What is the source of the given hadith?

Question

The Prophet ﷺ said, “God loves the critical gaze upon doubtful matters and the accomplished intellect at the onslaught of egoic desires.”
إن الله يحب البصر الناقد عند ورود الشبهات والعقل الكامل عند هجوم الشهوات

What is the source of this hadith? And is this hadith authentic.

Answer 1

Imam al-Ghazaly quoed hit in his al-Ihya' إحياء علوم الدين in a chapter called the book of supervision and accounting كتاب المراقبة والمحاسبة -see here in Arabic-.

Imam al-'Iraqi commented it as follows:
^{In the following I'm translating from Arabic language, as these translations are of my own take them carefully}

قال العراقي: رواه أبو نعيم في الحلية من حديث عمران بن حصين وفيه حفص بن عمر العدني ضعفه الجمهور أهـ.
Abu Nua'ym narrated it in al-Hilyah from the hadith of 'Imran ibn Hossain and in the narrator chain is Hafs ibn 'Umar al-'Adany and the majority considers him as da'if.

The correct wording as is in al-Hilyah -see here in Arabic-:

عن عمران بن حصين، قال: أخذ رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم بطرف عمامتي من ورائي فجذبها فقال: «يا عمران أنفق ولا تصر صرا فيعسر عليك الطلب أما علمت أن الله تعالى يحب السماحة ولو على تمرات، ويحب الشجاعة ولو على قتل حية، ويحب العقل الكامل عند هجم الشبهات»
On the authority of 'Imraan ibn Hossain: The Messenger of Allah, Allah's prayers and blessings be upon him, took the tip of my turban behind me and pulled it and Said:
Oh 'Imraan spend and do not insist too much, so it is difficult for you to ask. Did you not know that Allah the Almighty loves forgiveness, even if on dates? And He loves courage, even if on killing a serpent, and He loves a perfect mind (accomplished intellect) when suspicions attack.

As you see there are large deviations between this and what al-Ghazaly and others mentioned.

Ibn Tayymyah mentiond it in his Fatawa saying it is a mursal hadith -see here-.

وَلِهَذَا جَاءَ فِي حَدِيثٍ مُرْسَلٍ عَنْ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ أَنَّهُ قَالَ : " { إنَّ اللَّهَ يُحِبُّ الْبَصَرَ النَّافِذَ عِنْدَ وُرُودِ الشُّبُهَاتِ وَيُحِبُّ الْعَقْلَ الْكَامِلَ عِنْدَ حُلُولِ الشَّهَوَاتِ } .

Imam as-Suyuti quoted a longer version in his a-Dur al-Manthur on the authority of az-Zubayr ibn al-'Awwam -see here- from al-Hakeem a-Thirmidi's Nawadir al-Osol نوادر الأصول.

It seems also to have been compiled in other sources like al-Bayhaqi's az-Zuh, Musnad a-Shihab, Tareekh Dimashq of ibn 'Asakir (see here).