How Does [Quran, 55:6] Reconcile With “Speaking Tree” Hadith?

Answered by Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat

Question

How should the verse, “The stars and the trees bow down (in submission).” [Quran, 55:6], be understood alongside hadiths which mention that trees will speak at the end of times?

Answer

I pray you are well.

The Meaning of “Najm” in the Verse

Allah Most High says:

“The sun and the moon move according to a precise calculation. And the najm and the trees prostrate.” [Quran, 55:5-6]

Although the word “najm” commonly refers to stars, in this verse it does not mean stars. Instead, it refers to plants that grow directly out of the ground without a stalk. These are plants that do not have a stem with branches above it, but instead grow straight from the earth.

The word shajar refers to trees or plants that grow with a stalk or stem, where the trunk or stem rises, and the rest of the plant is above it.

So the verse refers to two categories of plant life: those that grow directly from the ground and those that grow with a trunk or stem.

The Meaning of Prostration

Allah Most High says,

“And the najm and the trees prostrate.” [Quran, 55:6]

The word “yasjudan” comes from sajada, which literally means to place one’s face on the ground. However, what this indicates is submission.

In prayer, when we perform sujud, we place the most noble part of our body, the face, on the ground. This is the strongest expression of submission and humility. The verse does not mean that plants physically place a face on the ground as we do. Instead, their prostration is a prostration suited to them.

Their sujud is their complete submission to Allah Most High. They grow, their leaves emerge and fall, they blossom and bear fruit, all according to Allah’s precise decree. Just as “The sun and the moon move according to a precise calculation” [Quran, 55:5], plant life also functions in perfect obedience to the order of Allah.

Everything is in complete submission to Him.

Universal Submission and Praise

Allah Most High says:

“There is not a single thing that does not glorify His praises.” [Quran, 17:44]

This shows that all things have a level of cognition appropriate to them. It is not the same as human cognition, but it is a form of awareness by which they glorify Allah and fulfill His command.

Similarly, Allah Most High says:

“All praise is for Allah, Lord of the worlds.” [Quran, 1:2]

The term “worlds” refers to all created realms and species. Allah is the Lord of everything, especially the rational beings, the jinn, and human beings. Yet His lordship encompasses all creation, and all creation is in submission to Him.

Trees Speaking at the End of Times

The hadith mentions that before the Day of Judgment, trees will speak to the believers. This does not contradict the verse. Instead, it is in harmony with it.

If trees have a level of cognition appropriate to them, then Allah is fully capable of granting them the ability to articulate speech.

We already believe that on the Day of Judgment, parts of the human body will speak. Allah says in Surah Fussilat:

“They will ask their skin (furiously), ‘Why have you testified against us?’ It will say, ‘We have been made to speak by Allah, Who causes all things to speak.’” [Quran, 41:21]

Normally, skin does not speak. Yet on that Day, Allah will grant it speech. Likewise, the earth will speak, and hands and feet will testify.

If Allah can cause skin to speak, then He can certainly cause trees to speak. Their usual state is one of silent submission, but He may heighten their cognition and grant them articulation when He wills.

This is how the verse and the hadith are understood together.

And Allah knows best.
[Shaykh] Abdul-Rahim

Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat began studying Arabic Grammar and Morphology whilst studying for a degree in English and History. After graduating, He traveled to Damascus and studied Arabic, Hanafi Fiqh, Usul al-Fiqh, Theology, and Logic with Shaykh Adnan Darwish, Shaykh ‘Abd al-Rahman Arjan al-Binsawi, Shaykh Husayn Darwish, Shaykh Muhammad Darwish, the late Shaykh Rashad Shams, and others. He then moved to Amman to continue his studies in those fields, as well as in Tafsir, Quranic Sciences, Hadith Methodology and Commentary, Prophetic Biography, Prophetic Perfections and Traits, Rhetoric, Arabic Literature, and Tajwid. His teachers include Shaykh Ali Hani, Dr. Hamza al-Bakri, Dr. Salah Abu al-Hajj, Dr. Mansur Abu Zina, Shaykh Ahmad Hasanat, Shaykh Ahmad Jammal, and others.