A138
Surah: 002 - Ayah: 138
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2:138
The holy Quran says that He colours the mumins with his colour of luminous attributes (2:138). We can understand this reality also with the example of the fire and iron. And we can consider these two verses as explanation of each other: that is to say that those who are in the fire of Mount Sinai are coloured with the colour of the Devine attributes, and those who are coloured with the colour of God are full of blessings as those in the blessed fire. For in one of the verses is mentioned the blessing (barkat) and it the other the colour.
The Spiritual Colour:
There is no doubt that in one respect the exquisite and colourful beauty of the external world also belongs to God, but in another, His special and distinctive colour (which is the colour of the light of guidance, islam (submission) and imam (faith)), is hidden in the soul and the spiritual world, as God says: “it is the colour of Allah and who is better than Allah at colouring, and we worship Him (alone)” (2:138). That is, tell the Christians that recognition and salvation cannot be attained by baptism, but only by being tinted in the colour of faith, spirit and spirituality. This is the colour of God and who can better than God in granting this colour.
Spiritual colour is mentioned in the Wise Quran mostly in those verses which are related to the subjects of light, Resurrection and Paradise. It is also mentioned in those verses in which is mentioned any kind of colour. For instance, in verse (2:69) about the ox of the children of Israel, it is said: :Verily, it is a yellow ox, its colour is bright yellow, delighting the beholders”. By this, in tawil, is meant the spiritual colour which a mumin sees in his heart through the True Guide. This delight is from the first observation of spiritual colour and also by the opening of the eye of the heart for the first time. Otherwise, how can one attain so much happiness and delight by merely seeing a physical ox of yellow colour, which God has Himself mentioned with so much importance?
Qaba (Flame of light)
If one of the names of light is sibghatu'llah (colour of Allah, 2:138), what is this colour like? It is an extremely pleasant, faith-illumining, soul-nourishing, amazing and miraculous in comparison to the most superb and attractive colours of this world. In such a case, how is it possible not to have ardent love and affection for it!
The chosen servants of God, through the help of the light of guidance, can reach the stations of fana’ fi'llah and baqa’ bi'llah (survival in God). In the same way, it is also possible that their word and act may be annihilated in God's word and act. And this is evident from the following proofs:
a) To be coloured in the colour of God (2:138). This is like fire and iron. When iron takes the colour of fire, it becomes red hot like fire, externally and internally, and loses its own colour. b) “Blessed is whoever is in the fire and whatever is around it” (27:8). c) “To Him do ascend the good words; and the good deeds lift them up” (35:10) until the word and act of the believing and sincere servant reach and merge in the word and act of God.
About the uniformity which was created among the Muslims due to this religious brotherhood and religious unity, God says: “It is the colour of God. And who is better than Allah at colouring”. (2:138).This is the mention of the colour of walᾱyat and love.
In this connection, it is important to give a cogent and easy answer to the question: Which of the five senses, seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting and touching, is the most superior? and what is the importance of the faculty of seeing? and how much happiness can man attain through it?
To respond, first we should pay attention to the word "vision", the Persian word for which is "didar", which is derived from the infinitive "didan". According to me and certainly according to others too, it is an extremely pleasing and lovely word. Why not, since it is used for the observation of the internal and external beauty of God and nature, and it is the name of the observation of the wonders of creation and traces of Divine mercy; it is used for the manifestations and observation of the world of spirituality, in addition to the world of imagination, the world of dream and the world of reflection and thinking, in which every beautiful thing is coloured in the colour of God (2:138) and above all in its ultimate meanings, it is used for the holy encounter with God.
Part 59
In the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful
The greatest favour of God to the world of humanity is that He raised one hundred and twenty four thousand Prophets within it, particularly the holy Prophet Muhammad, who is the universal mercy and greatest benefactor of the world of humanity.
It is related by Hazrat cAli that the holy Prophet said: “There will be a bazaar in paradise in which there will be no buying and selling. There will only be pictures of men and women. Whenever someone likes a picture, he enters it (i.e. becomes like that person)”.48
Ta’wili wisdom: One of the characteristics of paradise is that everything in it is with intellect, soul, knowledge and wisdom, therefore these pictures are not without soul and intellect. In fact, it is that great miracle of paradise in which the entire world of humanity turns from dense into subtle. It is because of the fact that paradise is the subtle world in which the entire world of humanity is coloured in Allah’s colour (or colour of Allah’s light, 2:138). There will be people of all periods in paradise and for this there is the great guarantee of God in a sacred hadith in which He says: “The people are My household”.49 For the explanation of the subtle world see Wajhi-Din.50
Sibghatu'llah (Colour of God, 2:138): Without any doubt these marvels and wonders are among the observations of certainty of vision (`aynu'l-yaqin), as to how God, the Lord of honour, colours the souls of mu'mins and each and everything of the personal world in different lights, such as green, yellow, red and the white colour which is called the light of lights (nuru'l-anwar). These colourful lights are revealed from the Throne. (Az-Zinah, II, 153). Thus God says: “Colour of God, and who is better than God at colouring? We are His worshippers.” (2:138).
This verse has been referred 13 times.