Tafsir of Al-Baqarah 2:138

(The dye of Allah): "Al-Sibghah" (dye), with a kasra, is a verbal noun (fi‘lah) signifying the manner of being dyed—similar to al-jilsah (the way of sitting) from jalasa. It denotes the state in which the dye is applied. It is used here to express purification through the belief in what has been mentioned, in the manner detailed, because the effect of that belief appeared upon them just as dye appears upon that which is dyed. It penetrated their hearts and became an adornment for them. Thus, there is an isti‘arah tahqiqiyyah tasrihiyyah (a realized, explicit metaphor), where the linguistic tie is the genitive construction, and the shared attribute is what was mentioned.

It is said that it is for mushakalah taqdiriyyah (conceptual reciprocity); for the Christians used to dye their children in a yellow water they called baptism, claiming it was the water in which Jesus, peace be upon him, was born. They believed it to be a purification for the newborn, like circumcision for others. It is also said that it is water sanctified by what is recited from the Gospel, with which the mothers were then washed. This view is rebutted by the fact that the speech is general to the Jews and not exclusive to the Christians, unless one considers that such an act existed among them in some capacity.

Its accusative case—if we take it as an infinitive (masdar)—is to emphasize the preceding statement, "We believe." It is one of those infinitives that emphasize themselves, so it does not conflict with it being of a specific type. The governing agent is "We have dyed" (sabaghna); as if it were said, "We have dyed with the dye of Allah." The infinitive is constructed as a genitive to the agent because the condition for the necessity of omitting its governing agent is met—namely, that it emphasizes the essence of the sentence. If it were indefinite, it would only emphasize one of its parts (the verb), as in "I struck a striking."

It is said that it is in the accusative by a verb of incitement (ighra), meaning: "Adhere to the dye of Allah, and there is no harm upon you." Otherwise, the verb would have to be mentioned, as some have said, and this is the view of al-Wahidi. In such a case, the concealment of the agent is not required, as incitement is restricted to the two forms of repetition or conjunction (e.g., "the promise, the promise" or "the family and the child").

Al-Akhfash, al-Zajjaj, al-Kisa’i, and others held that it is an appositive (badal) to "the religion of Abraham."

"And who is better than Allah in dye?" is a nominal sentence consisting of a subject and a predicate, and the interrogation is one of negation/denial. The word "dye" (sibghatan) is a specifier (tamyiz) transferred from the subject, as in "Zaid is better than ‘Amr in aspect." The implication is: "His dye is better than the dye of Allah the Almighty," just as one estimates "Zaid’s face is better than ‘Amr’s face." The comparison here is between the two dyes, not between their agents—meaning: "There is no dye better than His dye," in the sense that it is better than every dye. Since the basis of the comparison is the generalization of "goodness"—covering both the real and the assumed (based on the claims of the disbelievers)—it does not necessitate that there be any good in the dye of others. The sentence is parenthetical, affirming the pride and joy found in the dye of Allah the Almighty, or it functions as a justification for the incitement.

"And we are His worshippers": that is, we are monotheists, or obedient followers of the religion of Abraham, or submissive and humble in following that religion. The prepositional phrase is placed first to convey the exclusivity of worship to Him. The subject is placed first to convey the restriction of that exclusivity to them, and that it does not extend to the People of the Book. Thus, it is an allusion to their shirk or their lack of submission to Allah the Almighty by following the religion of Abraham.

The sentence is a conjunction to "We believe," and this requires that "the dye of Allah" be included within the objects of "say," so that a separation does not occur between the conjoined and the conjunction by an extraneous element. The preference for the nominal sentence is to signal permanence.

For the one who holds it in the accusative as incitement or apposition, it is possible to assume the verb "Say" before this sentence, conjoined to "Adhere" (if taken as incitement). The concealment of the verb "say" is permissible and common; the context serves as the indicator, for what precedes it is what the believers say. Alternatively, one may assume "Follow" before "Rather, the religion of Abraham"—meaning "we do not follow." Thus, "Say: We believe" would be an appositive of specification (badal al-ba‘d) to "Follow," since belief is part of following the religion of Abraham; thus, there is no separation between the conjoined or the appositive and the principal by an extraneous element. Regarding the claim that a separation of the verbal appositive between the object and the principal would occur, the response is that "say" is not an appositive of the verb alone; rather, the entire sentence is an appositive to the sentence, so there is no difficulty.

As for the statement that this sentence could be a state (hal) from the word "Allah" in His saying—"And who is better than Allah in dye?"—meaning "His dye by purifying the heart, guidance, or preserving the innate nature is the best of dyes, while purifying worship for Him," it is without merit, as is obvious.