ﲍ ﲎ ﲏ ﲐ ﲑ ﲒ ﲓ ﲔ ﲕ ﲖ ﲗ ﲘ ﲙ ﲚ ﲛ ﲜ ﲝ ﲞ ﲟ ﲠ ﲡ ﲢ ﲣ ﲤ ﲥ ﲦ ﲧ ﲨ ﲩ ﲪ ﲫ ﲬ ﲭ ﲮ ﲯ
And He it is who causes gardens to grow, [both] trellised and untrellised, and palm trees and crops of different [kinds of] food and olives and pomegranates, similar and dissimilar. Eat of [each of] its fruit when it yields and give its due [zakah] on the day of its harvest. And be not excessive. Indeed, He does not like those who commit excess.
Tafsir
Verse range: 6:141
{He is the One who brought into being gardens} of grapevines, {trellised} (raised on supports), {and untrellised} (left upon the face of the earth without supports).
It is said: "Trellised" refers to what is in rural areas and settlements, which people have planted and cared for, thus trellising it. "Untrellised" refers to what grows wild in the wilderness and mountains, which is not trellised. It is said: "I trellised the vine" when you provide it with pillars and a roof for the branches to lean upon. The roof of a house is its ‘arsh.
{Varying in its produce} in color, taste, size, and scent. It is read as ukulihi (with a damma) and uklihi (with a sukun), both meaning the fruit that is eaten. The pronoun refers to the palm trees and crops, as they are included in the ruling by being conjoined to it. "Varying" is a prospective state (hal muqaddara), because it was not so at the time of creation, similar to His saying: {Enter it, abiding eternally} (Az-Zumar: 73). It is also read as thumurihi (with two dammas).
If you ask: What is the benefit of His saying {when it bears fruit}, given that it is known that if it does not bear fruit, it cannot be eaten from? I say: Since eating from its fruit was permitted to them, it was said "when it bears fruit" to indicate that the beginning of the time of permissibility is when the tree produces fruit, so that one does not mistakenly think it is only permitted when it is fully ripe.
{And He is the One who brought into being gardens...} This verse is Meccan, and Zakat was only ordained in Medina. Therefore, "the due" (haqq) refers to what used to be given in charity to the poor on the day of harvest. This was obligatory until it was abrogated by the obligation of the tithe (‘ushr) and half-tithe. Others say it is Medinan, and "the due" is the obligatory Zakat. Its meaning is: Resolve to give the due, intend it, and be diligent about it on the day of harvest, so that you do not delay it past the first possible time for giving.
{And do not be excessive} in charity, as it is narrated regarding Thabit ibn Qays ibn Shammas that he harvested five hundred palm trees and distributed all their fruit, not bringing any of it into his house. {And do not extend it fully, lest you sit blamed and exhausted} (Al-Isra: 29).
