This distinction also applies to the Prophet’s suppositions, as he said regarding the pollination of date palms:

“I merely formed a supposition, so do not hold me accountable for a supposition. But when I tell you something from Allah, I will never lie about Allah.”

Thus, when ‘Umar and others lost hope of entering that year, they were losing hope of something they supposed had been promised, although it had not been promised. It is not impossible for prophets to suppose something of this kind and for matters to turn out otherwise. They may suppose that a promise made to them specifies certain particulars and characteristics, yet matters may not be as they supposed. They then lose hope of what they supposed the promise meant, not of what the promise actually specified. Thus, the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:

“‘I saw that Abū Jahl had embraced Islam.’ When Khālid embraced Islam, they thought he was the one meant; then, when ‘Ikrima embraced Islam, it became known that he was the one.”

Muslim related in his Sahīh:

“The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, passed by some people pollinating date palms and said, ‘If you did not do this, they would thrive.’ The palms then produced poorly developed dates. He passed by them and asked, ‘What is wrong with your date palms?’

“They replied, ‘You said such-and-such.’

“He said, ‘You know better about your worldly affairs.’”

It is also related from Mūsā ibn Talha, from his father, Talha ibn ‘Ubayd Allah, who said:

“I passed with the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, by some people at the tops of date palms. He asked, ‘What are these people doing?’ He was told, ‘They are pollinating them: they put the male into the female, and it is pollinated.’ The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, ‘I do not think that this does any good.’ They were informed of this, so they stopped doing it.

“The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was informed of this and said, ‘If that benefits them, let them do it, for I