[2859] This is a parable of the hearts of people who are all showered with the same life giving water, the Message. Although existing next to each other, and prone to the same conditions, they receive it differently, like adjacent plots of land whose soil is different. Some will thrive, flower and flourish while others will only turn salty and foul! (cf. al-Ṭabarī, Ibn ʿAṭiyyah).
[2860] Fruits are the produce of plants (al-ukul, lit. what is eaten) varying in taste, shape, colour, smell, benefit and use (cf. Ibn Kathīr, al-Saʿdī, Ibn ʿĀshūr).