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And Ẓabyān reported from Ibn ʿAbbās (1) that it is a tree in Paradise (2).
“Whose root is firmly fixed” in the earth, “and whose branches” — that is, its uppermost part — “are in the sky.” Likewise, the root of this statement is firmly established in the believer’s heart through knowledge and affirmation; when he speaks it, it ascends and is not veiled until it reaches Allah, Exalted is He. Allah, Most High, says:
“To Him ascends good speech, and righteous work raises it.” (Fatir, 10)
(1) Cited by al-Tabari, Tafsir, 16:573, and by Ibn al-Jawzi in Zad al-Masir, 4:358. He added a third view: that it refers to the believer; its firm root is that he acts upon the earth, while his deeds reach the heavens. This was also narrated by Atiyyah from Ibn Abbas.
(2) In manuscript B: “al-Sham.”
وَقَالَ ظَبْيَانُ عَنِ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ (١) هِيَ شَجَرَةٌ فِي الْجَنَّةِ (٢) .
﴿أَصْلُهَا ثَابِتٌ﴾ فِي الْأَرْضِ، ﴿وَفَرْعُهَا﴾ أَعْلَاهَا، ﴿فِي السَّمَاءِ﴾ كَذَلِكَ أَصْلُ هَذِهِ الْكَلِمَةِ: رَاسِخٌ فِي قَلْبِ الْمُؤْمِنِ بِالْمَعْرِفَةِ وَالتَّصْدِيقِ، فَإِذَا تَكَلَّمَ بِهَا عَرَجَتْ، فَلَا تُحْجَبُ حَتَّى تَنْتَهِيَ إِلَى اللَّهِ ﷿. قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى: ﴿إِلَيْهِ يَصْعَدُ الْكَلِمُ الطَّيِّبُ وَالْعَمَلُ الصَّالِحُ يَرْفَعُهُ﴾ (فَاطِرٍ -١٠) .
(١) نقله عنه الطبري: ١٦ / ٥٧٣، وابن الجوزي في زاد المسير: ٤ / ٣٥٨، وزاد قولا ثالثا فيها، وهو: أنها المؤمن، وأصله الثابت، أن يعمل في الأرض، ويبلغ عمله السماء، وهذا رواه عطية عن ابن عباس أيضا.
(٢) في "ب": الشام.