raise it up.”

Allah, glorified is He, likens the good word—that is, the declaration of His oneness—to a good tree whose root is firm and whose branches reach into the sky. He thereby explains that the good word has a firm root in the believer’s heart and branches reaching high, and that it is firmly established in a steadfast heart. As He says:

“Allah keeps those who believe firm with the firm word, in this worldly life and in the Hereafter.”

The believer possesses certainty and tranquillity. Faith is firmly established and settled in his heart, and he himself remains steadfast and settled in faith, never turning away from it. The evil word, however, is:

“Like an evil tree uprooted from the surface of the earth.”

It has been torn out by its roots, just as something is cut away and uprooted from the surface of the earth:

“Having no stability.”

It has neither a place in which to settle nor stability in any place. For qarār can mean a place of settlement, as Allah Most High says:

“And wretched is that resting place.”

And He says:

“He made the earth a place of settlement for you.”

It is also said, “So-and-so has no qarār,” meaning no stability. The word in the verse has been interpreted in both senses. Thus, the belief of one who upholds falsehood is not firmly established in his heart, nor is he himself steadfast or settled in it. As Allah Most High says in the other parable:

“As for the foam, it passes away, cast aside; but what benefits people remains in the earth.”

Although he may hold that belief for a time, it fails him at the moment of truth. He is like someone who associates partners with Allah: at the moment of truth, whatever he used to invoke besides Allah vanishes from him. Likewise, the vain deeds in which a person believes fail him at the moment of truth and do not benefit him. Rather, they are like the evil tree uprooted from the surface of the earth, having no