Ibrāhīm

وَمَثَلُ كَلِمَةٍ خَبِيثَةٍ كَشَجَرَةٍ خَبِيثَةٍ اجْتُثَّتْ مِن فَوْقِ الأَرْضِ مَالَهَا مِن قَرَارٍ

26. “And the parable of an evil word is like an evil tree rooted upon the surface of the earth; it has naught of stability.”

The Arabic word /’ijti a/ mostly signifies uprooting and eradication. The words, ideas and deviant individuals have neither got any roots, nor do they possess any fruits, flowers, beauty, perfume, perseverance, shade, and development. On the contrary, they are just thorns in the eyes of others. At any rate, as comparative studies present one of the best ways for understanding problems, the opposite of the ‘good tree’, pops up in ones mind soon and is discussed as: ‘the word evil and unclean’ is like the evil and unclean tree which is without any roots which is up-rooted from the earth and which is thrown to one side when standing in the stormy weather and has got no stability.

It is interesting to note that the Qur’an speaks in detail about ‘the good tree’ while, when talking about ‘the evil tree’, it describes it in one short sentence and passes by it. The verse says:

“And the parable of an evil word is like an evil tree rooted upon the surface of the earth; it has naught of stability.”

This method presents a delicate way of expression which encourages man to describe all qualification of the person once he is talking about the beloved one, whereas, when talking about the detested individual, he discusses it in a very concise manner. Imam Baqir (as) is quoted as saying that the objective in mind with regard to /šajaratin xabiah/ (the evil tree) is the Umayyads. ²¹

Footnotes

1. 21. Tafsir Majma‘-ul-Bayan