سورة ابراهيم

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him) said: "As for the parables that have been brought in the Qur'an, they are like the saying of Allah the Exalted: ضَرَبَ اللهُ مَثَلًا کَلِمَةً طَیِّبَةً کَشَجَرَةٍ طَیِّبَةٍ [Allah sets forth a parable of a good word being like a good tree]... and His saying: 'What they spend in this base worldly life is like a scorching wind which strikes the crop of a people who have wronged themselves [and cultivated it out of its proper place and time], and destroys it. Allah has not wronged them, but they wrong themselves.' (Al-i Imran/117), and like His saying: 'Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth; the likeness of His light is as a niche in which is a lamp [full of radiance].' (al-Nur/35) Allah the Glorified has set forth these parables for the people in His Book so that they may take lessons from them and exchange them for the obedience which He has desired from them, and such parables are many in the Book of Allah."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Amr ibn Hurayth said: I asked Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) about the word of Allah in the Quran: کَشَجَرةٍ طَیِّبَةٍ أَصْلُهَا ثَابِتٌ وَ فَرْعُهَا فِی السَّمَاء [like a good tree, whose root is firm and whose branches are in heaven]. He said: "The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) is the root of that tree, the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) is its trunk, the Imams from the descendants of Ali (peace be upon him) are its branches, the knowledge of the Imams (peace be upon them) are its fruits, and the believing Shia are its leaves. Is there anything more in this tree?" I said: "By Allah! No." The Imam (peace be upon him) said: "By Allah! Whenever a believer is born into the world, a leaf grows on that tree, and when he dies, a leaf falls from it."

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): Abu Hamza al-Thumali narrates from Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) that he said: The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) said: "I am the root of that tree, Ali (peace be upon him) is its trunk, the Imams (peace be upon them) are its branches, our knowledge is its fruit, and our Shia are its leaves. O Abu Hamza! Do you see anything more in this tree?" I said: "No, by Allah, I do not see anything more in it." The Imam (peace be upon him) said: "O Abu Hamza! By Allah! Every believing newborn who comes into the world, a leaf is added to that tree, and when he dies, a leaf falls from it."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Sulayman said: I asked Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) about سِدْرَةِ المُنْتَهی [the Lote-Tree of the Utmost Boundary]. The Imam (peace be upon him) said: "أَصْلُها ثابِتٌ وَ فَرْعُها فِی السَّماءِ [its root is firm and its branches are in heaven]." Then he said: "The noble Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) is the root of that tree, Ali (peace be upon him) is the upper part of the tree, Fatima (peace be upon her) is its trunk, and the Imams (peace be upon them) are the branches of the tree, and the Shia are the leaves of the tree." I said: "May I be your ransom! Then what is the meaning of al-Muntaha?" He said: "By Allah! Religion ends at it; whoever is not of that tree is neither a believer nor of our Shia."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Umar ibn Yazid said: I asked Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) about the word of Allah in the Quran أَصْلُها ثابِتٌ وَ فَرْعُها فِی السَّماءِ [its root is firm and its branches are in heaven]. The Imam (peace be upon him) said: "The noble Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) is the root, the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) is its upper part, Fatima al-Zahra (peace be upon her) is the trunk of the tree, the Imams (peace be upon them) are its branches, the knowledge of the Imams is its fruit, and their Shia are its leaves. Do you see anything more in them?" I said: "No!" The Imam (peace be upon him) said: "By Allah! When a believer departs from the world, a leaf falls from that tree, and when a believer comes into the world, a leaf grows on that tree."

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): What is meant by the tree is the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family), whose lineage is firmly rooted in Bani Hashim. The trunk of that tree is Ali (peace be upon him), its root is Fatima (peace be upon her), its branches are the Imams (peace be upon them), and its leaves are the Shia. Whenever one of them dies, a leaf falls from this tree, and when one steps into the world, a leaf grows on it.

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): The tree is the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family), and his lineage is firmly established in Banu Hashim; and the branch is Ali ibn Abi Talib (peace be upon him); and the bough is Fatimah (peace be upon her); and its fruits are the Imams from the descendants of Ali and Fatimah (peace be upon them); and their Shia are its leaves. Indeed, whenever one of the believing Shia departs from this world, a leaf falls from the tree, and if a child is born from our Shia, a leaf grows on the tree.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): The root of that tree is the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family), and its trunk is the Commander of the Faithful, Ali (peace be upon him), and its fruits are Hasan and Husayn (peace be upon them), and its branches are the nine descendants of Husayn (peace be upon him), and the Shia are its leaves. By Allah! Whenever one of the Shia dies, a leaf falls from that tree.

Imam Baqir and Imam Sadiq (peace be upon them): Zurarah and Humran narrate from Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) and Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) that concerning the interpretation of the verse كَشَجَرَةٍ طَیِّبَةٍ أَصْلُهَا ثَابِتٌ وَ فَرْعُهَا فِی السَّمَاء [like a good tree, whose root is firm and whose branches are in heaven], they said: "The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) and the Imams are the firm root of this tree, and its branches are those who enter into wilayah (accept it)."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): It is narrated from Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): People came to my father Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) and asked: "What is the rank and station of the Imam (peace be upon him)?" He said: "It is very great. Whenever you come into the presence of the Imam (peace be upon him), show him respect, honor him greatly, and believe in whatever he says. It is incumbent upon him to guide you. There is a quality in him such that when you enter his presence, on account of his majesty and awe you cannot fix your gaze upon him, for the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) was likewise, and the Imam (peace be upon him) is also like him." They asked: "Does he recognize his Shia?" He said: "Yes! When he sees them." They said: "We are your Shia." He said: "Yes, all of you." They said: "What is the sign of that?" He said: "Would you like me to tell you your names, and the names of your fathers and your tribes?" They said: "Please do." At that very moment he named their names. They said: "That is correct." He said: "I will inform you of the question you intended to ask concerning the verse كَشَجَرَةٍ طَیِّبَةٍ أَصْلُها ثابِتٌ وَ فَرْعُها فِی السَّماءِ [like a good tree, whose root is firm and whose branches are in heaven]: we give from our knowledge to whichever of our Shia we wish." Then he said: "Are you satisfied?" They said: "Master! We would have been satisfied with less than this."

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): Allah placed these secrets and symbols in His Book, which no one knows except Him, the prophets, and the divine proofs upon the earth, because He knew what the distorters would do regarding the Quran — that they would remove the names of the successors and confuse the people so as to gain the people's help in the false aim they hold. For this reason He placed symbols in the Quran, and blinded their outward and inward eyes from noticing those symbols which bear witness to their innovations in religion. And the people of the Book and those informed of its outward and inward meaning He made from a pure tree أَصْلُها ثابِتٌ وَ فَرْعُها فِي السَّماءِ [whose root is firm (in the earth) and whose branches are in heaven], تُؤْتِی أُکُلَها کُلَّ حِینٍ بِإِذْنِ رَبِّها [which yields its fruit at every season by the permission of its Lord] — that is, the like of this knowledge becomes manifest to its bearers time after time. And the enemies of the Quran He made from the cursed tree; those who wished to extinguish the light of Allah with their mouths, but Allah wills only to perfect His light. (al-Tawbah/32).

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Abd al-Rahman ibn Salim narrates from his father: Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: ضَرَبَ اللهُ مَثَلًا کَلِمَةً طَیِّبَةً [Allah sets forth a parable of a good word] — this is a parable which the Lord the Exalted has struck concerning the Ahl al-Bayt of His Prophet (peace be upon him and his family), and concerning those who bore enmity toward the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) and the Ahl al-Bayt He has said: [likewise] کَلِمَةٍ خَبِیثَةٍ [an evil word] He has likened to an impure tree which has been uprooted from the surface of the earth, having no stability or firmness. (Ibrahim/26).

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): People have been created from various trees, but I and the son of Abu Talib have been created from one tree — my root is Ali (peace be upon him) and my branch is Ja'far.

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): Indeed this pure tree is the date palm.

Ibn Abbas (may Allah have mercy on him): Jibra'il (peace be upon him) said to the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): "The tree is you, and Ali (peace be upon him) is its branch, and Fatimah (peace be upon her) is its leaf, and Hasan and Husayn (peace be upon them) are its fruits." It has been said: "What Allah intended by that tree is the very qualities that were mentioned, and although such a tree does not exist in this world, its description is known and clear; and what is meant by the good word is faith, and what is meant by the good tree is the believer."