1343 – Ibn Masʿūd (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:

“O Allah, just as You have perfected my outward form, perfect my character.”

Related by Aḥmad, and Ibn Ḥibbān declared it sound. (1)

Hadith classification
The ḥadīth is sound. Ibn Ḥibbān authenticated it; al-Mundhirī said, “Its transmitters are trustworthy,” and al-Haythamī, after mentioning two chains for it, stated, “Their narrators are the narrators of the Ṣaḥīḥ.”

Key terms
• ḥassanta: from the root meaning “to beautify, to make excellent,” here addressed directly to Allah.
• khalqī: my physical appearance—the human being’s outward form.
• khuluqī: my character—the inner disposition from which actions flow easily and naturally, without need for deliberation.

Lessons derived
Allah the Exalted says, “We have indeed created man in the best of forms” (95:4); He says, “the One who created you, fashioned you, and proportioned you” (82:7); and, “and He formed you and perfected your forms” (64:3). Glorious is His power: He created the human being, completed his creation, and perfected his composition, for man was modeled after his father Adam—whom Allah fashioned with His own Hand—and thus came forth upon that noble, exemplary form.