Riyad Us-Saliheen (Gardens of the Righteous)

Chapter 330
Undesirability of Calling Grapes 'Al-Karm'

1740. Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said, "None of you should use the word Al-Karm for grapes, for Al-Karm is a Muslim (worthy of respect).''
[Al-Bukhari and Muslim]

Another narration is: "Verily, Al-Karm is the heart of a true believer.''

Another narration is: "People have named grapes as Al-Karm; verily, only the heart of a believer is Al-Karm.''

Commentary:  We learn from this Hadith that all the derivatives from the word Al-Karm can be used legitimately for Muslims only because Muslim is Karim. It is, therefore, wrong to call grapes as Karm.

1741. Wa'il bin Hujr (May Allah be pleased with him) said: The Prophet (PBUH) said, "Do not say Al-Karm when talking about grapes but say Al-`Inab or Al-Habalah.''
[Muslim].

Commentary:  Al-Habalah or Habilah means grapevine. It is undesirable (Makruh) to refer to the grapes as Al-Karm, which also means grapes in Arabic, for it is the true Muslim who deserves to be called with a name which is derived from the word Al-Karm.