I was sent a copy of this book by computer in Madinah. I happened to be sick and unable to leave my room. I could not stop reading it. By the time I was finished, I was well again. It is a wonderful book, with beautiful insights into the spiritual secrets of our Beloved’s words. Imam al-Haddad said that the reason Imam al-Ghazali ended his life reading only the Quran and Hadith is that his station was so high and his state so elevated that by then only direct revelation could nourish his soul. This book is a feast with wonderful explanations ingredients of the soul nourishing Hadiths and their benefits to one’s spiritual health.

This most precious volume is unique in bringing together original Arabic ahadith, English translations and commentaries from traditional and spiritual luminaries of Islam till our days. This book will be an invaluable resource for teachers and scholars intent on illustrating the foundations of the Islamic cultivation of the soul and contemplative science of the heart in the Prophetic exemplar.

. . . a representative collection of the textual Sunna that has been the central thread of the intellectual heritage of the Muslim world for over fourteen centuries. Each ḥadīth is accompanied with commentaries drawn from the broad expanse of scholarly perspectives that provide a mirror for the essential ideals and values that constitute the cloth of the Islamic community’s social and communal identity. This well annotated and meticulously worded translation focuses attention upon the mutually complementary facets of the esoteric and exoteric aspects of Islamic thought.

This is the best introduction to the nature of the Prophet for the spiritually sensitive Western reader. It is truly indispensable and necessary reading for any serious student of Islam, especially those interested in essential and decisive tassawuf, as its origins may be discerned in the nascent period of the Tradition. These works reveal the heart of Islamic spirituality, rooted in the nature of things, as Din al-Fitra, or Primordial Monotheism, as it existed prior to hundreds of years of the vicissitudes of history and theological opinions. This book is a splendid complement to Martin Lings’ biography of the Prophet.

The Prophet received the initiative power (walāyah) from God and transmitted it to certain Companions, especially ‘Alī ibn Abī Tālib, and that reality resulted in the establishment and developmentof the Islamic esoteric tradition identified mostly with Sufism. The present collection of ahādīth, therefore, reveals a very important dimension of the Prophet’s being, one that is often neglected in modern studies of him not only by non-Muslim Westerners but also by even many Muslim biographers. This collection also provides precious knowledge of many aspects of the Islamic esoteric tradition itself. The author is to be congratulated for makin such a unique work of spiritual value available at a time when the dark clouds of hatred and suspicion of Islam cover much of the sky of Europe. This work will surely be of great value both to those in search of authentic esoteric knowledge and to those who seek in all honesty a more complete picture of the inward as well as outward reality of the Prophet of Islam."

This may be my favourite collection of hadiths in English. Comprising more than two hundred sayings of the Prophet ﷺ centred around the spiritual life, with commentary mostly from classical Sufi texts (compiled by T. Chourief), and accompanied by Arabic script (in case you wish to memorize the traditions), there are few, if any, comparable works in English. Thematically divided into short chapters around such topics as dhikr, the remembrance of death, the Quran, the virtues, the heart, the friends of God, divine inspiration, and wisdom, it is also an excellent sourcebook for those interested in the hadith-based origins of Sufi piety.