101 Hadith Qudsi by pImam ibn Arabi

Introduction
The original title of this book by Ibn ¡Arab¨ is “The Niche of
Lights concerning some of the communications that have been
transmitted from God” (Mishkåt al-anwår f¨må ruwiya ¡an Allåh
min al-akhbår).
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 Mishkåt al-anwår are called ¢ad¨th
quds¨ 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 ¢ad¨th quds¨ collected together in
the Mishkåt al-anwår, and most of them are well-known within the
Islamic tradition. As the Mishkåt al-anwår appears to have been
one of the earliest collections of its kind, it may well have played
an in¦uential role in making this particular sort of ¢ad¨th literature
more popular. Of the several collections of ¢ad¨th made by the
celebrated thirteenth-century master, Mu¢y¨dd¨n Ibn ¡Arab¨, this
is the only one to have been copied widely.
This is not only a collection by a person well-versed in the
science of ¢ad¨th literature, but a selection by a true spiritual
master. Indeed, Mu¢y¨dd¨n Ibn ¡Arab¨ is known throughout the
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