Episode 1
Episode 1: They Swore to Reap the Harvest Without Saying 'Insha Allah'
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Allah gives a parable about the owners of a garden as a trial, just as He tried the people of Makkah. Allah said, "Indeed, We have tried them as We tried the companions of the garden, when they swore to cut its fruit in the (early) morning, without making exception (saying, 'If Allah wills')" (Qur'an 68:17-18). They resolved to harvest their garden's fruit at the crack of dawn, intending to hide it from the poor so they would not have to give them any share. They were so certain of their own ability and plan that they forgot everything depends on Allah's will โ which is why they did not say "insha Allah." So Allah's decree came in the night, while they slept. Allah said, "So there came upon it (the garden) a visitation from your Lord while they were asleep. And by morning it was as though reaped (black like the dark night)" (Qur'an 68:19-20). The lush, promising garden was scorched in a single night, becoming like a crop already stripped bare and blackened. Reflection: arrogance in one's own plans and forgetting to entrust every matter to Allah is a doorway to ruin. This is why we are taught to say "insha Allah" when we intend to do something in the future โ an acknowledgment that nothing happens except by His will. Source & Note: evidence from the Qur'an, 68:17-20 (text & translation from quran-json). The Qur'an does not name the garden's owners or its location; such details in some tafsir come from tradition and are not certain.
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Episode 2: They Set Out at Dawn Whispering, Then Were Shocked