What is the meaning of the athar (report) that al-Bukhari narrated in al-Adab al-Mufrad, whose wording is: “We were sitting with Abdullah when they mentioned a man and spoke of his character, so Abdullah said: ‘What do you think, if you cut off his head, would you be able to change his character until you change his nature? Indeed, the drop settles in the womb for forty nights, then it descends as blood, then it becomes a clot, then it becomes a lump of flesh, then Allah sends an angel who writes down his provision, his character, and whether he will be wretched or happy’”

The questioner : My Shaykh, may Allah preserve you, here is a hadith in “al-Adab al-Mufrad”: the chapter on stinginess. It says: From Abdullah ibn Rabi’ah, who said: We were sitting with Abdullah when they mentioned a man and spoke of his character, so Abdullah said: “What do you think, if you cut off his head, would you be able to change his character until you change his nature? Indeed, the drop settles in the womb for forty nights, then it descends as blood, then it becomes a clot, then it becomes a lump of flesh, then Allah sends an angel who writes down his provision, his character, and whether he will be wretched or happy” . The point, my Shaykh, and the question here is about: .
The student : His character or his nature?

The questioner : No, his character, the first one, until you change his nature. So here, it seems there is a doubt that this matter was written for him, and this Companion said, perhaps he is a Companion, my Shaykh, this one? Abdullah ibn Rabi’ah?

The Shaykh : By Allah, I do not remember.

The questioner : Yes, the point is that this narrator means: you cannot, even if you cut off his head, you cannot change his character.

The Shaykh : His character, unless you change his nature.

The questioner : His nature, yes.

The Shaykh : And you are not able to change his nature, and consequently, you are not able to change his character.

The questioner : May Allah honor you, my Shaykh, yes.

The Shaykh : Okay, what is the question?

The questioner : That here, the character cannot be changed because, for example, wretchedness was written for him, it was written for him to be a miser, because the athar (report) came in the chapter on stinginess.

The Shaykh : Yes.

The questioner : That it was written for him to be a miser, so you cannot change this character in him.

The Shaykh : Yes. Is the discussion finished?

The questioner : Yes, meaning this thing was written for him, Allah - Mighty and Majestic - decreed it, and of course, he cited the hadith about the creation in the womb of the woman as evidence.

The Shaykh : By Allah, I did not understand it.

The questioner : My Shaykh, to summarize, it seems, and I say this with caution: it seems that the apparent meaning of this athar (report) is that the person here is compelled to this character, this is how Allah - Mighty and Majestic - created him, so how will he be held accountable?

The Shaykh : Do you have “how will he be held accountable,” or is this just filler from you?

The questioner : No, I mean it seems to appear from the apparent text of the athar (report). It is from me, of course. In short, my Shaykh, this hadith was the last hadith at the end of last week’s lesson, so, glory be to Allah, I stopped at it and I was afraid to ask, so, glory be to Allah, I supplicated to Allah - Mighty and Majestic - to grant me success in truly getting out of this dilemma, so the adhan (call to prayer) was called and I praised Allah - Mighty and Majestic -, and I said to myself that I would ask you so that if I am asked such a question...

The Shaykh : In any case, if the understanding is correct, then the one who is being explained is mistaken.

The questioner : Yes, my Shaykh, may Allah preserve you.

The Shaykh : So repeat the text of the phrase to me now so that I can look at it.

The questioner: Yes.

The Shaykh : And it appears that it is an error, meaning an error by the speaker, because it is mawquf (stopping at a Companion) and not marfu' (traced to the Prophet).

The questioner: Yes, may Allah honor you.

The Shaykh : Repeat.

The questioner : It says: We were sitting with Abdullah when they mentioned a man and spoke of his character, so Abdullah said: “What do you think, if you cut off his head, would you be able to change his character until you change his nature?” . Of course, the complete hadith is: to the end of the athar (report).

The Shaykh : Without a doubt, a person cannot change the character of a person, just as he cannot change his nature; this is a fact in which there is no doubt. But if the intended meaning of this athar (report) is the statement, as you said just now, a marginal note from you, that if a person is a miser, he cannot change anything of his character, if the intended meaning of this athar (report) is such a meaning, then it contradicts the Shari'ah first, and the moral principles second. And this athar (report) meets a weak hadith, praise be to Allah, which says: . This hadith is weak, and that established athar (report) contradict the hadiths that command improving character in general. We all know the hadiths that command the Muslim to improve his character. What does improving character mean? It means he is bad, but he is commanded to improve it. Then some details come regarding certain morals, for example, his saying - peace and blessings be upon him -: . So a man who is not patient, but he practices patience until he almost becomes patient by nature, and struggling against the self in the mindfulness of Allah - Mighty and Majestic - and opposing its desires is of this kind. Otherwise, the matter is as is known: , and He - the Exalted - said: . But this does not mean that the Muslim does not struggle against his desires, and this struggle does not mean that it does not benefit its owner; therefore, it came in “Sahih al-Bukhari”: that a man said: O Messenger of Allah, advise me? He said to him: . He said: Advise me, O Messenger of Allah? He said: . And so three times. The man said: .
The student: Allah is the Greatest!

The Shaykh : So a person can change character, so this athar (report), according to how it is interpreted, may give a correct meaning: we cannot change the character of a person, but this person, if he wants, can change it, otherwise all the legislative commands would be scattered dust.

The questioner : His, my Shaykh, his argument is what created the problem, the argument of this narrator is what created the problem, otherwise if it remained that you cannot change his character until you change his nature, there would be no problem as you mentioned, it is not possible to change this. But his saying: and he cited this as evidence, here, in my opinion, and Allah knows, the problem arises. So, my Shaykh, what is the conclusion of your speech regarding this athar (report) that it contains...?
The student : We clarified to you the hadith of the saying of the Messenger - peace and blessings be upon him - when you asked us what is the meaning? What is intended from it? has a continuation of the hadith, but this first part, I said that the person, although he believes that his provision is written with Allah - Blessed and Exalted is He -, he strives to obtain the provision, so his character is also allotted to him, but he strives to improve his character, this is part of the required effort.

The Shaykh : Everyone takes... meaning the same hadith of happiness and wretchedness in the same way, meaning we do not know what our happiness is or what our wretchedness is, but we strive for what we love, the one who loves happiness strives for it . Here the professor is trying to say a word, I do not know if he finished or not?
The student : May Allah reward you with good, this meaning, this explanation is a good thing, but the issue is that a person cannot change the character of a person, I do not know if it is from the category of, accompanying the righteous, meaning he follows them and is influenced by them?

The Shaykh : No, this is influence, but changing, he cannot do it except he himself, because the person follows his own self, so he can change, but the Shaykh, for example, to some extent, because of his upbringing of him, has an influence on him, but to change his character as he wants, this man, it is not so, first.
The student : What is intended by change? Meaning, is the intended meaning not teaching and training?

The Shaykh : Correction.
The student : Is it not teaching and training?

The Shaykh : Correction. No. Like the example we gave with the hadith of the Messenger: “Indeed, knowledge is through patience.”
The student : .

The Shaykh : Ah, , so the professor who gives lessons on the virtue of patience, we cannot say he can make thisThe student : patient, because perhaps thisThe student : does not think of becoming patient one day, but he himself, if he wants that, he can change, the Shaykh or the professor or the guide or the educator is a guide and a pathfinder, but who changes? The person himself, as Allah the Exalted said in the famous verse: , so the change comes from the person, not from the teacher, but the teacher may help in the change, and may not add anything at all for the one who does not want, like the disbelievers to whom the prophets and messengers were sent and it did not benefit them anything.
The student : Well, our Shaykh, may Allah reward you with good. The beginning of the report is: "We were sitting with Abdullah, and a man was mentioned, and his character was discussed. It seems he wanted to deter them from backbiting so that they would not fall into it. This man is naturally stingy, so they spoke a lot about him in the gatherings. They stopped backbiting about him. Is this what is meant by this introduction, my Shaykh? That he wanted to divert them from backbiting about the man ?

The Shaykh : I do not think so. What did al-Bukhari translate for the report?
The student : The chapter on stinginess, my Shaykh.
Another student : The chapter on stinginess, my Shaykh, regarding stinginess, because which is this, they mentioned his character regarding stinginess and miserliness. He wants to deter them from stinginess, saying that this is his nature in stinginess and miserliness, so do not occupy yourselves with backbiting about him, because his nature includes stinginess. If a person has a nature that is difficult to change, then do not fall into [backbiting] about it.