Lesson on "Al-Adab al-Mufrad," "The Chapter on Patience with Harm," the Hadith of Abu Musa, number (389)

The Shaykh : And for the sake of this point, the author follows this hadith with other hadiths to draw the attention of the Muslim whom the Prophet (peace be upon him) encouraged to mix with people and to be patient if he is afflicted with harm. He followed this hadith in the chapter: "Patience with Harm," and cited under it a hadith with a sound chain of narration from Abu Musa from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), who said: . So Allah, who created people, is the one who hears harm from people, and they are His servants, created for Him; yet He is patient with them. That is, the Muslim’s share is that if your Lord, who created people, is harmed by them, He is patient with their harm, just as... the hadith continues. So you, O Muslim, are more deserving of patience when harm befalls you.
What is this harm that our Lord - Mighty and Majestic - hears, and then He is patient with it with a patience that no one in the worlds can match?
He said in the completion of the hadith: . They indeed accuse Allah - Mighty and Majestic - ... because He has a partner, because He has a son; and yet He provides them with the good things of this world, and when they fall ill, He heals them. How is this, when they insult Him and claim for Him a son and a partner? That is from the patience of Allah - Blessed and Exalted is He - with His servants. Therefore, he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: .
Someone might say: This is Allah; Allah - Mighty and Majestic - possesses all attributes of perfection, so He is able to be patient with this patience for which there is no equivalent in this world; so how can we be able to...? We say: It is not possible for a human being, no matter how high or exalted he is, for his attribute to become similar to any of the attributes of Allah - Mighty and Majestic. But this is a matter of approximation; because Allah says: , and although He said regarding Himself , when He mentioned Adam (peace be upon him), He said: . But the hearing of Adam and his descendants is not like the hearing of Allah - Mighty and Majestic - and His sight, naturally. However, there is a type of participation in the wording. So if a human being cannot imitate Allah - Mighty and Majestic - in the fullness of the attribute, then he should approximate the attribution of something of the attribute of patience with which Allah - Blessed and Exalted is He - is described. And among His attributes are Al-Sabur (the Patient) and Al-Shakur (the Appreciative).
On this occasion, I remind you of a famous hadith mentioned in some books that has no basis, but it is related to this meaning we are discussing. The wording of this hadith is: "Adorn yourselves with the character of Allah." "Adorn yourselves with the character of Allah" is a hadith with no basis; that is, it was not narrated from the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) at all, not even with a fabricated chain. Rather, it became famous in the later times that the Messenger (peace be upon him) said: "Adorn yourselves with the character of Allah." But is there validity in meaning for this hadith that has no narration from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)? Can it be said to a person: Adorn yourself with the character of Allah? The answer is: It is possible in most of the attributes of Allah - Mighty and Majestic. And it is not possible, rather it is not permissible by the Shari'ah, for the created being to adorn himself with something of some of the attributes of Allah - Mighty and Majestic. For example, among His attributes is that He is Al-Jabbar (the Compeller), so it is not permissible for the Muslim to adorn himself with compulsion; because the attribute of compulsion is an attribute befitting Allah - Blessed and Exalted is He - the Creator. Therefore, it came in some of the Qudsi hadiths that whoever is arrogant and proud, Allah - Mighty and Majestic - will break him; because majesty and compulsion are among the attributes of Allah - Mighty and Majestic. But if we come to the attribute of patience or the attribute of forbearance, then it is said: Adorn yourselves with these divine characteristics, but to the extent of ability, to the extent that is compatible with human nature.
In this point, that is, because a human being cannot approximate by imitating the patience of Allah - Mighty and Majestic, a second hadith was brought that relates to a creation of Allah - Mighty and Majestic - who is the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). And thus, the approximation and similarity remain consistent between the human being who is commanded to adorn himself with the character of patience and this perfect human being, of whom you will hear what has come regarding his patience.