Quranic theme
White
الأبيض
13 verses
When a prophet’s hair loses its color in old age, or a grieving father weeps until his vision clouds, the Quran records the physical toll using the imagery of whiteness. Beyond human aging and sorrow, the text uses the color white to mark profound shifts in reality—from the sudden arrival of dawn in the night sky to the dazzling, unharmed hand of a prophet challenging an empire. Across these moments, whiteness acts as a boundary line between night and day, physical affliction and miraculous safety, or final salvation and ruin.
How does the Quran describe the white thread of dawn?
The color serves a highly practical role in the daily life of a Muslim during the fasting period. To determine the exact moment a daily fast begins, the Quran permits eating, drinking, and marital relations until "the white thread of dawn becomes distinct from the black" (2:187). When this verse was first revealed, some early Muslims interpreted the imagery literally. As noted in تفسير ابن كثير - ط أولاد الشيخ (2/ 198), a companion kept actual white and black threads under his pillow, checking them in the dark until the Prophet clarified that the threads referred to the horizontal streak of light spreading across the night sky. After this white thread of light appears, separating the coming day from the lingering darkness, the fast must be kept strictly until nightfall.
Whose hand turned white as a sign?
One of the most repeated visual miracles in the Quran centers on the prophet Moses. When he is commissioned to face Pharaoh, God commands him to place his hand under his armpit or inside his shirt. When he draws it out, the hand emerges "white for all to see" (7:108). The text emphasizes that this sudden, brilliant whiteness is a deliberate sign rather than a disease, explicitly describing the hand as "unharmed" (20:22) and urging Moses to hold his arm close to his side, "free from all fear" (28:32).
In other prophets, whiteness signifies the deep physical impact of time and human emotion. Zechariah appeals to God by noting his physical frailty, lamenting that his bones have weakened and his hair is "ashen grey" (19:4). Similarly, when Jacob loses his beloved son Joseph, the text describes the intense physical manifestation of his distress, stating that "his eyes went white with grief and he was filled with sorrow" (12:84).
What does white symbolize in nature and the afterlife?
In the natural world, the Quran points to the diverse colors of the earth as a sign of divine artistry, noting that the mountains contain "layers of white and red of various hues" alongside jet black rock (35:27). This purity of color carries over into the descriptions of the next life, where believers in Paradise are served a flowing drink that is "white, delicious to those who taste it" (37:46).
Most critically, brightness defines the ultimate state of salvation on the Day of Judgment. The text describes a sudden physical division where "some faces brighten and others darken" (3:106). Those who face punishment are reprimanded for rejecting faith after having believed.
The physical variations of the color on earth—from the geological stripes cutting through mountain ranges to the fading hair of the elderly—eventually give way to its permanent role in the hereafter. When the trial of this life concludes, the brightened faces emerge as the ultimate marker of divine mercy, as those with brightened faces will be in God’s grace, there to remain (3:107).
Verses
All 13 verses, in mushaf order.
أُحِلَّ لَكُمْ لَيْلَةَ ٱلصِّيَامِ ٱلرَّفَثُ إِلَىٰ نِسَآئِكُمْ ۚ هُنَّ لِبَاسٌ لَّكُمْ وَأَنتُمْ لِبَاسٌ لَّهُنَّ ۗ عَلِمَ ٱللَّهُ أَنَّكُمْ كُنتُمْ تَخْتَانُونَ أَنفُسَكُمْ فَتَابَ عَلَيْكُمْ وَعَفَا عَنكُمْ ۖ فَٱلْـَٔـٰنَ بَـٰشِرُوهُنَّ وَٱبْتَغُوا۟ مَا كَتَبَ ٱللَّهُ لَكُمْ ۚ وَكُلُوا۟ وَٱشْرَبُوا۟ حَتَّىٰ يَتَبَيَّنَ لَكُمُ ٱلْخَيْطُ ٱلْأَبْيَضُ مِنَ ٱلْخَيْطِ ٱلْأَسْوَدِ مِنَ ٱلْفَجْرِ ۖ ثُمَّ أَتِمُّوا۟ ٱلصِّيَامَ إِلَى ٱلَّيْلِ ۚ وَلَا تُبَـٰشِرُوهُنَّ وَأَنتُمْ عَـٰكِفُونَ فِى ٱلْمَسَـٰجِدِ ۗ تِلْكَ حُدُودُ ٱللَّهِ فَلَا تَقْرَبُوهَا ۗ كَذَٰلِكَ يُبَيِّنُ ٱللَّهُ ءَايَـٰتِهِۦ لِلنَّاسِ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَتَّقُونَ
You [believers] are permitted to lie with your wives during the night of the fast: they are [close] as garments to you, as you are to them. God was aware that you were betraying yourselves, so He turned to you in mercy and pardoned you: now you can lie with them- seek what God has ordained for you- eat and drink until the white thread of dawn becomes distinct from the black. Then fast until nightfall. Do not lie with them during the nights of your devotional retreat in the mosques: these are the bounds set by God, so do not go near them. In this way God makes His messages clear to people, that they may guard themselves against doing wrong.
يَوْمَ تَبْيَضُّ وُجُوهٌ وَتَسْوَدُّ وُجُوهٌ ۚ فَأَمَّا ٱلَّذِينَ ٱسْوَدَّتْ وُجُوهُهُمْ أَكَفَرْتُم بَعْدَ إِيمَـٰنِكُمْ فَذُوقُوا۟ ٱلْعَذَابَ بِمَا كُنتُمْ تَكْفُرُونَ
On the Day when some faces brighten and others darken, it will be said to those with darkened faces, ‘How could you reject your faith after believing? Taste the torment for doing so,’
وَأَمَّا ٱلَّذِينَ ٱبْيَضَّتْ وُجُوهُهُمْ فَفِى رَحْمَةِ ٱللَّهِ هُمْ فِيهَا خَـٰلِدُونَ
but those with brightened faces will be in God’s grace, there to remain.
وَنَزَعَ يَدَهُۥ فَإِذَا هِىَ بَيْضَآءُ لِلنَّـٰظِرِينَ
and then he pulled out his hand and- lo and behold!- it was white for all to see.
وَتَوَلَّىٰ عَنْهُمْ وَقَالَ يَـٰٓأَسَفَىٰ عَلَىٰ يُوسُفَ وَٱبْيَضَّتْ عَيْنَاهُ مِنَ ٱلْحُزْنِ فَهُوَ كَظِيمٌ
and he turned away from them, saying, ‘Alas for Joseph!’ His eyes went white with grief and he was filled with sorrow.
قَالَ رَبِّ إِنِّى وَهَنَ ٱلْعَظْمُ مِنِّى وَٱشْتَعَلَ ٱلرَّأْسُ شَيْبًا وَلَمْ أَكُنۢ بِدُعَآئِكَ رَبِّ شَقِيًّا
‘Lord, my bones have weakened and my hair is ashen grey, but never, Lord, have I ever prayed to You in vain:
وَٱضْمُمْ يَدَكَ إِلَىٰ جَنَاحِكَ تَخْرُجْ بَيْضَآءَ مِنْ غَيْرِ سُوٓءٍ ءَايَةً أُخْرَىٰ
Now place your hand under your armpit and it will come out white, though unharmed: that is another sign.
وَنَزَعَ يَدَهُۥ فَإِذَا هِىَ بَيْضَآءُ لِلنَّـٰظِرِينَ
Then he drew out his hand and- lo and behold!- it was white for the onlookers to see.
وَأَدْخِلْ يَدَكَ فِى جَيْبِكَ تَخْرُجْ بَيْضَآءَ مِنْ غَيْرِ سُوٓءٍ ۖ فِى تِسْعِ ءَايَـٰتٍ إِلَىٰ فِرْعَوْنَ وَقَوْمِهِۦٓ ۚ إِنَّهُمْ كَانُوا۟ قَوْمًا فَـٰسِقِينَ
Put your hand inside your cloak and it will come out white, but unharmed. These are among the nine signs that you will show Pharaoh and his people; they have really gone too far.’
ٱسْلُكْ يَدَكَ فِى جَيْبِكَ تَخْرُجْ بَيْضَآءَ مِنْ غَيْرِ سُوٓءٍ وَٱضْمُمْ إِلَيْكَ جَنَاحَكَ مِنَ ٱلرَّهْبِ ۖ فَذَٰنِكَ بُرْهَـٰنَانِ مِن رَّبِّكَ إِلَىٰ فِرْعَوْنَ وَمَلَإِي۟هِۦٓ ۚ إِنَّهُمْ كَانُوا۟ قَوْمًا فَـٰسِقِينَ
Put your hand inside your shirt and it will come out white but unharmed- hold your arm close to your side, free from all fear. These shall be two signs from your Lord to Pharaoh and his chiefs; they are truly wicked people.’
أَلَمْ تَرَ أَنَّ ٱللَّهَ أَنزَلَ مِنَ ٱلسَّمَآءِ مَآءً فَأَخْرَجْنَا بِهِۦ ثَمَرَٰتٍ مُّخْتَلِفًا أَلْوَٰنُهَا ۚ وَمِنَ ٱلْجِبَالِ جُدَدٌۢ بِيضٌ وَحُمْرٌ مُّخْتَلِفٌ أَلْوَٰنُهَا وَغَرَابِيبُ سُودٌ
Have you [Prophet] not considered how God sends water down from the sky and that We produce with it fruits of varied colours; that there are in the mountains layers of white and red of various hues, and jet black;
بَيْضَآءَ لَذَّةٍ لِّلشَّـٰرِبِينَ
white, delicious to those who taste it,
كَأَنَّهُنَّ بَيْضٌ مَّكْنُونٌ
like protected eggs.