Mishkāt al-anwār

Divine Sayings/Niche of Lights

Ibn ʿArabī's collection of one hundred and one ḥadīth qudsī, Divine Sayings or the holy sayings of God transmitted by the Prophet Muhammad or other prophets.The collection is in three parts: two sections of 40 ḥadīth qudsī, followed by one section of 21, with meticulous attention given to both the content and the chain of transmission. Each of them is like a light whose flame has been passed from one lamp to another over generations, a living scripture.

a page from Esad Efendi 312

The Messenger of God, may God give him blessings and peace, said:

God, ever blessed and exalted is He, says:

“Whoever treats a friend of Mine as an enemy, on him I declare war. My servant draws near to Me by nothing dearer to Me than that which I have established as a duty for him. And My servant does not cease to approach Me through supererogatory acts until I love him.

And when I love him, I become his hearing with which he hears, his sight with which he sees, his hand with which he grasps, and his foot with which he walks. And if he asks Me [for something], I give it to him. If he seeks refuge with Me, I place him under My protection.

In nothing do I hesitate so much as I hesitate [to take] the soul of a believer. He has a horror of death, and I have a horror of harming him.”

Reported by al-Bukhari, according to Abu Hurayra.