14:24 Hast thou not seen how God has struck a similitude? A goodly word is like a goodly tree.
The pure words and true speech of a person of faith are like a pure tree that gives forth good fruit. A pure tree in fine soil and pleasing water gives forth only sweet fruit. This is why He says, “And the goodly land, its plants come forth by the leave of its Lord” [7:58].
The pure soil is the soul of the person of faith, the pure tree is the tree of recognition, the pleasing water is the water of regret, and the sweet fruit is the formula of tawḥīd. Just as a tree sends down roots into the earth, so also recognition and faith send down roots into the heart of the person of faith. Just as the branches bring forth fruit in the air, so also the tree of recognizing tawḥīd brings speech to the tongue and deeds to the limbs, and both rise up. This is why the Exalted Lord said, “To Him ascend the goodly words, and He uplifts the wholesome deed” [35:10]. A tree is sustained by three things: roots sent down into the earth, a trunk standing in place, and branches lifted in the air. The tree of recognition has three things perfectly: attesting in the heart, acting with the limbs, and speaking with the tongue. The Prophet said, “Faith is recognizing with the heart, assenting with the tongue, and acting with the body.”
The Pir of the Tariqah said, “O God, the water of Your solicitude reached stone and the stone bore fruit. The stone grew a tree, and the tree gave fruit and produce—a tree whose fruit is all happiness, whose flavor is all closeness, whose scent is all freedom; a tree whose roots are in the earth of loyalty, its branches in the air of approval, its fruit recognition and limpidness, its outcome vision and encounter.”
14:25 It gives its fruit every season by the leave of its Lord.
Ibn ʿAbbās said, “The tree that the Exalted Lord used as a likeness for the faith of the faithful is a tree in paradise whose fruit is neither cut off nor finished: neither cut off nor withheld [56:33].” In the same way, the subtleties of the hearts of the recognizers are among the fruits of the tree of faith, neither cut off nor withheld, and the hearts of the folk of the realities are not turned away from them nor veiled. At every moment and breath, the subtleties are freely bestowed and not veiled.
