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

                I heard one of the khateebs giving a Friday khutbah and urging the people to adopt the attributes of Allaah and to mould their character after His. Is there a correct way to understand this? Is there a scholarly precedent for this statement?
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.