قَالُوا۟ ٱدْعُ لَنَا رَبَّكَ يُبَيِّن لَّنَا مَا لَوْنُهَا قَالَ إِنَّهُۥ يَقُولُ إِنَّهَا بَقَرَةٌ صَفْرَآءُ فَاقِعٌ لَّوْنُهَا تَسُرُّ ٱلنَّٰظِرِينَ
“They said: Pray for us unto thy Lord that He make clear to us of what colour she is. (Moses) answered: Lo! He saith: Verily she is a yellow cow. Bright is her colour, gladdening beholders.” — M. M. Pickthall
Fahreddin er-Râzî12-13. c.✓ Citation verified
According to this exegete, the word 'yellow' (safrâ) is reinforced with the word 'fâki'; this reinforcement is to express the most intense and vibrant state of the color. Râzî explains that the word 'fâki' is not the predicate of 'safrâ' but rather its emphasis, and therefore the color of the cow is characterized by intense yellowness. He also transmits from Hasan that the word 'safrâ' can be used to mean 'black' in some contexts, because the Arabs also called black 'asfar'.
الجواب : لم يقع خبرا عن اللون إنما وقع تأكيدا لصفراء إلا أنه ارتفع اللون به ارتفاع الفاعل واللون سببها وملتبس بها ، فلم يكن فرق بين قولك : صفراء فاقعة وصفراء فاقع لونها
İbn Kesîr14. c.✓ Citation verified
Ibn Kesîr transmits that the color of the cow is 'yellow' (safrâ) and that this yellowness is so vibrant, pure and striking as to astonish those who look at it, as the majority opinion. He finds a report about the cow being black to be strange (weak/singular) and states that the correct opinion is yellowness, and that this yellowness is so intense in some reports that it tends towards white or reddish/black. He explains the report of 'red' in the Torah as possibly being a translation error.
وقال ابن أبي حاتم حدثنا أبي حدثنا نصر بن علي حدثنا نوح بن قيس أنبأنا أبو رجاء عن الحسن في قوله تعالى قال سوداء شديدة السواد وهذا غريب والصحيح الأول
Beydâvî13. c.✓ Citation verified
Beydâvî states in this verse that the color of the cow is 'safrâ' (yellow) characterized by the word 'fâki', emphasizing that this yellowness is extremely bright and dark. He explains that the attribution of the color to the adjective ('levnuha' - safrâu) serves a reinforcing purpose, as if saying 'intense yellow yellowness'. He also conveys the opinion transmitted from Hasan of 'black, intense black' and states that this is also used in the interpretation of the verse 'cimâletun sufr', but expresses that the meaning of yellowness as blackness is debatable (a matter of consideration) in some respects.
وفي إسناده إلى اللون وهو صفة صفراء لملابسته بها فضل تأكيد كأنه قيل صفراء شديدة الصفرة صفرتها، وعن الحسن سوداء شديدة السواد، وبه فسر قوله تعالى: جمالت صفر.
Taberî9-10. c.✓ Citation verified
According to Taberî, the exegetes have differed regarding the word 'safrâ'; while one group says it means 'intense black', Taberî in his own preference states that it is 'yellow' in the literal sense, and that the word 'fâki' expresses the purity and intensity of the color. He also transmits that this matter was a kind of stubbornness (teannüt) of the Israelites towards their prophets, and that Allah restricted them to a specific color to punish them.
وإنما تصف السواد إذا وصفته بالشدة بالحلوكة ونحوها
Kurtubî13. c.✓ Citation verified
Kurtubî conveys that the word 'safrâ' (yellow) means the known yellow color according to the majority of exegetes, and according to some it extends to horns and nails. A view from Hasan al-Basrî is also transmitted that 'safrâ' means black, but Kurtubî prefers the opinion that the color of the cow's skin is pure yellow. He also explains linguistically that the word 'fâki' is an emphasis adjective peculiar only to yellowness, and that such a phrase is not used for black.
قلت : والأول أص
Comparison
Common ground
All exegetes agree that the word 'safrâ' is reinforced with 'fâki', that this expresses the intensity/vibrancy of the color. Moreover, all of them mention the possibility of the meaning 'black' transmitted from Hasan, but the majority (Râzî, Ibn Kesîr, Beydâvî, Taberî, Kurtubî) prefer the interpretation of 'actual/known yellow color'.
Differences
While Râzî and Beydâvî approach the matter more from a linguistic-rhetorical perspective (emphasis, attribution, poetic citation), Ibn Kesîr and Taberî base their approach on the multiplicity of reports and comparison of views from companions and successors. Kurtubî more strongly refutes the black interpretation through linguistic reasoning (the phrase 'fâki' not being used for black). Taberî additionally interprets the event in the context of the stubbornness of the Israelites towards the prophet, adding a different theological dimension to the matter.
Historical context
Taberî (the earliest) conveys the differences using the report-focused method and states his own preference, while later exegetes (Râzî, Kurtubî, Beydâvî, Ibn Kesîr) use the same report material but systematize linguistic and rhetorical analysis more thoroughly; Ibn Kesîr applies the hadith methodology critique more distinctly through his assessment of reports (strange/weak evaluation). The basic interpretation (yellow, intense) remained stable throughout the period, while the method and manner of argumentation became more developed.
Modern connection
The fact that exegetes reached a conclusion unanimously using different methods (linguistic analysis, report critique, poetic citation) on the same word demonstrates how scholarship and careful research can be unifying in the search for meaning. This can remind us today that when trying to understand an issue, we should respectfully evaluate different perspectives and patiently approach the truth with patience.
AI analysis — not a fatwa or ruling, not yet reviewed by a scholar