...like a bad tree, which is the disbeliever. 'It is uprooted from the surface of the earth, having no stability.' He says: Polytheism has no root to which the disbeliever can hold, nor does it have any evidence, and Allah does not accept any deed alongside polytheism. (1)

12250 - From Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) regarding His saying: 'Have you not considered how Allah presents an example...' to the end of the verse. He said: He means by the good tree, the believer. And he means by the root firmly fixed in the earth and the branch in the sky, that the believer acts and speaks on earth, and his deed and word reach the sky while he is still on earth. 'It gives its fruit all the time, by permission of its Lord.' He says: He remembers Allah every hour of the night and day. And regarding His saying: 'And the example of a bad word,' he said: Allah set the example of a bad tree like that of the disbeliever. He says: Indeed, the bad tree 'is uprooted from the surface of the earth, having no stability,' meaning that the disbeliever’s deed is not accepted and does not ascend to Allah, the Exalted. So it has no root fixed in the earth and no branch in the sky. He says: He has no righteous deed in the world nor in the Hereafter. (2)

12251 - From al-Rabi' ibn Anas (may Allah be pleased with him), he said: Indeed, Allah made His obedience a light and His disobedience a darkness. Indeed, faith in the world is the light on the Day of Resurrection. Furthermore, there is no good in a word or a deed that has no root and no branch. And He has indeed set an example for faith, saying: 'Have you not considered how Allah presents an example, a good word...' up to His saying: '...and its branch is in the sky.' They are merely examples regarding faith and disbelief. He mentioned that the sincere, believing servant is the tree; its root is fixed in the earth and its branch has reached the sky. The firm root is the sincerity to Allah alone and His worship without any partner. Then the branch is the good deed. Then his deed ascends at the beginning of the day and its end, so it 'gives its fruit all the time, by permission of its Lord.' Then it is four. (3)

12252 - My father narrated to us, Musa ibn Isma'il narrated to us, Hammad—meaning Ibn Salamah—narrated to us, from Shu'ayb ibn al-Hubhab, from Anas ibn Malik: That the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said: "'And the example of a bad word is like a bad tree'—it is the colocynth (al-hanzalah)." I informed Abu al-'Aliyah of that, and he said: "This is how we used to hear it." (4)