Al-Adab Al-Mufrad #275
Excellence in Character
The Arabic includes the chain of narration (sanad) and the collector's commentary; the English translation shows the Prophet's words only.
حَدَّثَنَا إِسْمَاعِيلُ قَالَ: حَدَّثَنِي مَالِكٌ، عَنِ ابْنِ شِهَابٍ، عَنْ عُرْوَةَ، عَنْ عَائِشَةَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهَا أَنَّهَا قَالَتْ: مَا خُيِّرَ رَسُولُ اللهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم بَيْنَ أَمْرَيْنِ إِلاَّ اخْتَارَ أَيْسَرَهُمَا، مَا لَمْ يَكُنْ إِثْمًا، فَإِذَا كَانَ إِثْمًا كَانَ أَبْعَدَ النَّاسِ مِنْهُ، وَمَا انْتَقَمَ رَسُولُ اللهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم لِنَفْسِهِ، إِلاَّ أَنْ تُنْتَهَكَ حُرْمَةُ اللهِ تَعَالَى، فَيَنْتَقِمُ لِلَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ بِهَا.
'A'isha said, "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and
grant him peace, was never given a choice between two things but that he
chose the easier of the two as long as it was not a wrong action. If it
was a wrong action, then he was the last person to do it. The Messenger
of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, never took revenge on
his own behalf. But when the respect of Allah Almighty was violated, he
would take revenge on behalf of Allah Almighty."
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About Al-Adab Al-Mufrad
This hadith is #275 from Al-Adab Al-Mufrad, in the Book of Excellence in Character.