Tafseer of Abraham · Ibrahim · 14:25
It produces its fruit all the time, by permission of its Lord. And Allah presents examples for the people that perhaps they will be reminded.
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.
The explanation of the word of Allah, exalted: تُؤْتِي أُكُلَهَا كُلَّ حِينٍ بِإِذْنِ رَبِّهَا وَيَضْرِبُ اللَّهُ الْأَمْثَالَ لِلنَّاسِ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَتَذَكَّرُونَ (25)
The exegetes (ahl al-taʾwīl) differed concerning the meaning of "al-ḥīn" (the time) which Allah, mighty and majestic, mentions here in His words: تُؤْتِي أُكُلَهَا كُلَّ حِينٍ بِإِذْنِ رَبِّهَا.
Some said: the meaning is: it yields its fruit every morning and every evening.
Who said that:
20702 — Al-Ḥasan ibn Muḥammad related to us, saying: Abū Muʿāwiya related to us, saying: al-Aʿmash related to us, on the authority of Abī Ẓabyān, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, who said: "al-ḥīn" may be every morning and every evening.
20703 — Al-Ḥasan ibn Muḥammad related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn ʿUbayd related to us, saying: al-Aʿmash related to us, on the authority of Abī Ẓabyān, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His words: تُؤْتِي أُكُلَهَا كُلَّ حِينٍ بِإِذْنِ رَبِّهَا — he said: morning and evening.
20704 — Ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: Yaḥyā related to us, saying: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of al-Aʿmash, on the authority of Abī Ẓabyān, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās — the same.
20705 — Muḥammad ibn al-Muthannā related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Abī ʿAdī related to us, on the authority of Shuʿba, on the authority of Sulaymān, on the authority of Abī Ẓabyān, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās — the same.
20706 — Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Ṭalq related to us, on the authority of Zāʾida, on the authority of al-Aʿmash, on the authority of Abī Ẓabyān, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās — the same.
20707 — Al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: ʿAlī ibn al-Jaʿd related to us, saying: Shuʿba related to us, on the authority of al-Aʿmash, on the authority of Abī Ẓabyān, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His words: تُؤْتِي أُكُلَهَا كُلَّ حِينٍ بِإِذْنِ رَبِّهَا — he said: in the early morning and the evening.
20708 — Aḥmad related to us, saying: Abū Aḥmad related to us, saying: Sharīk related to us, on the authority of al-Aʿmash, on the authority of Abī Ẓabyān, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: تُؤْتِي أُكُلَهَا كُلَّ حِينٍ بِإِذْنِ رَبِّهَا — he said: early morning and evening.
20709 — 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: تُؤْتِي أُكُلَهَا كُلَّ حِينٍ بِإِذْنِ رَبِّهَا — he said: remembrance of Allah in every hour of the night and the day.
20710 — Al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: ʿAffān related to us, saying: Abū Kudayna related to us, saying: Qābūs related to us, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: تُؤْتِي أُكُلَهَا كُلَّ حِينٍ بِإِذْنِ رَبِّهَا — he said: morning and evening.
20711 — 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: تُؤْتِي أُكُلَهَا كُلَّ حِينٍ بِإِذْنِ رَبِّهَا — he said: the believer obeys Allah by night and day and at every time.
20712 — 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: تُؤْتِي أُكُلَهَا كُلَّ حِينٍ بِإِذْنِ رَبِّهَا — his work ascends at the beginning and the end of the day.
20713 — Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Abī Jaʿfar, on the authority of al-Rabīʿ ibn Anas: تُؤْتِي أُكُلَهَا كُلَّ حِينٍ بِإِذْنِ رَبِّهَا — he said: his work ascends in the morning and the evening.
20714 — It was related to me on the authority of al-Ḥusayn, who said: I heard Abā Muʿādh saying: ʿUbayd ibn Sulaymān informed us, who said: I heard al-Ḍaḥḥāk saying concerning His words: تُؤْتِي أُكُلَهَا كُلَّ حِينٍ بِإِذْنِ رَبِّهَا — he said: it brings forth its fruit at every time. And this is the likeness of the believer who works at every time — in every hour of the day and every hour of the night, and in winter and summer, in obedience to Allah.
Others said: the meaning is: it yields its fruit every half year — between its harvest time and its fruiting. (1)
Who said that:
20715 — Muḥammad ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: Yaḥyā related to us, saying: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of Ṭāriq ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, who said: "al-ḥīn": six months.
20716 — Yaʿqūb related to me, saying: Ibn ʿUlayya related to us, saying: Ayyūb informed us, who said that ʿIkrima said: I was asked about a man who swore not to do such-and-such until a "ḥīn"? I said: some times are determinable and some are not determinable. The indeterminate time is His words: وَلَتَعْلَمُنَّ نَبَأَهُ بَعْدَ حِينٍ [Ṣād: 88]; and the determinable time is: تُؤْتِي أُكُلَهَا كُلَّ حِينٍ بِإِذْنِ رَبِّهَا. He said: and that is the time from the harvest of the date palm until its fruiting, (2) which is six months.
20717 — Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Wakīʿ related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of Ibn al-Aṣbahānī, on the authority of ʿIkrima, who said: al-ḥīn is six months. (3)
20718 — Al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: Saʿīd ibn Manṣūr related to us, saying: Khālid related to us, on the authority of al-Shaybānī, on the authority of ʿIkrima, concerning His words: تُؤْتِي أُكُلَهَا كُلَّ حِينٍ بِإِذْنِ رَبِّهَا — he said: it is the date palm, and "al-ḥīn" is six months.
20719 — Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Kathīr ibn Hishām related to us, saying: Jaʿfar related to us, saying: ʿIkrima related to us: تُؤْتِي أُكُلَهَا كُلَّ حِينٍ بِإِذْنِ رَبِّهَا — he said: it is the time between the bearing of the date palm until it is harvested. (4)
20720 — Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Qabīṣa ibn ʿUqba related to us, saying: Sufyān related to us, who said that ʿIkrima said: al-ḥīn is six months.
20721 — Aḥmad related to us, saying: Abū Aḥmad related to us, saying: Qays related to us, on the authority of Ṭāriq ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: he was asked about a man who swore not to speak to his brother for a "ḥīn." He said: al-ḥīn is six months. Then he mentioned the date palm: the time between its fruiting and its harvest is six months.
20722 — Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Wakīʿ related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of Ṭāriq, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr: تُؤْتِي أُكُلَهَا كُلَّ حِينٍ — he said: six months.
20723 — Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His words: تُؤْتِي أُكُلَهَا كُلَّ حِينٍ بِإِذْنِ رَبِّهَا: al-ḥīn is what lies between seven and six months, and it yields edible fruit in the winter and the summer.
20724 — Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, who said that al-Ḥasan said: between six and seven months — that is to say: al-ḥīn.
20725 — Ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān related to us, saying: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn al-Aṣbahānī, on the authority of ʿIkrima, who said: al-ḥīn is six months.
Others said: "al-ḥīn" here is a year.
Who said that:
20726 — Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Wakīʿ related to us, on the authority of Abī Makīn, on the authority of ʿIkrima: that he vowed to cut off a young man's hand or to imprison him for a "ḥīn." (5) He said: ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz asked me. I said: do not cut off his hand, and imprison him for a year — al-ḥīn is a year. Then he recited: لَيَسْجُنُنَّهُ حَتَّى حِينٍ [Yūsuf: 35], and recited: تُؤْتِي أُكُلَهَا كُلَّ حِينٍ بِإِذْنِ رَبِّهَا. Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Wakīʿ related to us; and Abū Bakr al-Hudhalī added, on the authority of ʿIkrima, who said: Ibn ʿAbbās said: "al-ḥīn" is of two kinds: a ḥīn that is known and a ḥīn that is not known. As for the unknown ḥīn: وَلَتَعْلَمُنَّ نَبَأَهُ بَعْدَ حِينٍ [Ṣād: 88]; and as for the known ḥīn: تُؤْتِي أُكُلَهَا كُلَّ حِينٍ بِإِذْنِ رَبِّهَا.
20727 — Ibn al-Muthannā related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Jaʿfar related to us, saying: Shuʿba related to us, who said: I asked Ḥammād and al-Ḥakam about a man who swore not to speak with anyone for a "ḥīn." They said: al-ḥīn is a year.
20728 — Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to us, 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; and al-Ḥasan ibn Muḥammad related to us, saying: Shabāba related to us, saying: Warqāʾ related to me; and al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Abū Ḥudhayfa related to us, saying: Shubl related to us — all on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning His words: كُلَّ حِينٍ — he said: every year. (6)
20729 — Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said, concerning His words: تُؤْتِي أُكُلَهَا كُلَّ حِينٍ — he said: every year.
20730 — Aḥmad related to us, saying: Abū Aḥmad related to us, saying: Sallām related to us, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ ibn al-Sāʾib, on the authority of a man among them (7), that he asked Ibn ʿAbbās and said: I swore not to speak to a man for a "ḥīn." Ibn ʿAbbās recited: تُؤْتِي أُكُلَهَا كُلَّ حِينٍ — al-ḥīn is a year.
20731 — Aḥmad related to us, saying: Abū Aḥmad related to us, saying: Ibn Ghasīl related to us, on the authority of ʿIkrima, who said: ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz summoned me and said: "O freedman of Ibn ʿAbbās, I swore not to do such-and-such for a ḥīn — which ḥīn do you know?" I said: some times cannot be determined and some are determinable. The indeterminate is the word of Allah: هَلْ أَتَى عَلَى الْإِنسَانِ حِينٌ مِّنَ الدَّهْرِ لَمْ يَكُن شَيْئًا مَّذْكُورًا [Al-Insān: 1] — by Allah, no one knows how much had passed before he was created. The determinable is His words: تُؤْتِي أُكُلَهَا كُلَّ حِينٍ بِإِذْنِ رَبِّهَا — that is the time from one year to the next year. He said: you have spoken correctly, O freedman of Ibn ʿAbbās, how excellent is what you said. (8)
20732 — Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Jarīr related to us, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ, who said: a man went to Ibn ʿAbbās and said: I vowed not to speak with a man for a ḥīn. Ibn ʿAbbās said: تُؤْتِي أُكُلَهَا كُلَّ حِينٍ — al-ḥīn is a year.
Others said: "al-ḥīn" here is two months.
Who said that:
20733 — Aḥmad ibn Isḥāq related to us, saying: Abū Aḥmad related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Muslim al-Ṭāʾifī related to us, on the authority of Ibrāhīm ibn Maysara, who said: a man went to Saʿīd ibn al-Musayyib and said: I swore not to speak with such a person for a "ḥīn." [He said: Allah, exalted, said: تُؤْتِي أُكُلَهَا كُلَّ حِينٍ بِإِذْنِ رَبِّهَا]. (9) He said: it is the date palm — its fruit is edible for only two months, so al-ḥīn is two months.
Abū Jaʿfar said: the most correct of these statements in my judgment is the view of the one who said: "al-ḥīn" here means every morning and every evening, and every hour. (10) This is because Allah, exalted be His remembrance, sets that which this tree brings forth of fruit at every time as a likeness for the work and the words of the believer. And there is no doubt that for the believer good works and good words ascend to Allah every day — not merely every year, or every half year, or every two months. If that is so, it is established that the likeness does not diverge from that which is likened to it in meaning. And if that is so, then the correctness of what we have said is clear.
Should one say: which date palm yields fruit in every season, both in winter and summer? — one answers: in winter the spadix (ṭalʿ) is one of its fruits, and in summer the unripe date (balaḥ), the half-ripe date (busr), the ripe fresh date (ruṭab), and the dried date (tamr) — and all of that belongs to its fruit.
And His words: تُؤْتِي أُكُلَهَا are as:
20734 — 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: تُؤْتِي أُكُلَهَا كُلَّ حِينٍ بِإِذْنِ رَبِّهَا — he said: its fruit is eaten in winter and summer.
20735 — Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: تُؤْتِي أُكُلَهَا كُلَّ حِينٍ — he said: it is eaten in winter and summer.
20736 — 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: تُؤْتِي أُكُلَهَا كُلَّ حِينٍ بِإِذْنِ رَبِّهَا — the work of the believer ascends at the beginning and the end of the day.
The explanation of the word of Allah, exalted: وَمَثَلُ كَلِمَةٍ خَبِيثَةٍ كَشَجَرَةٍ خَبِيثَةٍ اجْتُثَّتْ مِن فَوْقِ الْأَرْضِ مَا لَهَا مِن قَرَارٍ (26)
Abū Jaʿfar said: Allah, exalted be His remembrance, says: and the likeness of ascribing partners to Allah (shirk) — that is "the evil word" (11) — is like an evil tree.
The exegetes differed concerning which tree this is.
Most of them said: it is the colocynth (ḥanẓal).
Who said that:
20737 — Muḥammad 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: وَمَثَلُ كَلِمَةٍ خَبِيثَةٍ كَشَجَرَةٍ خَبِيثَةٍ: al-sharyān. I said: what is al-sharyān? A man with him said: the colocynth. Muʿāwiya affirmed that. (12)
20738 — Al-Ḥasan ibn Muḥammad related to us, saying: Shabāba related to us, saying: Shuʿba informed us, on the authority of Muʿāwiya ibn Qurra, who said: I heard Anas ibn Mālik say: وَمَثَلُ كَلِمَةٍ خَبِيثَةٍ كَشَجَرَةٍ خَبِيثَةٍ — he said: the colocynth. (13)
20739 — Al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: ʿAmr ibn al-Haytham related to us, saying: Shuʿba related to us, on the authority of Muʿāwiya ibn Qurra, on the authority of Anas ibn Mālik, who said: al-sharyān — that is to say: the colocynth.
20740 — Aḥmad ibn Manṣūr related to us, saying: Nuʿaym ibn Ḥammād related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, on the authority of al-Aʿmash, on the authority of Ḥibbān ibn Shuʿba, on the authority of Anas ibn Mālik, concerning His words: كَشَجَرَةٍ خَبِيثَةٍ — he said: al-sharyān. I said to Anas: what is al-sharyān? He said: the colocynth. (14)
20741 — Yaʿqūb related to me, saying: 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, and he said: وَمَثَلُ كَلِمَةٍ خَبِيثَةٍ كَشَجَرَةٍ خَبِيثَةٍ — that tree is the colocynth. (15)
20742 — Al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: Ismāʿīl ibn Ibrāhīm related to us, on the authority of Shuʿayb ibn al-Ḥabḥāb, on the authority of Anas — the same.
20743 — Al-Muthannā related to us, saying: Ādam al-ʿAsqalānī related to us, saying: Shuʿba related to us, saying: Abū Iyyās related to us, on the authority of Anas ibn Mālik, who said: "the evil tree" — al-sharyān. I said: what is al-sharyān? He said: the colocynth.
20744 — Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: al-Ḥajjāj related to us, saying: Ḥammād related to us, on the authority of Shuʿayb, on the authority of Anas, who said: that tree is the colocynth. (16)
20745 — Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: al-Ḥajjāj related to us, saying: Mahdī ibn Maymūn related to us, on the authority of Shuʿayb, who said that Anas said: وَمَثَلُ كَلِمَةٍ خَبِيثَةٍ كَشَجَرَةٍ خَبِيثَةٍ — the verse — he said: that tree is the colocynth. Have you not seen how the winds toss it back and forth to the right and to the left? (17)
20746 — Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Abū Ḥudhayfa related to us, saying: Shubl related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid: كَشَجَرَةٍ خَبِيثَةٍ — the colocynth.
Others said: this tree does not exist on earth.
Who said that:
20747 — Al-Ḥasan ibn Muḥammad al-Zaʿfarānī related to us, saying: ʿAffān related to us, saying: Abū Kudayna related to us, saying: Qābūs related to us, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: وَمَثَلُ كَلِمَةٍ خَبِيثَةٍ كَشَجَرَةٍ خَبِيثَةٍ اجْتُثَّتْ مِن فَوْقِ الْأَرْضِ مَا لَهَا مِن قَرَارٍ — he said: this is a likeness that Allah set, and this tree was not created on the surface of the earth. (18)
There is related from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ a ḥadīth (tradition) confirming the view of the one who said: it is the colocynth. If it is authentic, then no other view is permissible. If not, then it is a tree with the characteristics that Allah ascribed to it.
The tradition we mentioned concerning the Messenger of Allah ﷺ:
20748 — 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 ibn Mālik: that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said concerning وَمَثَلُ كَلِمَةٍ خَبِيثَةٍ كَشَجَرَةٍ خَبِيثَةٍ اجْتُثَّتْ مِن فَوْقِ الْأَرْضِ مَا لَهَا مِن قَرَارٍ: he said: it is the colocynth. Shuʿayb said: I reported this to Abū al-ʿĀliya, who said: thus they used to say it as well. (19)
And His words: اجْتُثَّتْ مِن فَوْقِ الْأَرْضِ — that is to say: it was uprooted from the root. One says of it: "ijthaththu al-shayʾa, ajtaththuhu ijtithāthan" when one pulls something out together with its root.
This is also what the exegetes said.
Who said that:
20749 — 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: اجْتُثَّتْ مِن فَوْقِ الْأَرْضِ — he said: it was pulled out together with its root from above the earth.
مَا لَهَا مِن قَرَارٍ — that is to say: this tree has no resting place and no root in the earth upon which it stands and thrives. And this tree, which Allah described with these characteristics, was set as a likeness for the disbelief (kufr) of the disbeliever and his ascribing of partners to Allah. That is to say: the disbelief (kufr) of the disbeliever and his deeds that are disobedience to Allah have no fixity in the earth, nor any place of ascent in the heaven — for nothing of it ascends to Allah.
This is also what the exegetes said.
Who said that:
20750 — 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: وَمَثَلُ كَلِمَةٍ خَبِيثَةٍ كَشَجَرَةٍ خَبِيثَةٍ اجْتُثَّتْ مِن فَوْقِ الْأَرْضِ مَا لَهَا مِن قَرَارٍ: Allah set the likeness of the evil tree as that of the disbeliever. He says: the evil tree was uprooted together with its root from above the earth — it has no resting place. He says: the work of the disbeliever (kāfir) is not accepted nor does it ascend to Allah; he has no firm root in the earth and no crown in the heaven. He says: he has no good work in this life nor in the next.
20751 — Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His words: وَمَثَلُ كَلِمَةٍ خَبِيثَةٍ كَشَجَرَةٍ خَبِيثَةٍ اجْتُثَّتْ مِن فَوْقِ الْأَرْضِ مَا لَهَا مِن قَرَارٍ: Qatāda said: a man met a man of the learned and asked him: what do you say about "the evil word"? He said: I know for it no resting place on earth and no place of ascent in the heaven — except that it remains hanging at the neck of its owner until he comes with it on the Day of Resurrection. (20)
20752 — Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, on the authority of Abī al-ʿĀliya: a man's cloak was snatched away by the wind, whereupon he cursed the wind. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: do not curse the wind — it is commanded (that is to say: obedient to Allah and put into His service). And whoever curses something that does not deserve it, the curse returns to its owner. (21)
20753 — Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Abī Jaʿfar, on the authority of al-Rabīʿ ibn Anas: وَمَثَلُ كَلِمَةٍ خَبِيثَةٍ كَشَجَرَةٍ خَبِيثَةٍ — he said: this is the disbeliever (kāfir); he has no work on earth nor mention in the heaven. اجْتُثَّتْ مِن فَوْقِ الْأَرْضِ مَا لَهَا مِن قَرَارٍ — he said: his work does not ascend to the heaven nor does it thrive on earth. It was asked: where then are their works? He said: they bear their burdens upon their backs.
20754 — Aḥmad ibn Isḥāq related to us, saying: Abū Aḥmad related to us, saying: Fuḍayl ibn Marzūq related to us, on the authority of ʿAṭiyya al-ʿAwfī: وَمَثَلُ كَلِمَةٍ خَبِيثَةٍ كَشَجَرَةٍ خَبِيثَةٍ اجْتُثَّتْ مِن فَوْقِ الْأَرْضِ — he said: the likeness of the disbeliever (kāfir): no good word ascends from him and no good work.
20755 — 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, who said: وَمَثَلُ كَلِمَةٍ خَبِيثَةٍ — that is to say: the ascribing of partners (shirk); كَشَجَرَةٍ خَبِيثَةٍ — he means: the disbeliever (kāfir). He said: اجْتُثَّتْ مِن فَوْقِ الْأَرْضِ مَا لَهَا مِن قَرَارٍ — he says: the ascribing of partners (shirk) has no root; the disbeliever has in it no support and no proof; Allah accepts alongside the ascribing of partners no work whatsoever.
20756 — 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: وَمَثَلُ كَلِمَةٍ خَبِيثَةٍ كَشَجَرَةٍ خَبِيثَةٍ — he said: the likeness of the evil tree is the likeness of the disbeliever (kāfir); neither his word nor his work has root or crown, nor does his word or his work stand firmly upon the earth nor ascend to the heaven.
20757 — It was related to me on the authority of al-Ḥusayn, who said: I heard Abā Muʿādh saying: ʿUbayd ibn Sulaymān informed us, who said: I heard al-Ḍaḥḥāk saying: Allah set the likeness of the disbeliever (kāfir): كَشَجَرَةٍ خَبِيثَةٍ اجْتُثَّتْ مِن فَوْقِ الْأَرْضِ مَا لَهَا مِن قَرَارٍ — that is to say: it has no root and no crown, and it bears no fruit and has no benefit. So too the disbeliever (kāfir): he does no good and speaks no good, and Allah has placed in him no blessing nor benefit.
