Quran Universe
26:148

وَزُرُوعٖ وَنَخۡلٖ طَلۡعُهَا هَضِيمٞ

WazurooAAin wanakhlin talAAuha hadeemun

And fields of crops and palm trees with softened fruit?

Word by word
  1. وَزُرُوعٖAnd cornfields
  2. وَنَخۡلٖand date-palms
  3. طَلۡعُهَاits spadix
  4. هَضِيمٞsoft
Ash-Shu'ara · 26:148Makkah

Fields of crops and palms heavy with soft fruit.

Abundance described up close

Their harvest
cropsfields growing
date palmsclusters ripe and soft
How close it was
blessings in generalvague
this palm, this fruitnamed one by one

Salih names their crops and date palms with soft clusters. Ibn Abbas explained it as ripe and rich, or growing luxuriantly. Salih did not speak of blessings vaguely; he pointed at the fruit on their trees.

The bowl of fruit on your kitchen counter. The bread from the bakery down the road. You eat it while scrolling, not tasting. Gratitude starts with noticing specifics.

I am grateful in general.

Real gratitude names the exact thing in front of me.

Try this

At your next meal, name three specific foods on the plate and thank Allah for each.

Simplified reflection. Read the tafsir for scholarship.draft
Tafsir Ibn Kathir (shared passage from 26:146)

"Will you be left secure in that which you have here? (146)"In gardens and springs. (147)"And crops and date palms with soft clusters. (148)"And you hew out in the mountains, houses with great skill. (149)"So, have Taqwa of Allah, and obey me. (150)"And follow not the command of the extravagant, (151)Who make mischief in the land, and reform not. (152)

A Reminder to Them of Their Circumstances and the Blessings They Enjoyed

Salih preached to them, warning them that the punishment of Allah could overtake them and reminding them of the blessings that Allah had bestowed upon them, by giving them ample provision and making them safe from all kinds of dangers, giving them gardens and flowing springs, and bringing forth for them crops and fruits.

وَنَخْلٍ طَلْعُهَا هَضِيمٌ

(and date palms with soft clusters.) Al-'Awfi narrated from Ibn 'Abbas, "Ripe and rich." 'Ali bin Abi Talhah narrated from Ibn 'Abbas that this meant growing luxuriantly. Isma'il bin Abi Khalid narrated from 'Amr bin Abi 'Amr – who met the Companions – from Ibn 'Abbas that this means, "When it becomes ripe and soft." This was narrated by Ibn Abi Hatim, then he said: "And something similar was narrated from Abu Salih."

وَتَنْحِتُونَ مِنَ الْجِبَالِ بُيُوتًا فَارِهِينَ

(And you hew out in the mountains, houses with great skill.) Ibn 'Abbas and others said, "With great skill." According to another report from him: "They were greedy and extravagant." This was the view of Mujahid and another group. There is no contradiction between the two views, because they built the houses which they carved in the mountains as a form of extravagant play, with no need for them as dwelling places. They were highly skilled in the arts of masonry and stone-carving, as is well known to anyone who has seen their structures. So, Salih said to them:

فَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَأَطِيعُونِ

(So, have Taqwa of Allah, and obey me.) Pay attention to that which could benefit you in this world and the Hereafter; worshipping your Lord Who created you, who granted you provisions so that you could worship Him alone and glorify Him morning and evening.

وَلَا تُطِيعُوا أَمْرَ الْمُسْرِفِينَ - الَّذِينَ يُفْسِدُونَ فِي الْأَرْضِ وَلَا يُصْلِحُونَ

(And follow not the command of the extravagant, who make mischief in the land, and reform not.) meaning, their chiefs and leaders, who called them to Shirk, disbelief and opposition to the truth.