Tafseer of Abraham · Ibrahim · 14:24
Have you not considered how Allah presents an example, [making] a good word like a good tree, whose root is firmly fixed and its branches [high] in the sky?
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
20658 — Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: ʿAbdullāh ibn Ṣāliḥ related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His words: كَلِمَةً طَيِّبَةً: the testimony that there is no god but Allah; كَشَجَرَةٍ طَيِّبَةٍ: and that is the believer; أَصْلُهَا ثَابِتٌ: that is to say, "there is no god but Allah" is firmly rooted in the heart of the believer; وَفَرْعُهَا فِي السَّمَاءِ: that is to say, by it the deed of the believer ascends up to heaven.
20659 — Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Isḥāq related to us, saying: ʿAbdullāh ibn Abī Jaʿfar related to us, on the authority of his father, on the authority of al-Rabīʿ ibn Anas: كَلِمَةً طَيِّبَةً — he said: this is the likeness of faith (īmān). Faith is the good tree, and the firm root that does not perish is sincerity toward Allah (ikhlāṣ li-llāh), while its crown is in heaven — its crown is the fear of Allah (khashyat Allāh).
20670 — Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, who said, that Mujāhid said: أَلَمْ تَرَ كَيْفَ ضَرَبَ اللَّهُ مَثَلًا كَلِمَةً طَيِّبَةً كَشَجَرَةٍ طَيِّبَةٍ: he said: like a date palm. Ibn Jurayj said: and others said: the good word has a firm root — it is embedded with roots in the heart; (31) وَفَرْعُهَا فِي السَّمَاءِ: it ascends and is not held back until it reaches Allah.
Others said: by it the believer himself is meant.
Who said that:
20671 — Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to me, saying: my father related to me, saying: my uncle related to me, saying: my father related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His words: أَلَمْ تَرَ كَيْفَ ضَرَبَ اللَّهُ مَثَلًا كَلِمَةً طَيِّبَةً كَشَجَرَةٍ طَيِّبَةٍ أَصْلُهَا ثَابِتٌ وَفَرْعُهَا فِي السَّمَاءِ * تُؤْتِي أُكُلَهَا كُلَّ حِينٍ بِإِذْنِ رَبِّهَا: by the good tree he means the believer, and by the firm root in the earth and the crown in heaven: the believer works and speaks on earth, and his work and his word reach heaven while he is on earth.
20672 — Aḥmad related to us, saying: Abū Aḥmad related to us, saying: Fuḍayl ibn Marzūq related to us, on the authority of ʿAṭiyya al-ʿAwfī, concerning His words: ضَرَبَ اللَّهُ مَثَلًا كَلِمَةً طَيِّبَةً كَشَجَرَةٍ طَيِّبَةٍ: he said: this is the likeness of the believer — continually good words and good deeds go forth from him, which ascend to Him.
20673 — Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Abū Jaʿfar, on the authority of al-Rabīʿ ibn Anas, who said: أَصْلُهَا ثَابِتٌ فِي الْأَرْضِ — and thus he used to recite it. He said: that is the believer whose likeness is set forth. Sincerity toward Allah alone, and his worship of Him without associate. He said: أَصْلُهَا ثَابِتٌ: that is to say, the root of his work stands firm in the earth; وَفَرْعُهَا فِي السَّمَاءِ: his remembrance is in heaven.
The exegetes differed concerning "this tree" that is set forth as a likeness for the good word.
Some said: it is the date palm.
Who said that:
20674 — Ibn al-Muthannā related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Jaʿfar related to us, saying: Shuʿba related to us, on the authority of Muʿāwiya ibn Qurra, who said: I heard Anas ibn Mālik say concerning this word: كَشَجَرَةٍ طَيِّبَةٍ: it is the date palm.
20675 — Al-Ḥasan ibn Muḥammad related to us, saying: Abū Qaṭan related to us, saying: Shuʿba related to us, on the authority of Muʿāwiya ibn Qurra, on the authority of Anas — likewise.
20676 — Al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: Shabāba related to us, saying: Shuʿba related to us, on the authority of Muʿāwiya ibn Qurra, who said: I heard Anas ibn Mālik say concerning: كَلِمَةً طَيِّبَةً كَشَجَرَةٍ طَيِّبَةٍ: he said: the date palm species. (32)
20677 — Yaʿqūb and al-Ḥasan ibn Muḥammad related to me, they said: Ibn ʿUlayya related to us, saying: Shuʿayb related to us, who said: I set out with Abū al-ʿĀliya to visit Anas ibn Mālik. We came to him; he had a cluster (qinw) on which ripe dates hung brought to us (33) and said: eat of this tree concerning which Allah, mighty and majestic, said in His Book: ضَرَبَ اللَّهُ مَثَلًا كَلِمَةً طَيِّبَةً كَشَجَرَةٍ طَيِّبَةٍ أَصْلُهَا ثَابِتٌ وَفَرْعُهَا فِي السَّمَاءِ. Al-Ḥasan added in his version: "on a dish" (qinā). (34)
20678 — Khallād ibn Aslam related to us, saying: al-Naḍr ibn Shumayl informed us, saying: Ḥammād ibn Salama informed us, saying: Shuʿayb ibn al-Ḥabḥāb informed us, on the authority of Anas: that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was brought a dish of unripe dates (busr), whereupon he said: مَثَلُ كَلِمَةٍ طَيِّبَةٍ كَشَجَرَةٍ طَيِّبَةٍ — he said: it is the date palm.
20679 — Sawwār ibn ʿAbdullāh related to us, saying: my father related to us, saying: Ḥammād ibn Salama related to us, on the authority of Shuʿayb ibn al-Ḥabḥāb, on the authority of Anas: that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was brought a dish of unripe dates (busr), whereupon he said: مَثَلُ كَلِمَةٍ طَيِّبَةٍ كَشَجَرَةٍ طَيِّبَةٍ — he said: it is the date palm. Shuʿayb said: I reported this to Abū al-ʿĀliya, who said: thus they too used to say it.
20680 — Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Ḥajjāj related to us, saying: Ḥammād ibn Salama related to us, on the authority of Shuʿayb ibn al-Ḥabḥāb, who said: we were with Anas, and a dish or tray of ripe dates was brought to us. Anas said: eat, O Abū al-ʿĀliya, for this is the tree that Allah, exalted and mighty, mentioned in His Book: ضَرَبَ اللَّهُ مَثَلًا كَلِمَةً طَيِّبَةً كَشَجَرَةٍ طَيِّبَةٍ أَصْلُهَا ثَابِتٌ.
20681 — Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: al-Ḥajjāj ibn al-Minhāl related to us, saying: Mahdī ibn Maymūn related to us, on the authority of Shuʿayb ibn al-Ḥabḥāb, who said: Abū al-ʿĀliya used to visit me. One day after the morning prayer he came to me; I set out with him to Anas ibn Mālik. We went in to him, and a dish of ripe dates was brought. Anas said to Abū al-ʿĀliya: eat, O Abū al-ʿĀliya, for this is the tree concerning which Allah said in His Book: أَلَمْ تَرَ كَيْفَ ضَرَبَ اللَّهُ مَثَلًا كَلِمَةً طَيِّبَةً كَشَجَرَةٍ طَيِّبَةٍ ثَابِتٍ أَصْلُهَا. He said: thus Anas recited it that day. (36)
20682 — Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Ṭalq related to us, saying: Sharīk related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī, on the authority of Murra, on the authority of ʿAbdullāh — likewise. (37)
20683 — Al-Ḥārith related to me, saying: ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Ghaffār ibn al-Qāsim related to us, on the authority of Jāmiʿ ibn Abī Rāshid, on the authority of Murra ibn Sharāḥīl al-Hamdānī, on the authority of Masrūq: كَشَجَرَةٍ طَيِّبَةٍ — he said: the date palm.
20684 — Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us — and al-Ḥārith related to me, saying: al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: Warqāʾ related to us — both on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning His words: كَشَجَرَةٍ طَيِّبَةٍ — he said: like a date palm.
20685 — Al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: Shabāba related to us, saying: Warqāʾ related to us — and al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Abū Ḥudhayfa related to us, saying: Shubl related to us — both on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid — likewise.
20686 — Aḥmad related to us, saying: Abū Aḥmad related to us, saying: Isrāʾīl related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī, on the authority of Murra, on the authority of ʿAbdullāh — likewise.
20687 — Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Muʿallā ibn Asad related to us, saying: Khālid related to us, saying: Ḥuṣayn informed us, on the authority of ʿIkrima, concerning His words: كَشَجَرَةٍ طَيِّبَةٍ — he said: it is the date palm; continually benefit is to be found in it.
20688 — Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Isḥāq related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Maghrāʾ related to us, on the authority of Juwaybir, on the authority of al-Ḍaḥḥāk, concerning His words: كَشَجَرَةٍ طَيِّبَةٍ — he said: Allah has set the likeness of the believer as that of the date palm; تُؤْتِي أُكُلَهَا كُلَّ حِينٍ.
20689 — Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His words: مَثَلُ كَلِمَةٍ طَيِّبَةٍ كَشَجَرَةٍ طَيِّبَةٍ: we used to hear that it is the date palm.
20690 — Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of Qatāda: كَشَجَرَةٍ طَيِّبَةٍ — he said: it is claimed that it is the date palm.
20691 — Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said, concerning His words: تُؤْتِي أُكُلَهَا كُلَّ حِينٍ — he said: it is the date palm.
20692 — Al-Ḥasan ibn Muḥammad related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn ʿUbayd related to us, saying: al-Aʿmash related to us, on the authority of al-Minhāl ibn ʿAmr, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His words: وَفَرْعُهَا فِي السَّمَاءِ — he said: the date palm. (39)
20693 — Al-Ḥasan related to us (40), saying: Saʿīd ibn Manṣūr related to us, saying: Khālid related to us, on the authority of al-Shaybānī, on the authority of ʿIkrima: تُؤْتِي أُكُلَهَا كُلَّ حِينٍ — he said: it is the date palm.
20694 — Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, who said that Shuʿayb ibn al-Ḥabḥāb said, on the authority of Anas ibn Mālik: the good tree is the date palm.
Others said: it is a tree in Paradise (janna).
Who said that:
20695 — Al-Ḥasan ibn Muḥammad related to us, saying: ʿAffān related to us, saying: Abū Kudayna related to us, saying: Qābūs ibn Abī Ẓabyān related to us, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning the word of Allah, mighty and majestic: ضَرَبَ اللَّهُ مَثَلًا كَلِمَةً طَيِّبَةً كَشَجَرَةٍ طَيِّبَةٍ أَصْلُهَا ثَابِتٌ وَفَرْعُهَا فِي السَّمَاءِ * تُؤْتِي أُكُلَهَا كُلَّ حِينٍ بِإِذْنِ رَبِّهَا: he said: it is a tree in Paradise. (41)
Abū Jaʿfar said: the most correct of the two opinions is the view of the one who said: it is the date palm — on account of the authenticity of the ḥadīth of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, such as:
20696 — Al-Ḥasan ibn Muḥammad related to us, saying: Sufyān ibn ʿUyayna related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, who said: I accompanied Ibn ʿUmar on the way to Medina, and I heard him relate only a single ḥadīth from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. He said: we were with the Prophet ﷺ, and a palm pith (jummār) was brought. He said: "Among the trees there is a tree whose likeness is that of the Muslim." I wanted to say "it is the date palm", but I was the youngest present, and I kept silent. [Then the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: it is the date palm.] (42)
20697 — Al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: Yazīd ibn Hārūn related to us, saying: Sulaymān informed us, on the authority of Yūsuf ibn Sarj, on the authority of a man, on the authority of Ibn ʿUmar, that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "Do you know what the good tree is?" Ibn ʿUmar said: I wanted to say "it is the date palm", but the presence of ʿUmar restrained me. They said: "Allah and His messenger know best!" Then the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: it is the date palm. (43)
20698 — Al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: Yaḥyā ibn Ḥammād related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz related to us, saying: ʿAbdullāh ibn Dīnār related to us, on the authority of Ibn ʿUmar, who said: the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said one day to his companions (ṣaḥāba): "There is a tree among the trees that does not shed its leaves — like the believer." The people began to think of desert trees, while it came into my heart that it was the date palm, but I was too shy to speak — until the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: it is the date palm. (44)
20699 — Al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: ʿĀṣim ibn ʿAlī related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz ibn Muslim al-Qasmalī related to us, saying: ʿAbdullāh ibn Dīnār related to us, on the authority of Ibn ʿUmar, that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "Truly, there is a tree whose leaf does not fall, and it is like the believer; tell me: which is it?" — and he related the rest in like manner. (45)
20700 — Al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: ʿAlī related to us, saying: Yaḥyā ibn Saʿd related to us, saying: ʿUbaydullāh related to us, saying: Nāfiʿ related to me, on the authority of ʿAbdullāh, who said: the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "Tell me about a tree that resembles the Muslim — it gives its fruit in every season and does not lose its leaf." He said: it occurred to me that it was the date palm, but I did not wish to speak about it while Abū Bakr and ʿUmar were present. When they kept silent, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: it is the date palm. (46)
20701 — Al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn al-Ṣabbāḥ related to us, saying: Ismāʿīl related to us, on the authority of ʿUbaydullāh, on the authority of Nāfiʿ, on the authority of Ibn ʿUmar, on the authority of the Prophet ﷺ — in like manner. (47)