lets its leaves and flowers fall on the ground in order to fertilize the soil. If it takes carbon dioxide from the air, it returns to its surroundings another more beneficial element in the form of oxygen. Although separate from the universe, it relates to the entire universe in such a manner that it does not clash with anything else.
The tree, moreover, presents a beautiful picture to the human eye and gives off a lovely fragrance to the passerby. For those who want food it has delicious fruits to offer. It may also be cut down for those who need wood. The tree meets many needs and is guaranteed to fulfil human expectations for all time to come.
Half of the tree is above the ground and half of it is below the ground. The tree, moreover, is so deep-rooted that it needs no support and its roots are so firmly entrenched in the soil that no one can uproot it. It rises so high in its surroundings that it is always able to have sunlight.
The Quran has likened the believer to a tree. This shows what qualities the believer should have. In the believer all those qualities exist at the human level which exist at the material level in the tree. A believer has to consciously do of his own free will what the tree is doing while governed by nature. The believer, of his own free will, has to create a green world which the tree brings about as a matter of compulsion as it has no freedom. A tree has to follow the laws of nature.
The tree is a growing phenomenon and, similarly, a believer too is a growing phenomenon. The believer is a human being who, because of his divine thinking, is able to make the entire universe spiritual food for his realization of God.
