Meaning of the hadeeth which says that Allaah created Adam in His Image .

I am asking about the correct understanding ofthe hadeeth, "Adam was
created in the Image of the Most Merciful"?.
Praise be to Allaah.
It was narrated from AbuHurayrah that the Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) said: "Allaah created Adam in His Image…"
Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 6227; Muslim, 2841.
With regard to the hadeeth, "Do not (insult one another) and say 'May
Allaah make your face ugly', because Adamwas created in the Image of the
Most Merciful," this was classed as da'eef (weak) by al-Albaani in
al-Silsilah al-Da'eefah, no. 1176.
Perhaps the questioner is confused by this hadeeth because of the verse
in which Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
"There is nothing like Him"
[al-Shoora 42:11]
The scholars answered this problem in two ways: a brief answer anda
detailed answer.
The brief answer is that it is impossible for this hadeeth to contradict
the words of Allaah (interpretation of the meaning):
"There is nothing like Him"
[al-Shoora 42:11]
If we find a way to reconcile between them,all well and good, otherwise
we should say,
" 'We believe in it; the whole of it (clear and unclear Verses) are from our Lord.' And none receive admonition except men of understanding"
[Aal 'Imraan 3:7 – interpretation of the meaning]
We believe that there is nothing like unto Allaah and thus we will be on
the safe side before Allaah. These are the words of Allaah, and these
are the words of His Messenger; both are true and it is impossible for
one of them to belie the other. So we say thatthe verse shows that His
creation cannot resemble Allaah, and the hadeeth affirms that Allaah has
an Image. Both are true and we believe in them; we say that both are
from our Lord, and remain silent thereafter. This is all thatwe can do.
See Sharh al-Waasitiyyahby Ibn 'Uthaymeen.
With regard to the detailed answer:
This hadeeth proves thatAllaah has an Image, andthat Allaah created
Adamin His Image.
But there is nothing in this hadeeth to indicate that the image of Adam
(peace be upon him) resembles the Image of Allaah, rather this meaning
is absolutely false and was not meant by the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him), because Allaah says (interpretation of
the meaning):
"There is nothing like Him"
[al-Shoora 42:11]
The fact that one thing islikened to another does not mean that it is
identical to it in all aspects, rather they are likened to one another
because they share someattributes, but that does not means that every
attribute is identical.
This is indicated by the words of the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him): "The first group to be admitted to Paradise willbe
in the image of the moon on the night whenit is full." Narrated by
al-Bukhaari, 3327; Muslim, 2834.
This hadeeth does not mean that they will enter Paradise in a form that
is exactly like the moon in all regards, otherwise that would mean that
they will enter Paradise with no eyes or mouths, or as rocks.
Rather what the hadeethmeans is that they will be like the moon in
beauty and brightness, with shining faces, and so on.
So if you say: what is theImage that belongs to Allaah and in which Adam
was created? We say that Allaah has a Faceand Eyes and Hands and Feet,
but that does not mean that because of these things He resembles man.
There may be some similarity but that does not mean that these things
are identical, just as the first group of the people of Paradise to
enter Paradise are likened to the moon, but that does not mean that they
resemble the moon. This confirms the belief of Ahlal-Sunnah
wa'l-Jamaa'ah, that none of the attributes ofAllaah can be likened to
the attributes of created beings, and they do not misinterpret the
Divine attributes or deny them, and they do not liken them to the
attributes ofhuman beings.
See Sharh al-'Aqeedah al-Waasitiyyah by Shaykh Muhammad ibn Saalih
al-'Uthaymeen, part 1, p. 107-110.