Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah.
The expression “Adopt the attributes of Allah and embody His morals”, when stated without qualification, is not appropriate. This is because some of Allah’s Names and Attributes are exclusive to Him, and it is not permissible for a human being to describe himself with them in their absolute and unrestricted sense.
For example, the Creator, the Provider, and the Deity are names and attributes that belong exclusively to Allah. A person cannot say that he possesses these attributes in the manner in which they belong to Allah.
However, if the intended meaning is to encourage people to embody the implications and meanings of some of Allah’s Names and Attributes—those qualities which Allah loves His servants to possess—then this meaning is correct, provided that it is understood in a manner appropriate to created beings and within the limits of the Islamic Law.
There is a distinction between Names and Attributes that are exclusive to Allah, such as the Creator, the Provider, and the Deity, and qualities whose basic meanings may appropriately exist in human beings, such as knowledge, strength in upholding the truth, mercy, forbearance, generosity, munificence, and forgiveness.
Allah is All-Knowing and loves those who possess knowledge; Powerful and loves the strong believer; Generous and loves the generous; Merciful and loves the merciful; and Pardoning and loves those who pardon.
The fact that some basic meanings are shared between the Creator and His creatures does not mean that there is any likeness between them. Allah’s knowledge is more perfect than the knowledge of His creatures, His mercy is greater than theirs, His generosity is more complete, and His power is incomparable.
Allah, Exalted be He, says:
“There is nothing whatsoever like unto Him, and He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing.”
(Ash-Shura 42:11)
Therefore, when a person manifests any of these qualities, he must remain within the limits established by the Islamic Law. Excessive generosity, for example, may become wastefulness; excessive mercy may lead someone to abandon a prescribed legal punishment where it must be carried out; and excessive forgiveness may sometimes be inappropriate.
Ibn al-Qayyim, may Allah have mercy on him, explicitly discussed this meaning in ʿUddat al-Sābirīn and Al-Wābil al-Sayyib.
In ʿUddat al-Sābirīn, he explained that Allah is the truly Thankful, Ash-Shakūr, and that the most beloved of His creatures to Him are those who are characterized by gratitude. He then stated:
“This is the case with His Most Beautiful Names: the most beloved of His creatures to Him are those who embody what these Names require, while the most hated of them to Him are those who embody their opposites.”
He also mentioned that Allah is Beautiful and loves beauty; All-Knowing and loves those who possess knowledge; Merciful and loves the merciful; One who does good and loves those who do good; One who conceals faults and loves those who conceal faults; the strong believer is more beloved to Him than the weak believer; and He is Pardoning and loves pardon; and He is Witr and loves that which is odd-numbered.
In Al-Wābil al-Sayyib, Ibn al-Qayyim said regarding generosity:
“Generosity is among the attributes of the Lord, Glorified and Exalted. He gives and does not take, and He feeds and is not fed. He is the Most Generous of all who are generous and the Most Noble of all who are noble. And the most beloved of His creatures to Him are those who embody the implications of His attributes.”
He also said:
“For He is Generous and loves the generous among His servants; He is All-Knowing and loves those who possess knowledge; He is Powerful and loves the courageous; and He is Beautiful and loves beauty.”
Therefore, the expression “Embody the morals of Allah and adopt the attributes of Allah” should not be stated without qualification, because some of Allah’s Names and Attributes are exclusive to Him, such as the Creator, the Provider, and the Deity.
However, if the intended meaning is to encourage people to embody certain qualities that Allah loves His servants to possess—such as mercy, generosity, forgiveness, forbearance, knowledge, and strength in upholding the truth—while observing the limits of the Islamic Law, then this meaning is correct.
Indeed, Ibn al-Qayyim and other scholars explicitly mentioned this meaning.
And Allah knows best.