A tray of fresh dates was brought to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and he said, concerning the words "the likeness of a good word is as a good tree, whose root is firm and whose branches reach to the sky, giving its fruit in every season by the permission of its Lord" [Ibrahim 14:24–25], "This is the date palm."And concerning "the likeness of an evil word is as an evil tree, torn up from the surface of the earth, having no stability" [Ibrahim 14:26], he said, "This is the colocynth."The narrator said, I reported this to Abu Aliyah, and he said, "He has spoken the truth and reported it well."Qutayba narrated to us, Abu Bakr bin Shuayb bin Habhab narrated to us from his father, from Anas bin Malik, something similar in meaning, but he did not trace it back to the Prophet, nor did he mention Abu Aliyah's remark. This version is sounder than the report of Hammad bin Salama. More than one narrator transmitted this as a statement stopping at the companion, and we know of no one who traced it to the Prophet except Hammad bin Salama. Muamar, Hammad bin Zayd, and others also transmitted it without tracing it back.Ahmad bin Abdah Dabbi narrated to us, Hammad bin Zayd narrated to us from Shuayb bin Habhab, from Anas, a report like that of Qutayba, and he did not trace it to the Prophet.
حدثنا عبد بن حميد حدثنا أبو الوليد حدثنا حماد بن سلمة عن شعيب بن الحبحاب
أتي رسول الله ﷺ بقناع عليه رطب فقال مثل {كلمة طيبة كشجرة طيبة أصلها ثابت وفرعها في السماء تؤتي أكلها كل حين بإذن ربها} قال هي النخلة {ومثل كلمة خبيثة كشجرة خبيثة اجتثت من فوق الأرض ما لها من قرار} قال هي الحنظل قال فأخبرت بذلك أبا العالية فقال صدق وأحسن حدثنا قتيبة حدثنا أبو بكر بن شعيب بن الحبحاب عن أبيه عن أنس بن مالك نحوه بمعناه ولم يرفعه ولم يذكر قول أبي العالية وهذا أصح من حديث حماد بن سلمة وروى غير واحد مثل هذا موقوفا ولا نعلم أحدا رفعه غير حماد بن سلمة ورواه معمر وحماد بن زيد وغير واحد ولم يرفعوه حدثنا أحمد بن عبدة الضبي حدثنا حماد بن زيد عن شعيب بن الحبحاب عن أنس نحو حديث قتيبة ولم يرفعه
Its isnad is sahih. Nasai narrated it in Kubra, no. 11262, from the hadith of Hammad bin Salama in abridged form. Ibn Hibban graded it sahih, no. 1748, and Hakim, in accordance with the standard of Muslim, 2/352, and Dhahabi agreed with him. The mawquf version also has a sahih chain, and this does no harm.