Al-Adab Al-Mufrad
Al-Adab Al-Mufrad 1321
حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ اللهِ، قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا مَرْوَانُ بْنُ مُعَاوِيَةَ، قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ عُبَيْدٍ الْكِنْدِيُّ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ قَالَ: سَمِعْتُ عَلِيًّا يَقُولُ لِابْنِ الْكَوَّاءِ: هَلْ تَدْرِي مَا قَالَ الأَوَّلُ؟ أَحْبِبْ حَبِيبَكَ هَوْنًا مَا، عَسَى أَنْ يَكُونَ بَغِيضَكَ يَوْمًا مَا، وَأَبْغِضْ بَغِيضَكَ هَوْنًا مَا، عَسَى أَنْ يَكُونَ حَبِيبَكَ يَوْمًا مَا.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
‘Abd Allah related to us: Marwan ibn Mu‘awiyah related to us: Muhammad ibn ‘Ubayd al-Kindi related to us, from his father, who said: I heard ‘Ali say to Ibn al-Kawwa’: ‘Do you know what the first man said? Love your beloved with moderation, for he may one day become someone you dislike; and dislike the one you dislike with moderation, for he may one day become someone you love.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
هَوْنًا مَا means gently or moderately, not “an easy matter” as in the English witness.
أَحْبِبْ حَبِيبَكَ هَوْنًا مَا،
هَوْنًا مَا means gently/moderately, describing degree of affection rather than the ease of loving.
None; the translation follows the Arabic idiom.