Explanation of the hadith of Ibn 'Umar that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Tell me about a tree whose likeness is that of the Muslim

The Shaykh : The hadith mentioned under this chapter has a sound chain of narration. It is narrated from Ibn 'Umar, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: . The date palm came to mind, but I disliked to speak while Abu Bakr and 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) were present. When they did not speak, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: . When I went out with my father, I said: "O my father, the date palm came to mind." He said: "What prevented you from saying it? If you had said it, it would have been more beloved to me than so-and-so." He said: "What prevented me was that I did not see you or Abu Bakr speaking, so I disliked [to speak]." The hadith ends here.
We return to some of the commentary on the hadith. In a gathering, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) wanted to test his Companions and examine their understanding, so he directed the following question to them: . What does "the likeness of the Muslim" mean? It means that it always benefits people. That is the nature of the Muslim man: that he is always and forever beneficial to people. The Messenger (peace be upon him) specified the tree he likened to the Muslim by saying (peace be upon him): . And this portion of the Noble Qur'an is: . The word "season" (al-hin) in the language of the Arabs is used to refer to varying times, ranging from a moment to long years. So here, in this phrase that the Messenger (peace be upon him) quoted in this hadith from the aforementioned verse: , the "season" here means the year. This is in contrast to, for example: , where the long period of time is said to be forty years.
The point is: One of the characteristics of this tree, which the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) likened to the Muslim, is that he described it as , meaning: every year. And one of its characteristics is , meaning: it does not fall off. It remains firm on its branches and its parts, not falling off like most trees, but rather it remains as it is, green. This is the question... The Messenger (peace be upon him) asked the Companions to inform him about a tree whose likeness is that of the Muslim, so it always and forever benefits people. Because the date palm tree, it is true that it bears fruit once a year, but this fruit remains food stored for its owners until the coming year when the tree has borne fruit anew, and so on. So it benefits people and yields its fruit every season by the permission of its Lord. This characteristic is prominent in the date palm tree, so the Messenger (peace be upon him) added to this characteristic another characteristic similar to it in prominence, which is... and the persistence of the tree on its mother and its root. He said (peace be upon him): .
When the Messenger (peace be upon him) asked this question of his noble Companions, it was placed in the mind of 'Abdullah ibn 'Umar ibn al-Khattab that it was the date palm. 'Abdullah ibn 'Umar ibn al-Khattab; 'Umar al-Khattab was among the great Companions who embraced Islam early, and his son was young in age, of course, and was present in the gathering when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) directed this question. So he had the wisdom of 'Abdullah ibn 'Umar; he had wisdom, he had shrewdness, he had knowledge, and he had, finally, the etiquette of knowledge and the etiquette of scholars in the gatherings of scholars. It was placed in his mind that it was the tree whose characteristic is that it yields its fruit every season by the permission of its Lord, and whose characteristic is that its leaves do not fall. Who could this be but the date palm? But he controlled his nerves, and as I pointed out in the previous lesson, unlike the young Muslim today who hardly hears a question directed to a man of knowledge without intruding and rushing to answer without the question being directed to him. Ibn 'Umar was not like that; because he grew up and was raised, and he graduated from the school of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), this school that teaches along with knowledge, etiquette. So it was placed in the mind of 'Abdullah ibn 'Umar that it was the date palm, but he kept it in his heart and did not reveal it to them out of etiquette. He said: "The date palm came to mind, but I disliked to speak." Why? He says: "And Abu Bakr and 'Umar ibn al-Khattab were there." There in the gathering was Abu Bakr, the best of the Companions of the Messenger (peace be upon him) in one aspect, and there was his father, who was greater than him in knowledge and age. So how could he speak?!
Ibn 'Umar said: When they did not speak, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) answered the question he had posed to the Companions by saying: . Ibn 'Umar said: "When I went out with my father, I said: 'O my father, the date palm came to mind.'" After the gathering dispersed, 'Abdullah ibn 'Umar revealed what had been placed in his mind, that it was the date palm. Here, his father was affected by some sadness, regret, and contraction; that is what is expressed by 'Umar's saying: "What prevented you from saying it?! If you had said it, it would have been more beloved to me than so-and-so"; meaning, than what people love of wealth and status, and so on. Because it would appear—in this state—that the young Ibn 'Umar appears before the Companions as one of great intellect; if he had explicitly stated that it was the date palm. But Ibn 'Umar affirmed the reason that prevented him from speaking about this blessing that Allah bestowed upon him, where he understood the words of the Messenger (peace be upon him) which the great Companions did not understand. So he said, being both polite and apologetic to his father at the same time: "What prevented me was that I did not see you or Abu Bakr speaking, so I disliked [to speak]." When I saw that you and Abu Bakr al-Siddiq were silent, I remained silent and did not speak; I wanted to remain silent and not speak, all the more so.