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Divine Sayings: The Mishkat al-Anwar of Ibn 'Arabi
Divine Sayings: The Mishkat al-Anwar of Ibn 'Arabi
Divine Sayings: The Mishkat al-Anwar of Ibn 'Arabi
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Divine Sayings: The Mishkat al-Anwar of Ibn 'Arabi

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Inspiring insight into the spiritual depth of Islam is presented in this English translation of Muhyiddin Ibn `Arabi's Mishkat al-Anwar, one of the most influential early collections of hadith qudsi, the sayings of God as transmitted by Muhammad. The meaning of hadith, hadith qudsi, and the importance of the terms in the text are explained in a comprehensive 90-page introduction. A bibliography, indexes on the individual hadith, the names of the important transmitters, and two appendices on the manuscript sources and chains of transmission provide unfamiliar readers with resources to fully appreciate the work. An Arabic version of the Mishkat al-Anwar, culled from the oldest surviving manuscripts and presented in a handsome calligraphic style, is also included.
LanguageEnglish
Release dateApr 1, 2005
ISBN9781905937134
Divine Sayings: The Mishkat al-Anwar of Ibn 'Arabi

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    May God Bless the writer and the one who uploaded it and the one who reads it! Aameen!
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    Beautiful book, really humbles the soul. And really helps you to reconnect with Allah (swt). Definitely a recommended read.

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Divine Sayings - Muhyiddin Ibn 'Arabi

Also available from Anqa Publishing

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Ibn ‘Arabi and Modern Thought:

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The Nightingale in the Garden of Love: the Poems of Üftade

by Paul Ballanfat

Translated from French by Angela Culme-Seymour

Beshara and Ibn ‘Arabi:

A Movement of Sufi Spirituality in the Modern World

Suha Taji-Farouki

Published by Anqa Publishing

PO Box 1178

Oxford OX2 8YS, UK

www.ibn-arabi.com

© Stephen Hirtenstein and Martin Notcutt, 2004

First published 2004

Epub edition v2, 2013

Stephen Hirtenstein and Martin Notcutt have asserted their moral right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as the authors of this work.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of the publisher.

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN 978 1 905937 13 4

Cover design by Gerard Lennox

Contents

Acknowledgements

Introduction

THE 101 HADITH QUDSI

Preface

PART ONE

Hadith 1 Forbidding injustice

Hadith 2 Dispensing with association

Hadith 3 The believer with little means

Hadith 4 Promoting peace and reconciliation

Hadith 5 The veiling of Paradise and Hell

Hadith 6 Reciting the Fātiḥa

Hadith 7 The child of Adam slanders Me

Hadith 8 Remembering Me and forgetting Me

Hadith 9 The Hand of God is full

Hadith 10 I am with My servant when he remembers

Hadith 11 Fear and security

Hadith 12 I shall shelter them in My Shade

Hadith 13 I am in My servant’s thought of Me

Hadith 14 God’s address to one of the people of Hell

Hadith 15 Pride is My cloak

Hadith 16 The intercession of the Most Merciful, and His Good-Pleasure

Hadith 17 A religion with which I am well-pleased

Hadith 18 Vision of the Lord

Hadith 19 Destined for Hell or Paradise

Hadith 20 Satisfaction with My decree

Hadith 21 What no eye has seen nor ear heard

Hadith 22 He who hopes for other than Me

Hadith 23 The last to enter Paradise

Hadith 24 When God created Adam

Hadith 25 When God created the Earth

Hadith 26 I am your Lord

Hadith 27 I am with him when he remembers Me

Hadith 28 I shall forgive you

Hadith 29 The blessing of rain

Hadith 30 God hears him who praises Him

Hadith 31 Dividing the Fātiḥa and granting the prayer

Hadith 32 Concerning purity

Hadith 33 Those who love one another

Hadith 34 Compensation for loss of sight

Hadith 35 The coming of those who deceive through religion

Hadith 36 I gave you gifts; what have you done?

Hadith 37 The community of Muhammad at the Resurrection

Hadith 38 Greeting and blessing the Prophet

Hadith 39 Devotion to My worship

Hadith 40 There is no god but God

PART TWO

Khabar 1 Abraham and disobeying the Beloved

Khabar 2 David and the attachment of the heart

Khabar 3 Moses and the work God loves most

Khabar 4 I am completely aware of My lovers

Khabar 5 Concerning one who kills himself

Khabar 6 Remembering Me when facing the enemy

Khabar 7 The supremacy of Mercy over Anger

Khabar 8 Contentment with one’s portion

Khabar 9 God’s welcome to the people of Paradise

Khabar 10 How you wrong Me

Khabar 11 Pleasure and hardship

Khabar 12 Creation and provision

Khabar 13 Peace and goodness in Paradise

Khabar 14 The lover’s right

Khabar 15 The Faithful

Khabar 16 The King’s descent

Khabar 17 The counting of deeds

Khabar 18 I have created you for My sake

Khabar 19 Regarding the morrow

Khabar 20 Surrender and Peace

Khabar 21 Obligations and nourishment

Khabar 22 Prayer and sufficiency

Khabar 23 The time for charity

Khabar 24 Giving generously

Khabar 25 My treasuries are never exhausted

Khabar 26 Raising the veils for the people of Paradise

Khabar 27 My Power is permanent

Khabar 28 The ruse of God

Khabar 29 I shall give you gifts

Khabar 30 I accept the prayer of one who humbles himself

Khabar 31 Abandoning evil for the sake of God

Khabar 32 Completing what is required

Khabar 33 The impetuosity of man

Khabar 34 Moses and the pillars of religion

Khabar 35 The prophet–servant and the prophet–king

Khabar 36 Demeaning a saint

Khabar 37 The act God loves most

Khabar 38 All that you wish, I wish

Khabar 39 I am Time

Khabar 40 I have forgiven them

PART THREE

Hadith 1 God’s pledge to him who goes forth to fight

Hadith 2 God’s wonder at him who goes forth to fight

Hadith 3 The bounty apportioned to the martyr

Hadith 4 The people of invocation

Hadith 5 Moses’ request for invocation

Hadith 6 God’s prayer over the Prophet

Hadith 7 The tie of kinship

Hadith 8 The necessity of love

Hadith 9 When God loves a servant

Hadith 10 A Lord who forgives sin

Hadith 11 My servant draws near to Me

Hadith 12 The acceptance of deeds

Hadith 13 The service of the world

Hadith 14 The ingratitude of a servant

Hadith 15 Redemption through the Name of God

Hadith 16 Desiring other than Me

Hadith 17 Those whose requests are not rejected

Hadith 18 The recompense on the Day of Resurrection

Hadith 19 The reciter, the martyr and the wealthy man

Hadith 20 The hypocrite

Hadith 21 God’s address to the people of Paradise, their request and His reply

Notes to the translation

Appendix: Hadīth and Ibn ‘Arabī

Bibliography

Index of first lines

Acknowledgements

Little did we realise, when we first began the translation of this book in 1996, just how much work would be involved. We wish to express our deepest gratitude to the following, without whose help and expertise this book would not have seen the light of day.

We are greatly indebted to Daniel Hirtenstein and Sara Sviri for their inestimable help with the translation, and to Rosemary Brass, Sara Hirtenstein, Judy Kearns and Michael Tiernan for their editing, typesetting, proofreading and invaluable suggestions.

We also thank the fellows and members of the Muhyiddin Ibn ‘Arabi Society for their support in establishing an archive of Ibn ‘Arabī’s works, and to the director and staff of the Sūleymaniye library in Istanbul for all their help in providing access to these precious manuscripts.

Introduction

The original title of this book by Ibn ‘Arabī is The Niche of Lights concerning some of the communications that have been transmitted from God (Mishkāt al-anwār fīmā ruwiya ‘an Allāh min al-akhbār).

These communications or Divine Sayings are so rich in meaning that it is not possible to characterise them all by a single word or phrase. Recurring themes include our complete dependence on God, and His readiness to forgive and embrace those who truly turn to Him. They are memorable, and in their generosity of spirit bring us close to the absolutely Real. Although they come from the Islamic tradition, and wear the clothes of time and place, they are universal in nature, and can be appreciated by people from any background. The book is a wonderful gift.

The Divine Sayings in the Mishkāt al-anwār are called ḥadīth qudsī or sacred sayings, a term which is described more fully in the Appendix, but usually meaning words of God heard by the Prophet Muhammad, and reported outside the Quranic revelation. There are one hundred and one ḥadīth qudsī collected together in the Mishkāt

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