Like a bad tree, meaning: its description is like its description. And it was read: 'And like a word' in the accusative, as an addition to the good word. And the bad word is the word of shirk. It was said: every ugly word. As for the bad tree, it is every tree whose fruit is not good, like the tree of colocynth and [UNTRANSLATED-LATIN:kashuth]. The saying 'the kashuth' refers to a plant that clings to the branches of trees without rooting in the ground. The poet said: 'It is the kashuth, so there is no root, no leaves, no breeze, no shade, and no fruit.' And similar to that. And His saying 'pulled up from above the earth' is in contrast to His saying 'its root is firm.' And the meaning of 'pulled up' is that it has been uprooted. The reality of uprooting is taking the whole body, having no stability. It is said: something settled, as in your saying: it remained firm. It is likened to a saying that is not supported by evidence, so it is false and not firm. What does not remain either diminishes soon due to its falsehood, from their saying: 'falsehood is wavering.' And it was reported from Qatadah that it was said to some scholars: 'What do you say about a bad word?' He said: 'I do not know for it a resting place on earth, nor an ascent in the sky, except that it clings to its owner’s neck until he meets it on the Day of Resurrection.'