Surat Al-Baqarah Verse No. 138: Reading and listening
Translation of the verse 138 from Surah Al-Baqarah : Number of verses 286 - - page 21 - Part 1.
﴾صِبۡغَةَ ٱللَّهِ وَمَنۡ أَحۡسَنُ مِنَ ٱللَّهِ صِبۡغَةٗۖ وَنَحۡنُ لَهُۥ عَٰبِدُونَ ﴿
[ البقرة: 138]
[Our Sibghah (religion) is] the Sibghah (Religion) of Allah (Islam) and which Sibghah (religion) can be better than Allah's? And we are His worshippers. [Tafsir Ibn Kathir.]
English - Sahih International
[And say, "Ours is] the religion of Allah. And who is better than Allah in [ordaining] religion? And we are worshippers of Him."
Tafheem-ul-Quran by Syed Abu-al-A'la Maududi
(2:138) Say, "Take Allah's colour, *137 and who can give a better colour than Allah? Therefore, we worship and submit to Him alone. "
Tafheem-ul-Quran by Syed Abu-al-A'la Maududi
*137). This verse can be translated in two ways. One of these is: 'We have taken on Allah's colour.' The other is: 'Take on Allah's colour.' On the eve of the advent of Christianity the Jews followed the practice of bathing everyone who embraced their religion. This ritual bath signified that all his previous sins had been washed away and that he had adopted a different colour for his life. This practice was subsequently taken over by the Christians and is termed 'baptism'. Not only converts but even new-born babies were baptized. The Qur'anic remarks here refer to this institution. The Qur'an says in effect: 'Of what use is this formal baptism? What really is worth doing is to adopt the colour of God, and it is not water that gives one this colour but actual service and devotion to God.'