Read & Act Upon The Quran With Sincerity .

This hadith is about how believers and hypocrites are different from each other in terms of their relationship with the Quran. The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ used examples of fruits that are familiar in Arab culture to illustrate his point; he said that a believer who recites and acts upon the Quran is like a citron - it both looks good and smells good; while one who does not recite it but still acts upon it is like a date - it may look good but does not have any scent; whereas those who are hypocritical in their recitation of the Quran are like sweet basil - they may smell nice but taste bitter; while those without any recitation at all are like colocynths - they have an unpleasant taste as well as an unpleasant odor. This hadith teaches us that we should strive for sincerity when we read or listen to Allah's words so that our actions will be pleasing to Him even if our words lack sincerity or depth. It also reminds us that simply reading or listening without acting upon what we learn will be fruitless in terms of gaining Allah's pleasure.