78. A number of our people has narrated from Ahmad ibn Muhammad from Ali ibn Sayf from his father from ‘Amr ibn Harith who has said the following. “I asked abu ‘Abdallah about the words of Allah. “. . a blessed tree which has firm roots and branches rising up into the sky.” (14:24) The Imam said that the The Holy Prophet said, “The root is Amir al-Mu’minin Ali and the branches are the Imams from their (Amir al-Mu’minin and The Holy Prophet descendants and the knowledge of Imams stand for the fruits. Their faithful followers represent the leaves of such tree.” The Imam asked, “Is there anything else in the tree?” I said, “No, there is nothing else there. The Imam then said, “By Allah, when a faithful is given a child a leave grows in the tree and when a faithful dies a leave falls off the tree.”