Moulding one’s character in the way that Allaah loves based on the meanings of His names and attributes

Question

Praise be to Allah.

The expression to which you refer is not appropriate, but
there is a correct interpretation for it, which is encouraging people to
mould their character based on the meanings implied by some of the
attributes and names of Allaah. That means looking at the attributes of
which it is appropriate for the created being (man) to adopt the meanings
implied, in contrast to the attributes which belong exclusively to Allaah,
such as His being the Creator, Provider, God, etc., for these are attributes
to which the created being can never aspire and it is not permissible to
claim such attributes. Rather what is meant by the attributes which Allaah
loves for His slaves is that they should develop the attitudes implied by
those attributes, such as knowledge, strength in adhering to the truth,
mercy, forbearance, kindness, generosity, tolerance, etc. For Allaah is
All-knowing and loves those who are knowledgeable; He is Strong and loves
the strong believer more than He loves the weak believer; He is Generous and
loves those who are generous; He is Merciful and loves those who show mercy;
He is Forgiving and loves those who forgive, etc. But the attributes of
Allaah are more perfect and greater than the attributes of the created being
(man), so there is no comparison between them, because there is nothing like
unto Him in His attributes and actions, just as there is nothing that can
compare to Him in His Essence. Rather it is sufficient for the created being
to have a share in these attributes in the manner that befits him, within
the limits set by sharee’ah. If he oversteps the limits with regard to
generosity then he will become a spendthrift; if he oversteps the limit with
regard to mercy then he will fail to carry out the punishments decreed by
sharee’ah; if he oversteps the limits with regard to forgiveness then he
will forgive in an inappropriate manner. These are just a few examples, from
which others may be deduced. The great scholar Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaah
have mercy on him) said words to this effect in his books ‘Uddat
al-Saabireen and al-Waabil al-Sayyib, the texts of which follow.
In ‘Uddat al-Saabireen (p. 310) he said: “Because He is al-Shakoor
(the Appreciative) in the truest sense, the most beloved of His creation to
Him are those who are characterized by the attribute of thankfulness, and
the most hated of His creation to Him are those in whom this attribute is
lacking, or who are characterized by the opposite. This applies to His Most
Beautiful Names: the most beloved of His creation to Him are those who have
the characteristic implied by that meaning, and the most hated of them to
Him are those who have the opposite characteristic. For this reason He hates
the kaafir, the wrongdoer, the hard-hearted, the miser, the coward, the
despicable and the depraved. 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 is Beneficent and loves those who do good; He is
the Concealer and loves those who conceal (sins or faults); He is
All-Powerful and condemns incapacity – the stronger believer is more beloved
to Him than the weak believer. He is Forgiving and loves forgiveness; He is
One and loves odd-numbered things. Everything that He loves is implied by
His Names and Attributes, everything that He hates is the opposite of
that.”

And he said in al-Waabil al-Sayyib (p. 43):
“Generosity is one of the attributes of the Lord, for He gives and does not
take, He feeds but He is not fed. He is the most generous of those who are
generous, the kindest of those who are kind. The most beloved of His
creation to Him are those who bear the characteristics implied by His
attributes. For He is Kind and loves those among His slaves who are kind; He
is All-Knowing and loves those who have knowledge; He is All-Powerful and
loves those who are brave; He is Beautiful and loves beauty.”

I hope that what we have mentioned here will be sufficient. I ask Allaah to enable us all to understand His religion and to adhere to it properly, for He is All-Hearing, Ever-Responsive. Praise be to Allaah the Lord of the Worlds.