Tafseer of The Cow · Al-Baqara · 2:138
[And say, "Ours is] the religion of Allah. And who is better than Allah in [ordaining] religion? And we are worshippers of Him."
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
The explanation of the words of the Exalted: صِبْغَةَ اللَّهِ وَمَنْ أَحْسَنُ مِنَ اللَّهِ صِبْغَةً وَنَحْنُ لَهُ عَابِدُونَ (138)
(The baptismal coloring of Allah (ṣibghah), and who is better than Allah in coloring? And we are worshippers of Him) (138)
Abū Jaʿfar said: The Exalted — exalted is His remembrance — means by "the coloring" (al-ṣibghah): the coloring of Islam. That is because the Christians, when they wish to make their children Christian, immerse them in water that they possess, in the conviction that this is a sanctification for them — comparable to the washing after major ritual impurity (ghusl al-janāba) among the people of Islam — and that this is a baptismal coloring for them in Christianity.
Thus Allah — exalted is His remembrance — said, when they said to His Prophet Muḥammad ﷺ and his companions who believed in him: "Become Jews or Christians, then you will be rightly guided": Say to them, O Muḥammad: O Jews and Christians, rather follow the creed (millah) of Ibrāhīm, the coloring of Allah, which is the most beautiful of colorings, for it is the pure, God-surrendered (ḥanīfiyya muslima) doctrine; and abandon the ascribing of partners to Allah (shirk) and the straying from the straight path of His guidance.
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Whoever reads "al-ṣibghah" in the accusative places it in the accusative as a connection (radd) to "al-millah" (the creed). And likewise whoever reads "al-millah" in the nominative also places "al-ṣibghah" in the nominative, as a connection to it.
It is also permissible to place it in the nominative in a manner other than this, namely as the beginning of a new sentence (ibtidāʾ), in the meaning: "It is the coloring of Allah."
And it is also permissible to place it in the accusative in a manner other than as a connection to "al-millah," but rather connecting to His word: قُولُوا آمَنَّا بِاللَّهِ (Say: we believe in Allah) up to His word وَنَحْنُ لَهُ مُسْلِمُونَ (and we are submitted to Him), "the coloring of Allah" — in the meaning: "We believe this belief." Faith (īmān) is then the coloring of Allah.
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And in accordance with what we have said concerning the explanation of "al-ṣibghah" a group of the exegetes have spoken.
Mention of who said that:
2113 — Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His word: "the coloring of Allah, and who is better than Allah in coloring" — Verily, the Jews color their children Jewish, and the Christians color their children Christian, but the coloring of Allah is Islam. There is no coloring more beautiful than Islam, nor purer; it is the religion of Allah, with which He sent Nūḥ and the prophets after him.
2114 — Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: Al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, that ʿAṭāʾ said: "the coloring of Allah" — the Jews colored their children and acted in contradiction to the original natural disposition (fiṭra).
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The exegetes differ concerning the explanation of His word: "the coloring of Allah." Some said: it is the religion of Allah.
Mention of who said that:
2115 — Al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, saying: Maʿmar informed us, on the authority of Qatāda: "the coloring of Allah," he said: the religion of Allah.
2116 — Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Wakīʿ related to us, on the authority of Abū Jaʿfar, on the authority of al-Rabīʿ, on the authority of Abū al-ʿĀliya, concerning His word: "the coloring of Allah," he said: the religion of Allah; "and who is better than Allah in coloring," and who is better than Allah in religion.
2117 — Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Isḥāq related to us, saying: Ibn Abī Jaʿfar related to us, on the authority of his father, on the authority of al-Rabīʿ, the same.
2118 — Aḥmad ibn Isḥāq al-Ahwāzī related to us, saying: Abū Aḥmad al-Zubayrī related to us, saying: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of a man, on the authority of Mujāhid, the same.
2119 — Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Abū Nuʿaym related to us, saying: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of Mujāhid, the same.
2120 — Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Abū Ḥudhayfa related to us, saying: Shibl related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, the same.
2121 — Aḥmad ibn Isḥāq related to us, saying: Abū Aḥmad related to us, saying: Fuḍayl ibn Marzūq related to us, on the authority of ʿAṭiyya, concerning His word: "the coloring of Allah," he said: the religion of Allah.
2122 — Mūsā ibn Hārūn related to us, saying: ʿAmr ibn Ḥammād related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī: "the coloring of Allah, and who is better than Allah in coloring," he says: the religion of Allah, and who is better than Allah in religion.
2123 — Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to me, saying: my father related to me, saying: my uncle related to me, saying: my father related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: "the coloring of Allah," he said: the religion of Allah.
2124 — Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said concerning the word of Allah: "the coloring of Allah," he said: the religion of Allah.
2125 — Ibn al-Barqī related to me, saying: ʿAmr ibn Abī Salama related to us, saying: I asked Ibn Zayd about the word of Allah: "the coloring of Allah," and he mentioned the same.
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And others said: "the coloring of Allah" is the original natural disposition of Allah (fiṭrat Allāh).
Mention of who said that:
2126 — Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning the word of Allah: "the coloring of Allah," he said: the original natural disposition of Allah upon which He created the people.
2127 — Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Isḥāq related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Ḥarb related to us, saying: Ibn Lahīʿa related to us, on the authority of Jaʿfar ibn Rabīʿa, on the authority of Mujāhid: "and who is better than Allah in coloring," he said: the coloring is the original natural disposition (fiṭra).
2128 — Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: Al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to us, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, on the authority of Mujāhid, he said: "the coloring of Allah" is Islam, the original natural disposition of Allah upon which He created the people. Ibn Jurayj said: ʿAbd Allāh ibn Kathīr said to me: "the coloring of Allah," he said: the religion of Allah, and who is better than Allah in religion. He said: it is the original natural disposition of Allah.
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And whoever holds this view and takes "the coloring" to refer to the original natural disposition (fiṭra), his meaning is: Rather we follow the original natural disposition of Allah and His creed upon which He created His creatures, and that is the straight religion. This is derived from the word of the Exalted — exalted is His remembrance: فَاطِرِ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالأَرْضِ [Surah Al-Anʿām: 14] (the Originator (fāṭir) of the heavens and the earth), in the meaning of: the creator of the heavens and the earth.
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The explanation of the words of the Exalted: وَنَحْنُ لَهُ عَابِدُونَ (138)
(And we are worshippers of Him) (138)
Abū Jaʿfar said: His word — exalted is His remembrance: "and we are worshippers of Him" is a command from Allah — exalted is His remembrance — to His Prophet ﷺ, that he should say it to the Jews and Christians who said to him and to his companions who followed him: "Become Jews or Christians." Thus He said to His Prophet Muḥammad ﷺ: Say: Rather we follow the creed of Ibrāhīm, the pure of faith (ḥanīf), the coloring of Allah, and we are worshippers of Him. He means: the creed of those who submit to Allah and humbly turn to Him, in our following of the creed of Ibrāhīm and our submission to Him thereby, without being arrogant in following His command and acknowledging the messengership of His messengers — just as the Jews and Christians were arrogant and therefore rejected Muḥammad ﷺ out of arrogance, hostility, and envy.
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Footnotes:
(33) See Maʿānī al-Qurʾān 1:82–83.
(34) See Maʿānī al-Qurʾān 1:82–83.
(35) See Majāz al-Qurʾān of Abū ʿUbayda: 59.
(36) See Majāz al-Qurʾān of Abū ʿUbayda: 59.
