Words of God to Prophet Muhammad: Forty Sacred Sayings (ahadith qudsiyyah)

Description

 “Whoever memorizes and preserves forty hadith relating to

religion,” said the Prophet Muhammad, “God will resurrect him

on the Day of Judgment as a jurist and religious scholar.” Inspired

by this and similar sayings, early Muslims endeavored to

organize and publish prophetic traditions in sets of forties on

specific subject matters. If most traditions consists of sayings of

the Prophet Muhammad, the current compilation, which was

drawn from Ayatullah Hasan Shirizi’s Kalimat Allah , brings together

a special sort of tradition, the sacred saying or hadith

qudsi , in which the Messenger of God reports extra-Quranic revelation,

namely, the Word of God, that was shared with him directly

by the Divinity or via the intermediary of the Angel

Gabriel. The compilation in question has been transmitted consecutively

through spiritual and scholarly lines since the early

days of Islam and treated as trustworthy by many specialists of

tradition. Famous in Shiite and Sufi circles in the Middle East

and Asia, knowledge of this magnificent work is slowly spreading

throughout Sunni lands. Translated idiomatically, accurately,

and elegantly by Dr. John Andrew Morrow, and commented

upon by Charles Upton with depth and concision, The Words of

God to Prophet Muhammad: Forty Sacred Sayings  is a priceless

gem of Islamic spirituality and a masterpiece of Arabic eloquence

that should find its place in every Muslim and non-Muslim

home.