His saying, the Exalted and Majestic: "Did you not see how Allah has struck a parable of a good word like a good tree, its root is firmly established and its branches are in the sky?" "It gives its fruit at all times by the permission of its Lord. And Allah strikes parables for the people so that perhaps they will remember." "And the example of a bad word is like a bad tree, uprooted from the surface of the earth, having no stability."

His saying, the Exalted: "Did you not see" means: Did you not know. And "a parable" is the object of "struck." And "a word" is the first object of it. And "struck" is one that takes two objects, as it is like "made" and the like, since its meaning is: made its striking. Al-Mahdawi said: "A parable" is the object, and "a word" is a substitute for it.

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: This is on the basis that it takes one object, and what misleads in this is the lack of clarification in "struck" this. And the "like" in his saying: "like a tree" is in the position of an adverb, meaning: resembling a tree.

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them both, and others said: The good word is "There is no deity but Allah." Allah likened it to the good tree, which is the date palm, according to the saying of most of the interpreters. It is as if this word has its root firmly established in the hearts of the believers. Its virtue and what emanates from it of righteous and wicked deeds, and what is attained from it of Allah's pardon and mercy, is its branches rising to the sky from the servant, and descending from it by Allah, blessed and exalted is He. Anas ibn Malik read: "firmly established is its root," and a group said: Allah has likened the good tree to the believer himself, since the good word does not occur except from him. It is as if the saying is: a good word and its speaker, and it is as if the believer is firmly established on the earth, and his deeds and words are ascending, so he is like a tree whose branches are in the sky. And whatever is ever from the believer of obedience or upon the word of virtue, reward, and forgiveness is like the fruit that comes with it at all times. And His saying about the tree: "and its branches are in the sky" means: in the air towards the sky. This is as you say about the tall one: towards the air. And in the hadith: "Allah created Adam, his height in the sky is sixty cubits," and the tall one is the long one in a non-sky.

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: It is as if it has yielded and extended. And Anas ibn Malik, Ibn Mas'ud, Mujahid, Ikrimah, Qatadah, Al-Dahhak, and Ibn Zayd said: The good tree in this verse is the date palm, and this has been narrated in hadiths. Ibn Abbas also said: It is a tree in Paradise.

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: It is possible that it is a tree not specified, except that it is everything that is characterized by these attributes, so it includes the date palm and others. And the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, has likened the believer who recites the Qur'an to the citron, so it is not impossible also to liken it to its tree. And "the fruit" is the produce. And Aasim alone read "its fruit" with a damm on the kaf.

And His saying, exalted is He: "Every time," the term "time" in language refers to an undefined portion of time, as in His saying, exalted is He: "Has there come upon man a time from eternity?" [Al-Insan: 1] and His saying: "And you will surely know its news after a time" [Sad: 88]. The word "time" can imply limitation by its context, as in His verse: "Every time." Ibn Abbas, Ikrimah, Mujahid, Al-Hakam, Hammād, and a group of scholars said: Whoever swears that he will not do something at a time, then he will not do it for a year. They supported this with His verse: "It brings forth its fruit every time," meaning: every year. Ibn Abbas, Ikrimah, and Al-Hasan said: meaning: every six months. Ibn Al-Musayyib said: The time is two months, because the palm tree remains fruitful for two months. Ibn Abbas also, Al-Dahhak, and Al-Rabi' ibn Anas said: "Every time" means: every morning and evening, and whenever its harvest is desired.

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

Thus, the believer resembles the one who is engaged in work throughout all his days, and the words he utters and the actions that stem from them are continuous. It resembles that Allah, exalted is He, has compared the believer or the word to a tree in its state of bearing fruit, as that is its best state. Al-Tabari interpreted this to mean that the fruit of the date palm is in winter, and that the fruit is available at all times of the year, which is the coming of fruit. Even if it differs from the palm tree, if we assume the comparison is absolute, it only bears fruit at certain times. The meaning is: like a tree that does not lack what it was made for, which is to bring forth fruit at known times. Likewise, the believer does not lack what he conceals for himself of righteous deeds, or the word whose blessings do not disappear, and the actions stemming from it are preserved in the system like a good tree preserving its known time. The rest of the verse is clear.

And those who said: "The time is a year" considered that the fruit of the palm tree and its harvest comes every year. Those who said: "Six months" considered from the time of the renewal of the palm tree to its bearing in the coming time. It is said that the comparison was made with the palm tree that bears fruit twice a year. Those who said: "Two months" said: This is the duration of harvesting in the palm tree, and all of them issued a fatwa based on the coming at the time.

Al-Kisai and Al-Farra reported that in the recitation of Ubayy ibn Ka'b: "And Allah has struck a parable: a foul word," and the foul word is the word of disbelief and what is similar to it from evil speech in oppression and the like, and "like a foul tree." Most of the interpreters said: It is the tree of colocynth, as narrated by Anas ibn Malik from the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him. This, in my view, is in the context of the example. A group said: It is garlic, and Al-Zajjaj said: It is the khushtha.

And regarding these statements of objection that all of these are from the stars, and not from the tree, Allah, the Exalted, only made an example with the tree. So, this is not called a tree except by way of metaphor. For he, blessings and peace be upon him, said regarding garlic and onion: "Whoever eats from this tree," and also, all of these are weak even if they do not decay, except that we say: it has been uprooted by creation.

Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, said: "This is an example that Allah, Blessed and Exalted, has set forth, and He did not create this tree on the surface of the earth." The apparent meaning to me is that the comparison was made with a tree that is not specified if it has these characteristics. The foulness is that it is like the 'idhah tree or like the poisonous tree and the like when it has been uprooted, meaning its body has been pulled out by removing the roots, and it remains in a state of extreme weakness and frailty so that the slightest wind can overturn it. The disbeliever sees that he has something in his hand, yet it does not remain stable nor is it of any benefit to him, like this tree which he thinks from a distance - or due to ignorance of it - that it is something beneficial, while it is foul in its fruit and not lasting.