From Age to Color: The Slippery Slope of Asking Trivial Questions

Quran 2:69, From asking about age to color—a lesson on how we use trivial questions to avoid real obedience and the danger of focusing on form over substance.

The Arabic Text

قَالُوا ادْعُ لَنَا رَبَّكَ يُبَيِّن لَّنَا مَا لَوْنُهَا ۚ قَالَ إِنَّهُ يَقُولُ إِنَّهَا بَقَرَةٌ صَفْرَاءُ فَاقِعٌ لَّوْنُهَا تَسُرُّ النَّاظِرِينَ

Transliteration

Qālū udʿu lanā rabbaka yubayyin lanā mā lawnuhā qāla innahu yaqūlu innahā baqaratun ṣafrāʾu fāqiʿun lawnuhā tasurru an-nāẓirīn

Simple English Translation

"They said, 'Call upon your Lord to show us what its colour is.' He said, 'He says, 'It is a yellow cow, bright in colour—pleasing to the observers.''"

Full Explanation in Easy English

This verse continues the escalating story of evasion. Even after receiving specific details about the cow's age, the people persist in asking for more trivial specifications, demonstrating a heart that seeks excuses rather than submission.

1. The Past: The Descent into Triviality

A Question of Color: After being told the cow should be of middle age, they ask next about its color. This question moves from a potentially relevant specification (age affecting suitability) to an almost purely aesthetic and trivial detail.
Allah's Gracious Response: Despite the frivolous nature of the question, Allah provides an answer: a bright, vivid yellow cow, pleasing to look at. This shows Allah's patience and His willingness to provide clarity, even when people are testing His limits.
The Underlying Problem: Their series of questions reveals a pattern: avoidance through interrogation. They are using a facade of seeking precision to delay the act of obedience itself. Each answer is met not with action, but with another question.

In the past, this moment highlighted how a community, when resistant to divine will, can become preoccupied with secondary characteristics while ignoring the primary command's purpose and spirit.

2. The Present: Obsession with Form Over Substance

For us today, this verse warns against a major pitfall in religious practice:

Focusing on Aesthetics Over Essence: We can become obsessed with the external form of worship while neglecting its internal reality. Examples:
- Debating the perfect shade of a hijab or the exact length of a thobe, while neglecting the modesty, dignity, and piety these garments are meant to cultivate.
- Focusing on perfect Arabic pronunciation in prayer (a good thing) while the heart is distracted and devoid of humility (khushu).
- Prioritizing a mosque's architectural beauty over the quality of worship, community spirit, and justice within it.
The "Bright Yellow Cow" Syndrome: Seeking a faith that is visibly impressive, "pleasing to the observers," and conforms to our aesthetic or cultural preferences, rather than one that is sincerely submitted to Allah's will, even if it's simple or unpopular.
Delay Through Distraction: Using endless debates about minor fiqh (jurisprudential) details, different scholarly opinions, or cultural expressions of Islam as a way to avoid implementing the clear, core obligations we already know.

Today, this verse asks: Are you using discussions about the "color of the cow"—secondary, external issues—to avoid the hard work of actually "slaughtering it"—i.e., fulfilling the primary, challenging commands of your faith?

3. The Future: The Danger of Superficial Religion

This behavior points to a dangerous spiritual state with implications for the Hereafter:

A Sign of a Hollow Heart: The Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) warned about people who recite the Quran but it does not go past their throats, and about those whose prayers are merely physical motion. This story is an early example of that disconnect: focusing on external specifications while the heart is not in a state of submission.
Judgment Based on Hearts and Deeds: On the Day of Judgment, Allah will judge by what is in the hearts and by substantial deeds, not by minor technicalities or outward appearances. An obsession with trivial details at the expense of core obedience will be seen as what it is: evasion.
Pleasing the Observer: The cow was "pleasing to the observers." This is a subtle warning: if our practice of Islam is primarily designed to be impressive or acceptable to other people (Muslims or non-Muslims), rather than to please Allah, we have failed the test. True faith pleases Allah first, even if it puzzles onlookers.

For the future, this verse teaches that eternity is not earned by perfecting the external color of our deeds, but by the sincerity and substance of our submission. A simple, sincere act of obedience is worth infinitely more than a perfect-looking act performed with a reluctant, argumentative heart.

Summary for a Contemporary Audience

Imagine a doctor prescribes a life-saving surgery. The patient, afraid of the procedure, doesn't refuse outright. Instead, they ask: "What brand of scalpel will you use? What color will the operating room be? Will the stitches be aesthetically pleasing?" They are focusing on irrelevant details to avoid facing the necessary, core action.

Your takeaway: Allah's commands are your prescription for spiritual health and eternal life. Don't get lost debating the "color of the scalpel"—the minor, external aspects of the religion. Your soul needs the surgery of sincere obedience. Stop asking trivial questions that delay action. Start with the core, clear obligations you already know. A sincere, imperfect prayer is better than a perfectly performed prayer you never got around to because you were too busy arguing about its details. Don't let your religion become a bright yellow cow that pleases the eye but never gets sacrificed in the path of Allah.