to acquire the attributes and characteristics of Allaah. Is there a
correct way of interpreting this sentence, and is there anyone who has
said this before?.
Praise be to Allaah.
This sentence is not appropriate, but there isa correct way of
interpreting it, which is that we are encouraged to strive to acquire
the characteristics implied by the attributes and names of Allaah.
That means looking at the attributes which it is befitting for a
created being to acquire the characteristics implied by them, unlike
the attributes which belong only to Allaah, such as His being the
Creator, the Provider, the One God, etc. These are characteristics
which a created being cannot acquire, and it is not permissible for
him to lay claim to them or similar names. Rather what is referred to
is theattributes which Allaah likes for His slaves to acquire the
characteristics implied thereby, such as knowledge, strength, mercy,
forbearance, generosity and forgiveness, etc. So Allaah is All-Knowing
and loves those who are knowledgeable; He is Strong and He loves the
strong believer more than He loves the weak believer; He is Generous
and loves those who are generous; He is Merciful and He loves those
who show mercy; He is Forgiving and loves forgiveness, etc. But when
applied to Allaah, these attributes are more perfect and greater than
when applied to any created being, because there is nothing like unto
Allaah in His attributes and actions, just as there is nothing like
unto Allaah in His Essence. Rather it is sufficient for a person to
have a share in the sense of these attributes,in a manner that suits
him and within the limits set by sharee'ah. Ifhis generosity oversteps
the mark, then he becomes a spendthrift; ifhis mercy oversteps the
mark, then he will not carry out the punishments dictated bysharee'ah;
if his forgiveness transgresses the limits set by sharee'ah, then it
is inappropriate. This was stated by the great scholar Ibn al-Qayyim
in his books 'Uddat al-Saabireen and al-Waabil al-Sayyib, and in other
books such as al-Madaarij and Zaad al-Ma'aad. There follows what he
said in al-'Uddah and al-Waabil:
In al-'Uddah (p. 310) he said: "Because Allaah is indeed the
Appreciative (al-Shukoor), the most beloved of His creation to Him are
those who have the characteristic of gratitude (al-shukr), just as the
most hated of His creation to Him are those who are lacking inthis
characteristic or who have the opposite characteristic. This applies
to His Beautiful names: the most belovedof His creation to Him are
those who have the characteristics implied by His names, and the most
hated of His creation to Him are those who have the opposite
characteristics. Hence He hates those who are ungrateful, those who do
wrong, those who are ignorant, hard-hearted, miserly, cowardly and
ignoble. He is Beautiful and loves beauty; He is All-Knowing and loves
those who have knowledge; He is Merciful and loves those who show
mercy; He does good and loves those who do good; He is the Concealer
and loves those who conceal;He is Powerful and condemns those who
acthelpless, and the strong believer is more belovedto Him than the
weak believer; He is forgiving and loves forgiveness; He is One and He
loves that which is odd-numbered; everything that He loves is
connected to His names and attributes; and everything that He hates is
the opposite of that."
He said in al-Waabil (p. 543 of Majmoo'at al-Hadeeth): "Generosity is
one of the attributes of the Lord, for He gives and does not take, He
feeds and is not fed, He is the most generous of those who are
generous.The most beloved of His creation to Him are those who seek to
acquire the characteristics implied by His attributes. For He is
Generous and loves those among His slaves who are generous; He is
All-Knowing and loves those who have knowledge; He is All-Powerful and
loves those who are courageous; He is Beautiful and loves beauty."
I hope that what we have mentioned will be sufficient and will serve
the intended purpose. I ask Allaah to help us all to understand His
religion and to fulfil our duty towards Him, for Heis All-Hearing,
Ever Near.
Majmoo' Fataawa wa Maqaalaat Mutanawwi'ah, 6/251.
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