Faith is compared in the Quran to a tree. مَثَلًا كَلِمَةً طَيِّبَةً كَشَجَرَةٍ طَيِّبَةٍ أَصْلُهَا ثَابِتٌ وَفَرْعُهَا فِي السَّمَاءِ (14:24) What is a tree? A tree begins from a seed. The starting point of a tree is a seed. A seed is a tiny thing which you plant in the soil. From this, a stem emerges, which forms into a trunk and it then spreads out into branches, leaves and flowers. A small seed gives rise to a huge tree whose root is firm and branches are in the sky. This tree is likened to faith or God-realization. God's realization is not similar to brick or stone. Instead, God-realization is something that grows and grows. If you have a realization or make a discovery, then a seed enters your personality. This seed will grow throughout your life. This is the process of intellectual and spiritual development. This process continues through life and never comes to an end. If it comes to a stop, it was actually a stone and not a tree. If you take a piece of stone which looks similar to a seed, and if you plant it in the soil, then even after 10-20 years it would remain the same.

A stone which is the size of the seed will remain so forever. But a real seed will keep growing until it becomes a fully-grown tree. If you find faith but if it doesn’t grow, then it was only stone in the form of seed. It wasn’t really faith. The indication of faith or God-realization is that it grows. It is like a tree whose roots are firm and branches are in the sky. Just as a tree begins with a tiny seed and grows until it spreads out in the sky, the same is true of faith in God.