Explanation

The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) clarified the types of people in terms of reciting the Qur’an and benefiting therefrom: First category: The believer who recites the Qur’an and benefits from it is like the citron fruit, good in taste, smell, and color, and has many benefits since he acts upon what he recites and is useful to people. Second category: The believer who does not recite the Qur’an is like a date that tastes good but has no smell. His heart contains faith just like the date contains sweetness in its taste and its inside. It has no smell that could be smelt by people since no recitation could be heard from him to give people comfort. Third category: The hypocrite who recites the Qur’an is like a basil that smells good but tastes bitter, as he did not reform his heart with faith or act upon the Qur’an but he shows up as a believer before people. So, its good smell resembles his recitation and its bitter taste resembles his disbelief. Fourth category: The hypocrite who does not recite the Qur’an is like a colocynth that has no smell and has a bitter taste. Not having a scent is like him not having a smell for not reciting the Qur’an, and its bitter taste is like the bitterness of his disbelief. His inside is void of faith, and his outside is useless; rather, it is harmful.