a goodly word, that is, a goodly soul, as has already been mentioned in the naming of Jesus, peace be upon him, as 'a word' [from God] [cf. Q. 3:45], is as a goodly tree, likened by Him to an olive tree in the QurÌān and a date-palm in the ḥadīth; its root set firm, through reassuredness and the firmness of conviction through proof, and its shoots are in, the heaven of the spirit;