Those who believe and do righteous deeds will be admitted into Gardens beneath which rivers flow, abiding therein forever by the permission of their Lord. Their greeting therein will be, ‘Peace!’ [Q 14:23]
Have you not seen how Allah presents an example of a good word like a good tree, whose root is firm, and its branches are high, extending towards the sky? [Q 14:24]
It produces its fruit all the time, by the permission of its Lord. Allah presents examples for people that they may remember. [Q 14:25]
And the example of an evil word is like an evil tree, uprooted from the surface of the earth, having no stability. [Q 14:26]
Allah makes firm those who believe by the firm word in the worldly life and the Hereafter, and Allah lets go astray the wrongdoers. Allah does what He wills. [Q14: 27]
Relationship with the Previous Part
Allah clarifies how the conditions of the wicked disbelievers will be on the Day of Judgment. He informs that their final abode will be Hellfire. Allah, Exalted be He, also mentions how the conditions of the righteous believers will be on the Day of Judgment and that their final abode will be Paradise. Then, Allah, Exalted be He, mentions examples representing the conditions of both parties and why their end is different by liking tangible concepts to intangible ones. The examples are used to establish concepts in the minds, which is a typical characteristic of the style of the Quran.
Tafsir
Those who believe and do righteous deeds will be admitted into Gardens beneath which rivers flow, abiding therein forever by the permission of their Lord. Their greeting therein will be, ‘Peace!’ [Q 14:23]
Allah will make those, who believe in all things that they must believe in, e.g. belief in the Oneness of Allah, the messages of the messengers of Allah, and perform righteous deeds, enter Gardens beneath whose trees rivers flow. They will abide therein forever, by the permission of Allah, their Lord. The angels will greet them in Paradise, saying, ‘Peace be upon you!’
Have you not seen how Allah presents an example of a good word like a good tree, whose root is firm, and its branches are high, extending towards the sky? [Q 14:24]
Have you not seen how Allah presents an example of the word of belief and the word of disbelief? Allah likens the good word, namely, there is no god worthy of worship but Allah, to a good and beneficial tree.
Then Allah describes this tree as having a firm root that is extended deep in the ground. The branches of this tree are extended high towards the sky, which makes it beautiful.
It produces its fruit all the time, by the permission of its Lord. Allah presents examples for people that they may remember. [Q 14:25]
This good tree produces its fruit all the time by the permission of Allah.
In sum, the good tree is beneficial and useful. Its root is deeply rooted in the ground, its branches are extended high towards the sky, and it produces its fruit all the time by the permission of Allah. These attributes denote the impressiveness of the tree, its beauty, its tasty fruits, and its constant benefit. These attributes of the tree are similar to the attributes of a good word, namely, beneficial and enable those who believe in it to attain happiness in this life and the Hereafter.
[Allah presents examples for people that they may remember.]
Allah mentions the wisdom behind presenting examples in the Quran. Allah presents examples in the Quran so that people may remember His proofs and learn lessons from them, which will make them admonished and obey His commands and avoid His prohibitions. Moreover, likening intangible concepts to tangible ones establishes them in people’s minds and remove ambiguity.
Some scholars believe that ‘the good word’ refers to the belief of the believer. Abdul-Allah bin Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, said, ‘The good word is the testimony of belief, i.e. there is no god worthy of worship but Allah. ‘Its root is firm’ means that the testimony of belief is firmly rooted in the believer’s heart. ‘It branches are extended high towards the sky’ means that the believers’ deeds ascend to heaven by means of the testimony of belief in Allah’s Oneness.[Tafsir al-Tabari]’
Other scholars maintain that ‘the good word’ refers to the believer himself. Attya al-Aowfy, may Allah have mercy on him, said, ‘[Have you not seen how Allah presents an example of a good word like a good tree…?] It represents the example of the believer. He always speaks good words, and performs righteous deeds that ascend to heaven.Tafsir al-Tabari]’ Furthermore, some scholars believe that the good tree refers to a tree in Paradise, and other scholars maintain that it refers to the palm tree.
Imam Muhammad bin Jarir at-Tabari, may Allah have mercy on him, said that the most correct opinion is that ‘the good tree’ refers to the palm tree because there is an authentic prophetic narration supporting this interpretation. Abdul-Allah bin Umar, may Allah be pleased with them, reported that Messenger Muhammad said to his companions, ‘There is a tree, whose leaves do not fall, just like the believer.’ The people thought that it belongs to some trees in the desert. I thought that it was the palm tree, but I was shy to speak. Then Messenger Muhammad said, ‘It is the palm tree.[Tafsir al-Tabari]’
And the example of an evil word is like an evil tree, uprooted from the surface of the earth, having no stability. [Q 14:26]
This is an example that represents the word of disbelief in the Oneness of Allah. The evil word is like an evil tree that has the following attributes:
- Its taste is foul and it is harmful. No benefit can be obtained from it.
- It is uprooted from the ground. Thus, it has no origin, just as worshipping other gods besides Allah has no sound evidence.
- It is unstable. Similarly, worshipping other gods besides Allah is void.
Anas bin Malik, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated that the Messenger Muhammad said, ‘That it is a hanzalah tree.[Tafsir al-Tabari’ A hanzalah tree can easily be uprooted from the face of the earth because its roots are shallow, close to the surface of the earth. Thus, it has no stability.
The scholars mention other names for the evil tree. Others say that this is an example and is not meant to refer to a specific tree. It just mentions attributes that may apply to any tree, having such attributes [Ibn Atiyyah, Abd al-Haqq bin Ghalib, Al-Muharrar al-Wajeez Fee Tafsir al-Kitab al-Azeez].
Abdul-Allah bin Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, said, ‘Allah has likened the evil tree to the disbeliever. The evil tree is uprooted from the surface of the earth and has no stability. Likewise, the deeds of the disbeliever do not ascend to heaven. It also has no firm origin on the surface of the earth. It has no branches extended to heaven. Similarly, the disbeliever has no beneficial deeds in the worldly life nor the Hereafter.[Tafsir al-Tabari’
Allah makes firm those who believe by the firm word in the worldly life and the Hereafter, and Allah lets go astray the wrongdoers. Allah does what He wills. [Q14: 27]
Allah makes firm the believers in the worldly life so that they firmly adhere to their creed of belief in the Oneness of Allah no matter how suffering and affliction that they may encounter. Similarly, Allah makes firm the believers in the Hereafter when the angels ask them in their graves about their God, religion, and messenger.
Al-Bara’ bin Aazb, may Allah be pleased with him, reported that Messenger Messenger mentioned what would happen to the believer after death. He said, ‘His soul will return to his body. Then Allah will send him two angels, who will violently reprove him. They will make him sit. Then they will say, ‘Who is your Lord?’ He will say, ‘Allah.’ They will say, ‘What is your religion?’ He will say, ‘Islam.’ They will say, ‘Who is your prophet?’ He will say, Muhammad.’ They will say, ‘How do know that?’ He will say, ‘I read the Quran, so I believed in him.’ This refers to the statement of Allah, [Allah makes firm those who believe by the firm word in the worldly life and the Hereafter.][Tafsir al-Tabari’
[…and Allah lets go astray the wrongdoers.] Allah will not guide to the right path the disbelievers in the worldly life and the Hereafter when the angels will ask them in their graves.
Al-Bara’ bin Aazb, may Allah be pleased with him, reported that Messenger Muhammad mentioned what will happen to disbeliever after death. He said, ‘His soul will be returned to his body. Then two chiding angels will come to him. They will make him sit. Then they will say, ‘Who is your Lord?’ He will say, ‘I do not know.’ They will say, ‘What is your religion?’ He will say, ‘I do not know.’ They will say, ‘Who was the prophet that was sent to you?’ He will say, ‘I heard the people say so-and-so, and I do not know.’ They will say, ‘May you never know.’ This refers to the statement of Allah, […and Allah lets go astray the wrongdoers.][Tafsir al-Tabari]’
[Allah does what He wills.] following the path of guidance or the path of misguidance depends on the will of Allah, Exalted be He. He is able to guide to the path of guidance whom He wills. He also lets go astray whom He wills according to His wisdom that no one knows but Him.
Learned Lesson From Surah Ibrahim Ayah: 23-27
• The reward of the believers will be entering Gardens in Paradise. Rivers will be flowing beneath the trees of these Gardens. They will be greeted by the salutation of peace therein.
• The good word, namely, the word of belief in the Oneness of Allah, is firm and beneficial.
• Parables, especially, liking intangible things to tangible things, help to understand concepts. Thus, people may be admonished.
• The evil word, namely, the word of disbelief in the Oneness of Allah, has no stable root and is harmful.
• Allah makes the believers firm in the worldly life so they firmly adhere to the path of guidance by obeying His commands and avoiding His prohibitions.
• Allah will make the disbelievers go astray in Hereafter just they refused to follow the path of guidance in the worldly life and insisted on disobeying His commands.
• Allah does what He wills.
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