i b ‘Oh child of Adam, as long as you beseech Me and hope for Me, I shall n forgive you whatever you have done, without minding in the slightest.’ ¡ divine From Hadith 28 a r a b Apart from the Quran, the most treasured sayings in the Islamic i tradition are those of Muhammad himself, which form the Hadith, sayings and none more so than the sayings of God transmitted by Muhammad, known as ¢ad¨th quds¨ (literally ‘sacred sayings’). d Ibn ¡Arab¨’s Mishkåt al-anwår is one of the most important and i v infl uential early collections of ¢ad¨th quds¨, comprising 101 sayings i drawn from the oral tradition and written collections. Divine Sayings n is a translation by Stephen Hirtenstein and Martin Notcutt, from the e fi rst authoritative Arabic text edited from the best early manuscripts. s These Divine Sayings are universal, expounding the divine root of all a 101 y goodness and beauty, and can be appreciated by people from any back- i ground. Recurring themes include our utter dependence upon God, n hadith qudsi and His readiness to forgive and embrace those who truly turn to Him. g This book is a most wonderful gift. s : 1 0 1 ‘Stephen Hirtenstein and Martin Notcutt have produced in Divine h Sayings a beautifully translated version of Ibn ¡Arabi’s best known a collection of Hadith … . They have done a great service to all those d who would like to gaze upon the Muhammadan form through the eyes i of al-Shaykh al-Akbar.’ t William C. Chittick, Stony Brook University h The q u Mishkåt al-Anwår d s of i Ibn ¡Arab¨ www.ibn-arabi.com [email protected] ANQA PUBLISHING ANQA divine sayings Also available from Anqa Publishing Contemplation of the Holy Mysteries: mashåhid al-asrår, by Ibn ¡Arab¨ Translated by Cecilia Twinch and Pablo Beneito The Universal Tree and the Four Birds: al-itti¢åd al-kawn¨, by Ibn ¡Arab¨ Translated by Angela Jaffray A Prayer for Spiritual Elevation and Protection: al-dawr al-a¡lå, by Ibn ¡Arab¨ Study, translation, transliteration and Arabi text by Suha Taji-Farouki The Unlimited Mercifier: the Spiritual Life and Thought of Ibn ¡Arab¨ Stephen Hirtenstein Ibn ¡Arabi and Modern Thought: The History of Taking Metaphysics Seriously Peter Coates 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 Mu¢y¨dd¨n Ibn ¡Arab¨ divine sayings 101 ±ad¨th Quds¨ Mishkåt al-anwår translated by stephen hirtenstein and martin notcutt ANQA PUBLISHING • OXFORD Published by Anqa Publishing PO Box 1178 Oxford OX2 8YS, UK www.ibn-arabi.com © Stephen Hirtenstein and Martin Notcutt, 2004 First published 2004 First paperback edition, 2008 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 03 5 Jacket design by Gerard Lennox Back cover: Ibn ¡Arab¨’s signature (courtesy of the Beshara School, Scotland) Printed in the USA by Quebecor World Eusey Press Contents Acknowledgements x Introduction 1 the 101 hadith qudsi Preface 5 part one Hadith 1 Forbidding injustice 7 Hadith 2 Dispensing with association 8 Hadith 3 The believer with little means 9 Hadith 4 Promoting peace and reconciliation 9 Hadith 5 The veiling of Paradise and Hell 11 Hadith 6 Reciting the Fåti¢a 12 Hadith 7 The child of Adam slanders Me 13 Hadith 8 Remembering Me and forgetting Me 14 Hadith 9 The Hand of God is full 14 Hadith 10 I am with My servant when he remembers 15 Hadith 11 Fear and security 15 Hadith 12 I shall shelter them in My Shade 16 Hadith 13 I am in My servant’s thought of Me 16 Hadith 14 God’s address to one of the people of Hell 17 Hadith 15 Pride is My cloak 17 Hadith 16 The intercession of the Most Merciful, and His Good-Pleasure 18 Hadith 17 A religion with which I am well-pleased 19 v contents Hadith 18 Vision of the Lord 19 Hadith 19 Destined for Hell or Paradise 20 Hadith 20 Satisfaction with My decree 21 Hadith 21 What no eye has seen nor ear heard 21 Hadith 22 He who hopes for other than Me 22 Hadith 23 The last to enter Paradise 22 Hadith 24 When God created Adam 24 Hadith 25 When God created the Earth 26 Hadith 26 I am your Lord 27 Hadith 27 I am with him when he remembers Me 28 Hadith 28 I shall forgive you 29 Hadith 29 The blessing of rain 30 Hadith 30 God hears him who praises Him 30 Hadith 31 Dividing the Fåti¢a and granting the prayer 31 Hadith 32 Concerning purity 32 Hadith 33 Those who love one another 32 Hadith 34 Compensation for loss of sight 33 Hadith 35 The coming of those who deceive through religion 33 Hadith 36 I gave you gifts; what have you done? 34 Hadith 37 The community of Muhammad at the Resurrection 34 Hadith 38 Greeting and blessing the Prophet 35 Hadith 39 Devotion to My worship 35 Hadith 40 There is no god but God 36 vi contents part two Khabar 1 Abraham and disobeying the Beloved 39 Khabar 2 David and the attachment of the heart 40 Khabar 3 Moses and the work God loves most 40 Khabar 4 I am completely aware of My lovers 41 Khabar 5 Concerning one who kills himself 41 Khabar 6 Remembering Me when facing the enemy 42 Khabar 7 The supremacy of Mercy over Anger 42 Khabar 8 Contentment with one’s portion 43 Khabar 9 God’s welcome to the people of Paradise 43 Khabar 10 How you wrong Me 44 Khabar 11 Pleasure and hardship 44 Khabar 12 Creation and provision 45 Khabar 13 Peace and goodness in Paradise 45 Khabar 14 The lover’s right 46 Khabar 15 The Faithful 46 Khabar 16 The King’s descent 47 Khabar 17 The counting of deeds 47 Khabar 18 I have created you for My sake 48 Khabar 19 Regarding the morrow 48 Khabar 20 Surrender and Peace 49 Khabar 21 Obligations and nourishment 49 Khabar 22 Prayer and sufficiency 50 Khabar 23 The time for charity 50 Khabar 24 Giving generously 51 Khabar 25 My treasuries are never exhausted 51 Khabar 26 Raising the veils for the people of Paradise 52 Khabar 27 My Power is permanent 52 Khabar 28 The ruse of God 53 vii contents Khabar 29 I shall give you gifts 53 Khabar 30 I accept the prayer of one who humbles himself 54 Khabar 31 Abandoning evil for the sake of God 54 Khabar 32 Completing what is required 55 Khabar 33 The impetuosity of man 55 Khabar 34 Moses and the pillars of religion 56 Khabar 35 The prophet–servant and the prophet–king 57 Khabar 36 Demeaning a saint 57 Khabar 37 The act God loves most 58 Khabar 38 All that you wish, I wish 58 Khabar 39 I am Time 59 Khabar 40 I have forgiven them 59 part three Hadith 1 God’s pledge to him who goes forth to fight 61 Hadith 2 God’s wonder at him who goes forth to fight 62 Hadith 3 The bounty apportioned to the martyr 63 Hadith 4 The people of invocation 63 Hadith 5 Moses’ request for invocation 65 Hadith 6 God’s prayer over the Prophet 66 Hadith 7 The tie of kinship 66 Hadith 8 The necessity of love 67 Hadith 9 When God loves a servant 68 Hadith 10 A Lord who forgives sin 69 Hadith 11 My servant draws near to Me 70 Hadith 12 The acceptance of deeds 71 Hadith 13 The service of the world 71 Hadith 14 The ingratitude of a servant 72 Hadith 15 Redemption through the Name of God 72 viii contents Hadith 16 Desiring other than Me 73 Hadith 17 Those whose requests are not rejected 74 Hadith 18 The recompense on the Day of Resurrection 74 Hadith 19 The reciter, the martyr and the wealthy man 76 Hadith 20 The hypocrite 78 Hadith 21 God’s address to the people of Paradise, their request and His reply 79 Notes to the translation 83 Appendix: ±ad¨th and Ibn ¡Arab¨ 89 Bibliography 105 Index of first lines 107 ix