Jami' at-Tirmidhi
Jami` at-Tirmidhi 2867
حَدَّثَنَا إِسْحَاقُ بْنُ مُوسَى الأَنْصَارِيُّ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا مَعْنٌ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا مَالِكٌ، عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ دِينَارٍ، عَنِ ابْنِ عُمَرَ، أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ " إِنَّ مِنَ الشَّجَرِ شَجَرَةً لاَ يَسْقُطُ وَرَقُهَا وَهِيَ مَثَلُ الْمُؤْمِنِ حَدِّثُونِي مَا هِيَ " . قَالَ عَبْدُ اللَّهِ فَوَقَعَ النَّاسُ فِي شَجَرِ الْبَوَادِي وَوَقَعَ فِي نَفْسِي أَنَّهَا النَّخْلَةُ . فَقَالَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم " هِيَ النَّخْلَةُ " . فَاسْتَحْيَيْتُ أَنْ أَقُولَ قَالَ عَبْدُ اللَّهِ فَحَدَّثْتُ عُمَرَ بِالَّذِي وَقَعَ فِي نَفْسِي . فَقَالَ لأَنْ تَكُونَ قُلْتَهَا أَحَبُّ إِلَىَّ مِنْ أَنْ يَكُونَ لِي كَذَا وَكَذَا . قَالَ أَبُو عِيسَى هَذَا حَدِيثٌ حَسَنٌ صَحِيحٌ . وَفِي الْبَابِ عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ رضى الله عنه .
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Ibn ‘Umar reported that the Messenger of Allah said, ‘Among the trees there is one that does not shed its leaves; it is like the believer. Tell me, what is it?’ People began naming the trees of the wilderness, while it occurred to me that it was the date palm. The Prophet said, ‘It is the date palm.’ I felt too shy to answer. ‘Abd Allah said, ‘I told ‘Umar what had occurred to me, and he said, “I would have been happier if you had said it than to have such-and-such.”’ Abu ‘Isa graded this hadith hasan sahih; a report from Abu Hurayrah is also cited on this topic.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The Arabic says ‘its leaves’ (waraquha), though the English witness has the typo ‘foilage.’ The closing ‘such-and-such’ (kadha wa-kadha) is deliberately unspecified in the source. ‘Abd Allah here is Ibn ‘Umar, recounting his own answer and his father’s reaction.