It is mentioned in the saying of Allah the Exalted: “Have you not seen how Allah presents an example: a good word is like a good tree, whose root is firmly fixed and whose branches are in the sky.”

The questioner : He asks about the noble verse in the saying of Allah the Exalted: What is meant by the good word and the good tree?

The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may Allah send prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, his Companions, and those who follow them in excellence until the Day of Judgment. As for what is meant by the good word, it is the word of sincerity: “La ilaha illa Allah” (There is no god but Allah). As for what is meant by the good tree, it is the date palm, whose root is firmly fixed and whose branches are in the sky, yielding its fruit at all times by the permission of its Lord. Similarly, the word of sincerity yields its fruit through righteous deeds that bring one closer to Allah (Mighty and Majestic). It is the root, and its branches are the righteous deeds. For this reason, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said in the hadith of 'Atban ibn Malik: For this reason, the scholars said in their interpretation of the fact that the word of sincerity is the key to Paradise: the key does not function unless it has teeth. If you inserted a key that was just a piece of wood, it would not open the door unless it had teeth, and its teeth are the righteous deeds. Therefore, the stronger position, supported by the Book, the Sunnah, the statements of the Companions, and sound reasoning, is that one who abandons prayer absolutely is a disbeliever by major disbelief, which takes him out of the religion, even if he believes in its obligation and that it is a fard. We have explained in other sessions the evidence from the Qur'an, the Sunnah, the statements of the Companions, and sound reasoning regarding the major disbelief of one who abandons prayer, which takes him out of the religion, and that this entails worldly rulings and rulings for the Hereafter. So let the Muslim beware of becoming an apostate disbeliever after his Islam by abandoning prayer out of negligence. What remains of Islam for him if he abandons prayer? It is not possible for a person to persist in abandoning prayer while having faith in his heart, ever, when he knows the status of prayer in Islam and its importance in the sight of Allah, and that Allah obligated it upon His Messenger in the highest heavens, and obligated it as fifty prayers, then reduced it to five prayers in practice, but they are fifty in the scale. And the virtues and rewards mentioned regarding it are such that Allah the Exalted begins righteous deeds with it and ends them with it, as in Surat al-Mu'minun: up to His saying: And in Surat al-Ma'arij: up to His saying: So righteous deeds begin with it and end with it, and its virtues are numerous, and this place is not sufficient to mention them all. How can it be said that someone knows this, or some of it, and then persists in abandoning it and never prays? How can it be said that he is a Muslim? Yes.

The questioner : May Allah reward you, Shaykh, and bless you. The questioner says, from Yemen.