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Qur'an 14:24

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Qur'an 14:24
Verse's Information
SuraSura Ibrahim (Qur'an 14)
Verse24
Juz'13
AboutComparison of the "good word" (kalima tayyiba) to a pure and good tree


Qur'an 14:24 compares the phrase "good word" (Arabic: كَلِمَةً طَيِّبَةً) to a good tree whose roots are firmly grounded and whose branches reach into the sky. The phrase is understood in a broad sense, encompassing any pure and blessed tradition, practice, or action.

Most exegetes have identified the "good tree" (Arabic: شَجَرَةٍ طَيِّبَةٍ) as a palm tree. The tree's goodness has been interpreted in terms of its pleasant appearance, fragrance, good fruit, benefit to people, growth, and longevity. In numerous verses, including Qur'an 14:24, the Qur'an conveys various ideas and intellectual concepts by comparing them to tangible things in order to make them easier for people to understand.

Numerous hadiths interpret the "good tree" as referring to the person of Prophet Muhammad (s), with its firm roots representing his lineage in Banu Hashim. The tree's main branch is identified as Ali b. Abi Talib (a), while its secondary branch is identified as Fatima (a). Imam al-Sadiq (a) identifies the fruits of this tree as the Imams descended from Ali (a) and Fatima (a), and its leaves as their Shi'as. According to hadiths, when a believer from among the Shi'as dies, a leaf falls from that tree, and when a believer is born, the tree grows a new leaf.

Introduction

God presents good and evil through parables in Qur'an 14:24 and the following verses.[1] In Qur'an 14:24–25, God compares the good and truthful word to a good tree with firm roots, branches reaching into the sky, and fruit that it yields at all times by God's permission.[2] Before Qur'an 14:24, God discusses the punishment of the oppressors,[3] the condition of the wretched,[4] the reward of the believers,[5] and the state of the prosperous.[6] God then illustrates their conditions through an example drawn from the sensory world.[7]

In numerous verses, including Qur'an 14:24, the Qur'an conveys abstract ideas and intellectual concepts by comparing them to tangible things, making them easier for people to understand. This is because people can more readily conceive of tangible things than abstract concepts.[8] Comparing abstract concepts with sensory realities is considered a way of making them accessible to the human mind.[9] Qur'an 14:24 provides a parable for the good word and righteous matters, while Qur'an 14:26 presents a parable for the bad word.[10] The verse begins with the phrase "Have you not seen" (Arabic: أَلَمْ تَرَ). Here, "seeing" is understood to mean knowledge or insight—that is, the vision of the heart. Accordingly, the verse may be rendered as: "Do you not know and understand, O Prophet, how God presents truths through parables?"[11]

The Good Word

Some exegetes have interpreted the "good word" as referring to Tawhid[12] and the testimony " La ilaha illa Allah".[13] Other interpretations have also been proposed.[14] A number of contemporary Shi'a exegetes, including Nasir Makarim Shirazi,[15] Muhammad Husayn Fadlallah,[16] and Muhammad Jawad Mughniyya,[17] hold that the phrase "good word" has a broad meaning and encompasses numerous examples. It is not limited to speech or verbal expression; it is also understood to include actions.[18] Allama Tabataba'i, a Shi'a exegete, understood the good word as more than mere speech. In his view, it refers to a statement grounded in belief and firm resolve, to which a person remains committed in practice.[19]

Makarim Shirazi holds that the phrase "good word" encompasses any pure and blessed tradition, command, program, practice, or action, all of which Qur'an 14:24 compares to a good tree.[20] Muhammad Jawad Mughniyya interprets the "good word" broadly, as encompassing anything that benefits people and contributes to their well-being.[21] He does not restrict this meaning to religious matters, but maintains that it also includes non-religious matters.[22]

The Good Tree

See also: Shajara Tayyiba

Some exegetes maintain that most hadiths identify the "good tree" as a palm tree.[23] Some hadiths also describe it as a tree in Paradise.[24] Allama Tabataba'i[25] and some Sunni exegetes[26] report that most exegetes identify the "good tree" as a palm tree. The tree's goodness has been explained in terms of its pleasant appearance, fragrance, delicious fruit, and benefit to people,[27] as well as its growth and durability.[28]

Sayyid Muhammad Taqi al-Mudarrisi, a Shi'a exegete, maintains that a person whose belief is grounded in knowledge and whose will ensures its stability will not change their beliefs. Such a person resembles a beneficial tree whose roots have grown deep into the earth and whose branches extend into the sky. Because the person's belief is firm and deeply rooted, and because they protect it with all their might, it will undoubtedly bear fruit as well.[29] Sayyid Qutb, a Sunni exegete, holds that the firmness of this tree means that the storms of falsehood cannot uproot it and the axes of oppressors cannot cut it down. Even when the tree appears to be on the verge of destruction, it remains standing, overcoming falsehood, oppression, and rebellion.[30]

At the end of Qur'an 14:24, the phrase "its branches are in the sky" (Arabic: فَرْعُها فِی السَّماءِ) is used to emphasize the tree's great height.[31] Allama Tabataba'i, a Shi'a exegete, discusses the various interpretations proposed by exegetes regarding the good word and the good tree, but cautions that excessive attention to these possibilities may lead readers away from the teachings of the Qur'an and the aims of the verses.[32]

Application of the Verse to the Prophet (s) and Ahl al-Bayt (a)

Ali b. Ibrahim al-Qummi, a Shi'a scholar and exegete of the 3rd century AH, narrates a hadith from Imam al-Baqir (a) interpreting the parable in Qur'an 14:24 as referring to the Prophet (s) and the Imams. In this narration, the good tree represents Prophet Muhammad (s), while its firm roots represent his lineage in Banu Hashim. The narration goes on to identify the tree's main branch as Ali b. Abi Talib (a) and its secondary branch as Fatima (a). Imam al-Baqir (a) identifies the fruits of this tree as the Imams of the Shi'a descended from Ali (a) and Fatima (a), and its leaves as their Shi'as. According to this narration, when a believer from among the Shi'a dies, a leaf falls from the tree, and when a believer is born, the tree grows a new leaf.[33] A narration from Imam al-Sadiq (a) with similar content has also been transmitted.[34] Some exegetes have noted that numerous hadiths interpret Qur'an 14:24 as referring to the Prophet (s) and the Ahl al-Bayt (a).[35]

Notes

  1. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, vol. 10, p. 331.
  2. ↑ Fayḍ al-Kāshānī, Tafsīr al-ṣāfī, vol. 3, p. 85.
  3. ↑ Shaḥāta, Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-karīm, vol. 7, p. 2596.
  4. ↑ Fakhr al-Rāzī, Mafātīḥ al-ghayb, vol. 19, p. 89.
  5. ↑ Shaḥāta, Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-karīm, vol. 7, p. 2596.
  6. ↑ Fakhr al-Rāzī, Mafātīḥ al-ghayb, vol. 19, p. 89.
  7. ↑ Shaḥāta, Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-karīm, vol. 7, p. 2596; Fakhr al-Rāzī, Mafātīḥ al-ghayb, vol. 19, p. 89.
  8. ↑ Faḍl Allāh, Min waḥy al-Qurʾān, vol. 13, p. 105.
  9. ↑ Faḍl Allāh, Min waḥy al-Qurʾān, vol. 13, p. 105.
  10. ↑ Sayyid Quṭb, Fī ẓilāl al-Qurʾān, vol. 4, p. 2098.
  11. ↑ Ṭayyib, Aṭyab al-bayān, vol. 7, p. 383.
  12. ↑ Ṭabrisī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, vol. 6, p. 480.
  13. ↑ Ibn Abī Ḥātim, Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-ʿaẓīm, vol. 4, p. 422.
  14. ↑ Qarāʾatī, Tafsīr-i nūr, vol. 1, p. 506.
  15. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, vol. 10, p. 331.
  16. ↑ Faḍl Allāh, Min waḥy al-Qurʾān, vol. 13, p. 105.
  17. ↑ Mughniyya, Al-Tafsīr al-kāshif, vol. 4, p. 443.
  18. ↑ Faḍl Allāh, Min waḥy al-Qurʾān, vol. 13, p. 105.
  19. ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, Al-Mīzān, vol. 12, p. 51.
  20. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, vol. 10, p. 332.
  21. ↑ Mughniyya, Al-Tafsīr al-kāshif, vol. 4, p. 443.
  22. ↑ Mughniyya, Al-Tafsīr al-kāshif, vol. 4, p. 443.
  23. ↑ Dīwbandī, Tafsīr-i Kābulī, vol. 3, p. 367.
  24. ↑ ʿĀmilī, Tafsīr-i ʿĀmilī, vol. 5, p. 275.
  25. ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, Al-Mīzān, vol. 12, p. 51.
  26. ↑ Ālūsī, Rūḥ al-maʿānī, vol. 7, p. 202.
  27. ↑ Fakhr al-Rāzī, Mafātīḥ al-ghayb, vol. 19, p. 89.
  28. ↑ Qarāʾatī, Tafsīr-i nūr, vol. 4, p. 408.
  29. ↑ Mudarrisī, Min hudā al-Qurʾān, vol. 5, p. 401.
  30. ↑ Sayyid Quṭb, Fī ẓilāl al-Qurʾān, vol. 4, p. 2098.
  31. ↑ Ṭūsī, Al-Tibyān, vol. 6, p. 291.
  32. ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, Al-Mīzān, vol. 12, p. 51.
  33. ↑ Qummī, Tafsīr al-Qummī, vol. 1, p. 369.
  34. ↑ Furāt al-Kūfī, Tafsīr Furāt al-Kūfī, p. 219; Baḥrānī, Al-Burhān, vol. 3, p. 296.
  35. ↑ Ṭayyib, Aṭyab al-bayān, vol. 7, p. 383.

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