Color of Allah (2:138)

 

بِسۡمِ اللّٰہِ الرَّحۡمٰنِ الرَّحِیۡمِ

Allah Most High says:

صِبۡغَۃَ اللّٰہِ ۚ وَمَنۡ اَحۡسَنُ مِنَ اللّٰہِ صِبۡغَۃً ۫ وَّنَحۡنُ لَہٗ عٰبِدُوۡنَ

The Dye of Allah! And what dye is better than that from Allah? And we are for Him worshippers

(Surah 2:138)

This blessed Ayah has several layers of meaning and significance. The commentators are generally agreed that it is referring to Religion of Allah, meaning Islam. However, the following narration from sayyidina Ibn Abbas رضى الله عنهما may indicate a theological significance for the term Sibghat Allâh

حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو بَكْرِ بْنُ الْقَاسِمِ بْنِ عَطِيَّةَ ثنا أَحْمَدُ بْنُ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ الدَّشْتَكِيُّ ثنا أَبِي عَنْ أَبِيهِ ثنا أَشْعَثُ عَنْ جَعْفَرِ بْنِ أَبِي الْمُغِيرَةِ عَنْ سَعِيدِ بْنِ جُبَيْرٍ عَنِ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ

أَنَّ بَنِيَ إِسْرَائِيلَ قَالُوا يَا مُوسَى هَلْ يَصْبُغُ رَبُّكَ قَالَ اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ فَنَادَاهُ رَبُّهُ يَا مُوسَى سَأَلُوكَ هَلْ يَصْبُغُ رَبُّكَ فَقُلْ نَعَمْ أَصْبَغُ الأَلْوَانَ الأَحْمَرَ وَالأَبْيَضَ وَالأَسْوَدَ وَالأَلْوَانُ كُلُّهَا فِي صِبْغَتِي فَأَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ عَلَى نَبِيِّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ ‌صِبْغَةَ ‌اللَّهِ ومن أحسن من الله صبغة و نحن لَهُ عَابِدُونَ

Sa’id bin Jubair from Ibn Abbas that the children of Israel said “O Moses, does your Lord dye?” He [Moses] said “fear Allah!” So his Lord called out to him [saying] “O Moses, do they ask you ‘does your Lord dye?’” So he [Moses] said “yes”. [Allah said] “I dye with the colors red, white and black; all the colors are in My Dye” so Allah sent down upon His Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah upon him, “The Dye of Allah, and is there more beautiful a dye than that from Allah? And we are His worshippers” (2:138)

(Tafsir Ibn Abi Hatim; p.245)

The narration is a proof for the excellence of the combination of three colors; red, white and black. Incidentally, a Jewish midrash (Numbers Rabbah) states that the tribal banner of the Levites, the tribe to which Prophet Moses عليه السلام belonged, was red, white and black. It may also be said that this blessed Ayah (2:138) and the narration of Ibn Abbas رضى الله عنهما explaining it is are an indication that the Person of Allah possesses the attribute of color “Every color is in My Dye”, and that the color of Allah is better and more beautiful than any other color conceivable, for it contains all colors.

Warning About False Prophets

 

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

والصلاة والسلام على خاتم النبيين

Allah سبحانه وتعالى says:

وَمَنۡ اَظۡلَمُ مِمَّنِ افۡتَرٰی عَلَی اللّٰہِ کَذِبًا اَوۡ قَالَ اُوۡحِیَ اِلَیَّ وَلَمۡ یُوۡحَ اِلَیۡہِ شَیۡءٌ

And who is more unjust than he who forges a lie against Allah, or says, ‘It has been revealed to me,’ while nothing has been revealed to him

(Surah 6:93)

The Mufassirîn are generally agreed that this portion of the Ayah was revealed concerning the pretender and false prophet Musailimah bin Habib لعنة الله عليه but it applies to all such liars who specifically claim that Allah has sent down revelation upon them when in fact Allah hasn’t revealed anything to them. Note that the Ayah does not state that any claimant of wahî is ipso facto a liar only that whoever fabricates this specific claim is among the most unjust. As I have explained extensively throughout this blog there indeed exists the possibility and actuality of Saints and Believers of this Ummah receiving divine revelation from Allah. The most holy Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم said as a corollary to this Ayah:

وَلاَ تَقُومُ السَّاعَةُ حَتَّى يُبْعَثَ دَجَّالُونَ كَذَّابُونَ قَرِيبًا مِنْ ثَلاَثِينَ كُلُّهُمْ يَزْعُمُ أَنَّهُ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ

The Hour will not be established until there arise nearly thirty antichrists and liars, each of them claiming that he is the Messenger of God

(agreed upon Hadith)

The prophecy of the appearance of nearly thirty pretenders from this Ummah claiming to be Prophets and Messengers of God is highly significant. As per my research this prophecy is established from mutawâtir [narrations that are mass-transmitted at every level of transmission] and therefore there can be no doubt regarding it. Beginning with the infamous pretenders Musailimah and al-Aswad al-Ansi who arose during the very lifetime of the Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم, (both having initially feigned the Faith of Islam and testifying to the Prophesy of Muhammad) there have risen countless counterfeit prophets in this Ummah, although most have been of no consequence save for nearly thirty who may truly be described as dajjâlûn (great deceivers or antichrists). The last and most dangerous of these is the one-eyed Dajjal whose appearance in the End of Days is a Sign of the impending Apocalypse. Some of the other notorious antichrists and false prophets that have arisen from this Ummah are al-Mukhtar bin Abi Ubaid al-Thaqafi, al-Harith bin Sa’id al-Dimashqi, Salih bin Tarif, Ishaq al-Akhras, Hamim bin Min Allah al-Ghumari, Mirza Husayn-Ali Nuri the so-called “Bahaullah” and Dr. Rashad Khalifa to name a few.

To be continued