The Palm Tree and “Laa Darar”
The context for Islamic law’s most important maxim is surprisingly mundane: a property dispute. A man had a palm tree on the edge of his land, and its roots or trunk extended into his neighbor’s house, creating difficulty for the neighbor. The Prophet ordered the man to remove the tree; the man refused. The Prophet had the tree removed and planted in paradise — and declared the principle that became a cornerstone of Islamic legal reasoning:
لَا ضَرَرَ وَلَا ضِرَارَ Laa darar wa laa dirar — “No harm shall be inflicted, and no harm shall be reciprocated.”
This hadith, transmitted in Malik’s Muwatta and Ibn Majah’s Sunan, generated the legal maxim al-darar yuzal (harm must be removed) — one of the five major legal principles from which thousands of specific rulings can be derived.
The Basra Governorship
Samura’s later biography is starkly different from the juridical legacy of the palm tree hadith. As governor of Basra under Ziyad ibn Abihi (the powerful Umayyad viceroy), he implemented a policy of severe punishments that early Islamic sources describe with discomfort.
Al-Hasan al-Basri, one of the greatest scholars of the generation after the Companions, reportedly said he would not pray at Samura’s funeral. Ibn Sirin, another major early authority, was also critical. These reports, from figures generally known for careful speech, suggest something serious in Samura’s conduct as governor.
Hadith Criticism
Samura’s narrations attracted scrutiny from classical hadith critics. His isnads (chains of transmission) sometimes pass through a single route, raising concerns about verification. Later scholars divided: Ibn Hazm and others accepted his narrations fully; some Maliki critics were more cautious. His narrations on legal matters are generally used, while the political/historical context of his later career continues to be assessed.
See also: Seerah Abu Darda Al Ansari, Seerah Jabir Ibn Abdallah Al Ansari, Seerah Zaid Ibn Arqam, Seerah Al Mughira Ibn Shuba, Seerah Saad Ibn Muadh