Qurʾān 2:138 utilizes the word ṣibgha, which is usually translated as “dye” or “color.” On the face of it, this interpretation of the word marks the verse out as a rather odd interruption of a discussion about schism among the descendants of Abraham into Jews and Christians. Sean Anthony, in his article on this verse, argues in favor of this translation and interpets this verse-grouping (2:124-141) as arguing against the necessity of baptism for salvation. In the course of his investigation, he notes the connection between dyeing and baptism, especially that found in the Gnostic Gospel of Philip, in which God and Jesus are referred to as dyers. But while he utilizes the work of Charron and Painchaud on this text, he argues that their connection to Graeco-Egyptian alchemy is – quoting Lundhaug – “not necessary.” While not disagreeing with Anthony that the Gospel of Philip can be read simply as a metaphor for baptism, I argue that the inclusion of alchemical texts, especially when combined with an analysis of the stories across Jewish, Christian, and Muslim sources about Jesus and the Dyer, allows for a fuller understanding of the spread of ideas across faith traditions in the Near East between the 7th and 11th centuries CE. In the story of Jesus and the Dyer, Jesus is in the Dyer’s shop and places all of the clothing into one vat of dye. In most versions, the Dyer panics, thinking his inventory is ruined. In all versions, Jesus is able to miraculously dye each item in the color its owner originally wanted and gains followers due to this miracle. On the surface of it, there would not appear to be a qurʾānic connection to this story. While the Gospel of Philip connects this to baptism, another possibility is offered by an appraisal of alchemical texts, especially those by pseudo-Democritus and Zosimus, that describe the process of “dipping” and “dyeing” as ones of spiritual transformation. And so, Jesus’ dipping the cloth into the dye and taking it out dyed in different colors can be perceived as an allegory for the transformation of the soul – and indeed this is borne out by the transformation of the Dyer himself from Judaism to the religion of Jesus. The fact that Qurʾān 2:138 describes God as a “dyer” in the context of the schism between the descendants of Abraham into Jews and Christians plays into this discussion of the chemical and alchemical processes. The dyeing process permanently unites that which had entered the vat as separate – the cloth and the dye. Thus, God permanently unites Jews and Christians in the original religion of Abraham.