Abu Dawud

Benefits and Issues:
➊ One should strive to keep the company of a righteous, God-fearing, and practicing believer. In this, there is benefit for both religion and worldly life.

➋ One should keep away from sinful and immoral people, for their company brings nothing but loss.

➌ A teacher and preacher should endeavor to clarify their point using excellent examples.

Hadith Commentary:
The Noble Qur’an, in its own right, is the speech of Allah, uncreated and superior; however, due to the actions and character of its reciters, it becomes like the fruits of the sweet basil (rayhan) and colocynth (handhar).
The act of a sincere believer reciting the Noble Qur’an is like the fragrant rayhan, and the act of a hypocrite reciting the Noble Qur’an is like the fruit of the colocynth.
Thus, the Noble Qur’an is the speech of Allah, uncreated, and the recitation by the believer or the hypocrite is their action, which, being an action, is created.
The same applies to the recitation of the Qur’an by the Khawarij, which is mentioned in the following hadith.
Their action is created.
This is the very summary of the book "Kitab Khalq Af‘al al-‘Ibad"—that all the actions of the servants are created.
The Creator of them is Allah, the Blessed and Exalted.

Hadith Commentary:
The purpose of this hadith is to clarify the distinction between the Qur'an and its recitation, and to explain that the Qur'an is the speech of Allah, while recitation (tilawah) is the action of the servant. This is why, due to the action of the servant, there is a difference in recitation and in the one who recites.

The recitation of a practicing believer is like an orange, which possesses countless benefits, whereas the recitation of an evildoer does not bring fragrance to the environment, nor does it make any difference.

On this basis, the Qur'an is the speech of Allah, uncreated, and the recitation by a believer or a hypocrite is their personal action. And in terms of being an action, it is created by Allah. In any case, all the actions of the servants are created, and their Creator is Allah.

Hadith Commentary:
From this hadith, Imam Bukhari rahimahullah has deduced that eating delicious and fragrant food is permissible, because the example of the believer has been given with it.
It is also derived from the hadith that if Allah Ta’ala grants delicious food in a lawful (halal) manner, then one should eat it gladly, express gratitude to Allah Ta’ala, and eating delicious food is not contrary to asceticism (zuhd) and spiritual poverty (darwishī). As for those ignorant poor who mix delicious food with water or salt to make it tasteless, this is not good.
Some elders have said that one should be pleased with tasty food.
To make it tasteless is foolishness and ignorance.
Such ignorant poor, who turn the divine law (shari‘ah) upside down and do not care about what is lawful and unlawful, are in reality enemies of Islam.
May Allah protect us from their evils, ameen.

Hadith Commentary:
(1)
Imam Bukhari rahimahullah has established from this hadith that eating delicious and fragrant food is permissible, because the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam gave the example of a believer as an orange, which is both delicious and fragrant.
From this, it is also proven that if Allah, the Exalted, grants delicious food in a lawful (halal) manner, then one should eat it gladly and express gratitude to Allah, the Exalted, for it.

(2)
Delicious food is not contrary to asceticism (zuhd) and piety (taqwa), and those ignorant people who spoil delicious food by eating it with only water or salt, this is their foolishness and ignorance. Furthermore, in this hadith, there is an indication of the dislike (karahah) of bitter food.
And Allah knows best.
From some of the Salaf, the dislike of delicious foods has been narrated; its meaning is that one should not make such a habit for all times, lest at some point the ability to be patient slips away and he falls into misguidance.
(Fath al-Bari: 9/687)

Chapter of Sahih Bukhari Hadith Number: 5020: «بَابُ فَضْلِ الْقُرْآنِ عَلَى سَائِرِ الْكَلاَمِ:»
Relevance between the Chapter Heading and the Hadith:
The absolute mujtahid, Imam Bukhari rahimahullah, has alluded to the excellence of the Noble Qur’an in the chapter heading, even though in the entire hadith under this chapter, there are no explicit words regarding the excellence of the Noble Qur’an.

Hafiz Ibn Hajar rahimahullah states:
«مناسبة الحديث الثاني من جهة ثبوت فضل هذه الامة على غيرها من الأمم وثبوت الفضل لها ثبت من فضل كتابها الذى أمرت بالعمل به» [فتح الباري لابن حجر : 58/10]
“The relevance of this hadith to the chapter heading is as follows: the virtue granted to this ummah (the Ummah of Muhammad) over all other communities is due to this Book (the Qur’an), which they have been commanded to act upon.”

According to the statement of Hafiz Ibn Hajar rahimahullah, the connection between the chapter heading and the hadith is possible in this way: the Ummah of Muhammad has been granted excellence solely because of this Qur’an. Therefore, since this Ummah has been declared superior due to this Book, that very thing which is the cause of excellence will, by necessity, be superior to all other things.

Imam Kirmani rahimahullah, objecting to the chapter heading and the hadith, writes:
SA «واما الحديث الثاني فلا دلالة على الترجمه فيه اصلاّ .» [شرح كرماني : 9،30/19]
“The hadith narrated from Abdullah ibn Umar radi Allahu anhuma does not, in essence, have any relevance to the chapter heading.” EA

Addressing this objection of Kirmani, Muhammad Zakariya Kandhlawi rahimahullah writes:
«فضل القاري لقراءه القران وكذلك فضل هذه الامة على الامم انما هو بسبب القران .» [الابواب و التراجم لصحیح البخاری: 443/8]
“The virtue of the reciter (in reality) is with the recitation of the Qur’an, and likewise, the virtue of the Ummah over other communities is due to the Noble Qur’an.”

Therefore, the relevance between the hadith and the chapter heading is from this perspective: this Ummah has been granted excellence because of the Noble Qur’an, and when this Ummah has superiority over all other communities, then, a fortiori, the Book of this Ummah will also have superiority over all other books. From here, the connection between the chapter heading and the hadith becomes clear.

Hadith Commentary:
From this hadith, the relevance to the chapter is derived in such a way that the virtue of the reciter (qari) is mentioned in it, and this virtue is solely due to the Qur'an itself; thus, the virtue of the Qur'an is established.

Hadith Commentary:
➊
In this hadith, the excellence of the Qur’an is described, because by reciting the Qur’an, the reciter attains virtue. In it, the believing reciter is likened to an orange, because it is pleasing in appearance and delicious in taste; it strengthens and cleanses the stomach and accelerates the power of digestion. Keeping its peel among clothes repels germs. It is also used as medicine. Due to these characteristics, it was appropriate that the believing reciter be likened to it. In one narration it is stated:
“This is the example of the believer who recites the Noble Qur’an and acts according to it.”
(Jami‘ al-Tirmidhi, Virtues of the Qur’an, Hadith: 5059)

➋
From this, the intent of the Shari‘ah becomes clear: that the aforementioned virtue is not attained by recitation alone, but by recitation along with acting upon it.
(Fath al-Bari: 9/85)

Hadith Commentary:
➊
In this hadith, the condemnation of those who recite the Noble Qur’an for the sake of showing off (riya) is mentioned, and they have been declared hypocrites (munafiq).

➋
The analogy and parable described in this hadith is, in fact, an attribute of the one being described, which consists purely of an intelligible meaning.
This analogy demonstrates its hiddenness.
That is, the effect of the Speech of Allah (kalam Allah) operates within both the outward and inward aspects of a person.
People differ in this regard: in some, this effect is complete and they are fully influenced by it, and such a person is a believing reciter (mu’min qari); in some, this effect is entirely absent, and they are true hypocrites (munafiq haqiqi).
In some, the outward is affected but the inward is not, and these are the people who show off (riya kar).
And in some, only the inward is affected and there is no effect on the outward, and these are the believers (mu’min) who do not recite the Noble Qur’an.
In any case, in this hadith, mention is made of those who use the Noble Qur’an as a means of showing off, which Imam Bukhari rahimahullah has established. And Allah knows best.

Hadith Commentary: Benefits and Issues: Faith (iman) is a lofty and excellent attribute which is, in itself, a constant perfection and virtue. If, along with it, the right of recitation of the Noble Qur’an is fulfilled—that is, if one regularly recites the Qur’an and acts upon it, as is explicitly mentioned in some narrations—then this is “light upon light.” The beauty and perfection of faith increases, and it becomes even more splendid. However, if the right of the Noble Qur’an is not fulfilled, if it is not recited, or if it is not acted upon, then its beauty and perfection diminish.

Hypocrisy (nifaq) is an evil trait, but outwardly it appears to have some virtue, while inwardly it is vile. Therefore, outwardly, the act of reciting the Qur’an—whether done sincerely or falsely—seems to be a virtue. But if a hypocrite neither recites the Qur’an nor acts upon it in any way, then even the outward virtue fades, and the inner filth becomes apparent. For this reason, in some narrations, instead of (لَيْسَ لَهَا رِيْحٌ), it is stated (رِيْحُهاَ مُرٌّ)—that its bitterness can be sensed; the effect of its bitter taste is also reflected in its smell.

Explanation:
1:
From this hadith, it is understood that the effect of Allah’s speech is found in both the outward and inward aspects of a person, and since people possess different characteristics, the full beneficial effect of the Noble Qur’an is attained only by that servant who, along with being a believer, is a memorizer of the Qur’an (hafiz) and acts upon it.
Such a believer is, in the sight of Allah, like a fruit that is both beautiful in color and pleasant in taste.
And there are some people whose inward aspect benefits from the Qur’an but whose outward aspect remains deprived;
this is the believer who is not a reciter (qari) of the Qur’an.
Such a believer, in the sight of Allah, is like that delicious fruit which has no fragrance.
And there are some people whose outward aspect is good due to reciting the Qur’an, but whose inward aspect is dark;
this is the hypocrite (munafiq) who recites the Qur’an.
He is, in the sight of Allah, like that fragrant plant whose scent is pleasant but whose taste is bitter.
And there are some people who do not benefit from the Qur’an at all;
this is the hypocrite who does not recite the Qur’an.
He is, in the sight of Allah, like the colocynth (hanzalah, bitter apple), which has neither fragrance nor good taste,
rather, it is bitter.

In these examples, faith (iman) is likened to a good taste, which, like faith, is not something visible. Recitation of the Qur’an and prayer (salah) are likened to fragrance because both are outward things and can be perceived. It appears that the purpose of mentioning this narration is to explain the increase and decrease of faith, because not all dates or grapes have the same sweetness; rather, there is a difference. Similarly, not all believers are equal in faith; there is also a difference among them.

Commentary:
(1)
Both the recitation of the Qur’an and acting upon it are virtues, and both are desirable.
Recitation is an outward virtue, which has been likened to fragrance, while acting upon it is an inward virtue, because it includes inward deeds such as faith (iman), sincerity (ikhlas), love of Allah, fear of Allah (khashyah), and piety (taqwa); therefore, it has been likened to taste.
It is also possible that recitation has been likened to fragrance because everyone, whether elite or common, can hear it, whereas the reality of acting upon it is only known to the one who is involved with it, just as the taste of a fruit is only known to the one who tastes it.

(2)
Al-utrujjah:
(Taranjabeen)
It is a fruit belonging to the citrus family.
Its color is also pleasing and its taste is excellent.

(3)
Ar-rayhanah:
Originally, it refers to any plant that emits fragrance; generally, this word is used for basil (nazbu), but it can also be applied to other fragrant plants.

(4)
The belief and character of the hypocrite are bitter and corrupt, but due to his recitation of the Qur’an, others benefit from him; therefore, his example is like that of a flower whose fragrance can be sensed from afar, but it is by no means fit to be eaten.