Abu Hurayra reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "None of you should say, 'May time be disappointed!' Allah Almighty said, 'I am time (ad-Dahr). I send the night and the day. If I so wished, I could take them away.' None of you should the grape-vine 'karm" (instead of 'inab). Karm* is the Muslim man."
Exposition of the Prohibition Against Cursing Time
The prohibition "None of you should say, 'May time be disappointed!'" addresses a common pre-Islamic practice wherein people would attribute their misfortunes to time (ad-Dahr) and curse it. This constitutes shirk in attribution, as it ascribes events to other than Allah. The Divine declaration "I am time" signifies that Allah is the true Agent behind temporal phenomena—the alternation of night and day, and all that occurs within them. To curse time is thus to curse the Divine Decree itself.
The Prohibition Regarding the Term "Karm"
The instruction to avoid calling the grape-vine "karm" and to use "`inab" instead serves a dual purpose. Linguistically, it corrects a common misnomer. More profoundly, it reserves the honorable term "karm" for its most deserving recipient: the believing Muslim. "Karm" signifies nobility, generosity, and moral excellence—attributes that find their perfect manifestation in a righteous believer whose character is adorned with faith and good deeds.
This hadith, recorded in Al-Adab Al-Mufrad 770, thus combines a lesson in pure Tawhid (monotheism) with a lesson in refined speech and the honor of the believer. It teaches us to direct our complaints only to Allah and to speak in a manner that reflects the dignity He has bestowed upon the believers.