English

QCF V2

Mahmoud Khaleel Al-Husary

Ibn Kathir (Abridged)

Hasan Efendi Nahi

Imām Ibn al-Jawzī (d. 597/1201) summarized the scholars' opinions in his book "Zād al-Masīr" as follows:

1. It means yellow, the well-known color. [Ibn ʿAbbās, Qatādah, Ibn Zayd, Ibn Qutaybah, al-Zajjāj]
2. It means black. [Al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī]

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The second opinion was rebutted by a group of scholars: 

Ibn Qutaybah states: "This word only means 'black' when describing camels, not cows... Evidence for this is the statement of Allah, the Exalted: "bright in its colour" (*fāqiʿ lawnuhā*). The Arabs do not say: "bright black" (*aswad fāqiʿ*) but rather say "pitch black" (*aswad ḥālik*) and "bright yellow" (*aṣfar fāqiʿ*)."

What is the meaning of the colour *"ṣafrāʾ"*?