(138) “Allah’s coloring—and who is better than Allah at coloring? And we are worshippers of Him alone.”

That is, adhere to Allah’s coloring, which is His religion, and uphold it fully through all its outward and inward deeds and all its beliefs, at all times, until it becomes your coloring and one of your defining qualities. Once it becomes a defining quality of yours, it will lead you to comply with His commands willingly, by choice, and out of love. Religion will become second nature to you, like the thorough dyeing ⦗69⦘ of a cloth whose color has become one of its defining qualities. You will thereby attain happiness in this world and the Hereafter, for religion urges noble character, righteous deeds, and lofty pursuits. Thus He said, as an expression of wonder whose truth is evident to pure minds: “And who is better than Allah at coloring?” That is, no coloring is better than His (1).

If you wish to see an example illustrating the difference between Allah’s coloring and all others, compare something with its opposite. Consider a servant who believes in his Lord with sound faith, producing humility in his heart and submission in his limbs. He continually adorns himself with every excellent quality, beautiful deed, perfect virtue, and noble trait, while ridding himself of every ugly quality, vice, and fault. He is characterized by truthfulness in word and deed, patience, forbearance, chastity, courage, kindness in word and deed, love of Allah, awe and fear of Him, and hope in Him. His state is one of sincerity toward the One worshipped and kindness toward His servants.

Now compare him with a servant who disbelieves in his Lord, flees from Him, and turns instead to other created beings. He consequently assumes such ugly qualities as disbelief, associating partners with Allah, lying, treachery, scheming, deceit, immodesty, and mistreating people in word and deed. He has neither sincerity toward the One worshipped nor kindness toward His servants.

The immense difference between them will then become evident to you, and you will clearly see that no coloring is better than Allah’s coloring. This also implies that no coloring is uglier than that of one imbued with a religion other than His.

His words, “And we are worshippers of Him alone,” explain this coloring: it consists in upholding these two foundations—sincerity and following the Messenger. This is because “worship” is a comprehensive term for every outward and inward deed and statement that Allah loves and is pleased with. Such acts do not qualify as worship unless Allah has prescribed them through His Messenger. Sincerity means that the servant seeks Allah’s countenance alone through those acts. Placing the prepositional phrase first indicates exclusivity.

He said, “And we are worshippers of Him alone,” describing them with an active participle that signifies constancy and permanence. This indicates that they possess this quality and that it has become their abiding coloring.