاءة متل ضو الشمس.

Because in Arabic, the verb to be is usually not said in the present tense.

So:

• الاضاءة = the lighting
• متل ضو الشمس = like sunlight / like the sun’s light

Together, that naturally means The lighting is like sunlight.

This is very normal in both Levantine and Standard Arabic-style sentences.
If you wanted a past or future meaning, then a verb would usually appear, for example with كان or رح يكون.

Yes. متل is a very common Levantine word meaning like or similar to.

In this sentence:

• متل ضو الشمس = like the sun’s light / like sunlight

A learner should know that:

• متل is very common in Levantine speech
• it corresponds to more formal or Standard Arabic مثل
• it does not change for gender or number here

So whether the thing is masculine, feminine, singular, or plural, متل stays the same.

ضو الشمس is a construct phrase (called iḍāfa).

It literally means:

• ضو = light
• الشمس = the sun

So together:

• ضو الشمس = the light of the sun
• in natural English: sunlight

A key grammar point:

• the first noun in an iḍāfa usually does not take ال
• the second noun can be definite

That is why you get ضو الشمس, not الضو الشمس.

Because the two nouns are behaving differently.

الاضاءة

This is a normal standalone noun, so it can simply take ال:

• الاضاءة = the lighting

ضو الشمس

This is an iḍāfa phrase:

• ضو = light
• الشمس = the sun

In Arabic, the first word of an iḍāfa normally does not take ال.
The whole phrase becomes definite because the second word is definite.

So:

• ضو الشمس already means the sun’s light / sunlight
• adding ال to ضو here would be wrong

Because ش is one of the sun letters.

In Arabic, when ال comes before a sun letter, the l sound of the article is absorbed into the next consonant.

So although it is written:

• الشمس

it is pronounced more like:

• ish-shams
• or esh-shams, depending on dialect and speaker

So in natural Levantine pronunciation, ضو الشمس sounds roughly like:

• ḍaww ish-shams

not ḍaww al-shams.

ض is usually explained as an emphatic d.

For an English speaker, the easiest starting point is:

• say a d sound
• but make it heavier, darker, and more back in the mouth

So:

• ضو is roughly ḍaww
• الاضاءة / الإضاءة contains that same heavy ḍ

Also, in إضاءة, the final ء is a glottal stop—a small catch in the throat.
So the word is not just one smooth syllable at the end.

A rough learner-friendly pronunciation might be:

• il-iḍaa’a
• or in faster speech, something close to l-iḍaa’a

The more correct standard spelling is:

• الإضاءة

with the hamza written clearly.

But in everyday typing, especially online or in informal Arabic, people often simplify spelling and leave some hamzas out, so you may also see:

• الاضاءة

That does not usually change the meaning. It is often just a less careful or more casual spelling.

So for learning purposes:

• الإضاءة = standard spelling
• الاضاءة = common informal spelling you may see online

It is best described as a mix that sounds normal enough.

Why?

• متل is clearly Levantine colloquial
• ضو is also very colloquial and common in Levantine
• الإضاءة is more formal or technical-sounding

So the sentence mixes:

• a more formal noun: الإضاءة
• with colloquial Levantine structure/vocabulary: متل ضو الشمس

In very casual speech, many people might say something simpler like:

• الضو متل ضو الشمس

if they mean the light is like sunlight in an everyday way.

But الإضاءة works well if you mean lighting in the sense of room lighting, studio lighting, design, etc.

They are related, but not identical.

الإضاءة

Usually means:

• lighting
• illumination
• the way a place is lit

This can sound a bit more formal, technical, or descriptive.

ضو

Usually means:

• light
• a light source
• brightness / lamp light, depending on context

So in this sentence:

• الإضاءة is the thing being described
• ضو الشمس is the comparison

That is why the sentence feels like:

• The lighting is like sunlight

rather than just:

• The light is sunlight

Yes, but the feel changes.

• متل = more naturally Levantine colloquial
• مثل = more formal or more Standard-Arabic-like

So:

• الاضاءة متل ضو الشمس sounds colloquial Levantine
• الإضاءة مثل ضوء الشمس sounds more formal / closer to Standard Arabic

Both are understandable, but متل is the one that most strongly signals Levantine everyday speech.

A useful breakdown is:

• الاضاءة = the lighting
• متل = like
• ضو الشمس = the sun’s light / sunlight

So the structure is:

• [noun] + [like] + [comparison]

That is a very common Arabic pattern for making comparisons without using a separate word for is in the present tense.