and correctness means that it is something Allah has prescribed through His Messenger.
The three rejected kinds are those that fail to meet these conditions.
There is a remarkable subtlety in likening these deeds to ashes: fire burns up and destroys the substance of both. Deeds done for other than Allah and contrary to His will become food for the Fire, and through them the Fire is kindled against those who performed them.
Allah, glorified be He, brings forth fire and torment for them from their false deeds, just as He brings forth bliss and comfort from the deeds of those whose actions conform to His commands and prohibitions and are sincerely devoted to Him alone. Thus fire consumes the deeds of the former until it reduces them to ashes. They, their deeds, and whatever they worship besides Allah are fuel for the Fire.
[Surah Abraham (14): verses 24 to 25]
“Have you not considered how Allah presents an example: a good word is like a good tree, whose root is firmly fixed and whose branches reach into the sky? (24) It yields its fruit at all times by its Lord’s permission. And Allah presents examples for people so that they may take heed. (25)”
Allah, glorified be He, likens the good word to a good tree because the good word bears righteous deeds, just as the good tree bears beneficial fruit. This is clear according to the majority of Quran commentators, who say that the good word is the testimony that there is no god worthy of worship except Allah. It bears all righteous deeds, both outward and inward. Every righteous deed pleasing to Allah is therefore a fruit of this word.
In the commentary transmitted by 'Alī ibn Abī Talhah from Ibn 'Abbās, he said: “‘A good word’ is the testimony that there is no god worthy of worship except Allah. ‘Like a good tree’ refers to the believer. ‘Whose root is firmly fixed’ is the declaration ‘There is no god worthy of worship except Allah’ in the believer’s heart. ‘And whose branches reach into the sky’ means that through it the believer’s deeds are raised to heaven.”
Al-Rabī' ibn Anas said: “‘A good word’: this is a likeness of faith. Faith is the good tree, and its firmly fixed root, which never passes away, is sincerity in faith. Its branches are in