The Meaning of the Hadith: “Indeed, Allah does not grow weary until you grow weary”
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The questioner : The questioner says: Honorable Shaykh! It is established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) Sahih Muslim 782a So how do we attribute the quality of weariness to Allah?
The Shaykh : First, I ask this questioner: Does this hadith establish weariness? Or do we affirm weariness?Sunan Ibn Majah 4241Hasan (Darussalam)
It is like if I said, “I will not stand up until you stand up.” It is not necessary that I stand up because you stood up, but the wording indicates that I am refraining from standing up until you stand up. Yes, the hadith contains evidence for the permissibility of affirming weariness for Allah the Exalted and Majestic.
So, if we apply this text to the well-known rule among the people of the Sunnah and say that if the hadith indicates the affirmation of weariness for Allah, then it is a weariness that is not like the weariness of humans. The weariness of humans indicates weakness and inability to bear, and it indicates irritation with the work. As for the weariness of Allah, if it is affirmed, it certainly does not indicate that, because Allah the Exalted and Majestic[Ash-Shuraa 42:11]. And Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) spoke about this hadith with words in which he mentioned the disagreement of the scholars in explaining this hadith.
'A'isha reported that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) had a mat and he used it for making an apartment during the night and observed prayer in it, and the people began to pray with him, and he spread it (the mat) during the day time. The people crowded round him one night. He (the Holy Prophet) then said: O people, perform such acts as you are capable of doing, for Allah does not grow weary but you will get tired. The acts most pleasing to Allah are those which are done continuously, even if they are small. And it was the habit of the members of Muhammad's (ﷺ) household that whenever they did an act they did it continuously.
صلى الله عليه وسلم أنه قال عليكم من الأعمال ما تطيقون فإن الله لا يمل حتى تملواThe Shaykh : First, I ask this questioner: Does this hadith establish weariness? Or do we affirm weariness?
does not get tired (of giving reward) but you get tired
لا يمل حتى تملواIt is like if I said, “I will not stand up until you stand up.” It is not necessary that I stand up because you stood up, but the wording indicates that I am refraining from standing up until you stand up. Yes, the hadith contains evidence for the permissibility of affirming weariness for Allah the Exalted and Majestic.
So, if we apply this text to the well-known rule among the people of the Sunnah and say that if the hadith indicates the affirmation of weariness for Allah, then it is a weariness that is not like the weariness of humans. The weariness of humans indicates weakness and inability to bear, and it indicates irritation with the work. As for the weariness of Allah, if it is affirmed, it certainly does not indicate that, because Allah the Exalted and Majestic
There is nothing like unto Him, and He is the Hearing, the Seeing.
لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِهِ شَيْءٌ وَهُوَ السَّمِيعُ الْبَصِيرُ
Source
قناة «فضيلة الشيخ محمد بن صالح العثيمين»، لقاء[28 من 31] معنى حديث إن الله لا يمل حتى تملوا - الشيخ ابن عثيمين - مشروع كبار العلماء — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.