Who is a Hasid? I got lost in the sources
Shalom to all, baruch Hashem (ב"ה),
In the book Seven Gates of Righteous Knowledge, footnote 186 mentions that the saying "Who is a Hasid? One who goes beyond the measure of the law" can be found in the commentary of Rashi on Pirkei Avot 6:1. However, upon reviewing the mishnah itself and the commentary of Rashi available in English, I could not locate this statement explicitly.
Additionally, the same footnote refers to Rambam's introduction to Pirkei Avot, chapter 4, as a source for this teaching. While the Rambam does discuss similar ideas in that chapter, his explanation seems to frame the concept differently, describing the deviation beyond the measure of the law as a means to correct one's behavior due to the natural inclination toward the evil inclination (yetzer hara).
Where can I find the saying "Who is a Hasid?" explicitly stated in these or other sources? Perhaps I missed something in my reading of the texts or encountered a poorly translated version. Apologies in advance for any confusion, and thank you for your guidance.
Todah rabah and kol tuv!
You should perhaps peruse https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/1600969/jewish/Chassidut.htm and https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/332484/jewish/Chassidic-History.htm. I remember that chabad.org has an historical article about the Chabad Chassidic movement. My following ramblings are all from memory, so please accept that not everything might be written so perfectly. It was very well written, and it said that when the movement came about it also faced some backlash from some people in the Orthodox Jewish world. Apparently, the term Chassid already referred to a very pious person at the time, and people perhaps felt a bit upset that Chabad Chassidim used that term to describe themselves, which one could interpret to mean that other groups are perhaps not pious. The article concluded though that since G'd, Hashem, allowed the Chabbad Chassidic movement to go on, which one could say starts with King David HaMelech, Ben Jesse, continued with his son, King Shlomo HaMelech Ben David, King Rehoboam HaMelech Ben Shlomo, ..., Yehuda the Prince, ..., Rashi, ... the Baal Shem Tov, ... Menachem Mendel Schneerson, G'd, Hashem, concluded with the Chabad Chassidic movement, which made the decision to use the established term Chassid for their movement. I remember reading that Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson's wife, Chaya, who herself was not blessed with children in this world, said that the Chassidim are her children! How beautiful! I'm a struggling beinoni, who with G'd's help can merge his soul with a tzaddik, bez'rat Hashem, Ben Noach of the Jewish Chabad Chassidic movement, who practices Anciet Torah Temple Judaism. I'm one of Chaya's children, if of course she was including Bnei Noach in her statement. Because Jewish I'm not.