There are different interpretations of the above hadiths. Even Ibn Arabi himself interprets them in different ways. We can divide them
into two main approaches: Philosophical and mystical. It seems that
the differences between these interpretation rise from the following
questions: What is meant by "nafs" in the hadith: Soul or self? Because the word, "nafs", in Arabic means "soul", but when it is added to a pronoun, it can be a reflexive pronoun, which may be animate or inanimate. In this case it is like the word "self" in English. So "nafsah" can be translated either as "his soul" or as "himself". Consequently, the above mentioned hadith can be translated as: "He who knows his soul knows his Lord", or as "He who knows himself knows his Lord". We will discuss the difference between these two meanings later.
1. Does the hadiths talk about the "similarity" between the self and God, or they imply the "union" or the "unity" of them?
2. The third question is about the meaning of "his Lord". Does it
mean the essence of God or it means God as a creator? Why does it say "his Lord" and not "the Lord"?
3. Finally, what kind of knowledge is meant here? Does the hadith talk about knowledge by gaining which is "knowledge of something" or it talks about knowledge by presence that is "knowledge which is something"? In the former, the known, the knower and the knowledge are different things but in the latter, the known, the knower, and the knowledge are one and the same thing.