SkyAboveYou
08-08-2004, 01:23 PM
Posted By BlueRose
Hadeeth Qudsi
Qudsi means holy or pure. There are some reports from Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) where he relates to the people starting with a statement "Allah (said) says" or "Allah (did) does", but this information is not part of the Qur'aan. These are called Hadeeth Qudsi. For example: Abu Dharr Al-Ghifari reported, that Allah’s messenger related from his Rubb is that He said: O My slaves, I have forbidden oppression for Myself and have made it forbidden amongst you, so do not oppress one another…O My slaves, all of you are astray except for those I have guided, so seek guidance of Me and I shall guide you. O my slaves, all of you are hungry except for those I have fed, so seek food of Me and I shall feed you... [Reported by Muslim]
The Difference Between Hadeeth Qudsi and the Qur’aan
While the common factor between Hadeeth Qudsi and the Qur'aan is that both contain words from Allah which have been revealed to Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu ‘alaihi wa sallam), the main points of differences are:
1 . In the Qur'aan the precise wording is from Allah, while wording in the Hadeeth Qudsi is given by the Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu ‘alaihi wa sallam);
2 . The Qur'aan has been brought to the Prophet (sallallahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) only by the angel Jibreel (Gabriel), while Hadeeth Qudsi may also have been inspired otherwise, such as e.g. a dream;
3 . The Qur'aan is inimitable and unique, while the Hadeeth Qudsi is not;
4 . Qur'aan has been transmitted by numerous persons (tawaatur), whereas the Hadeeth Qudsi is often only transmitted by a few or sometimes even by one individual. There are also Hadeeth Qudsi which are graded as Saheeh (highest authenticity), or hasan (authentic), or even da’if (weakness in the transmission or text). There is no such doubt about any of the verses of the Qur'aan.
5 . Hadeeth Qudsi cannot be recited in the prayer.
The Qur'aan was recorded at the time of revelation and the verses and chapters were arranged on the instructions of Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) during his lifetime. Every year during the month of Ramadhan the angel Jibreel came to the Prophet (sallallahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) and recited the Qur'aan with him, and during the year the Prophet (sallallahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) died, the angel Jibreel came twice and recited the Qur'aan with him. This was not so in the case of Hadeeth.
All chapters and verses of the Qur'aan were collected and arranged during the caliphate of Abu Bakr (radiallahu ‘anhu). They were written on sheets and bound together as a book during the caliphate of Uthman ( radiallahu ‘anhu) in the same order as shown by the Prophet Mohammad (sallallahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) himself. Additional copies of the Qur'aan were made during this occasion and sent to several Islamic cities. However, the compilation of hadeeth did not start until very much later and by that time, the Qur'aan was already available in the final form of a bound book.
The science of collecting, analyzing, compiling, grading and reporting of hadeeths became a special field of studies after the period of companions (radiallahu ‘anhum). The leading reports are from Al-Bukhari, Muslim, At-Tirmidhi, An-Nasai, Ibn Majah, and Abu Dawood which are known as the six most authentic books (As-Sihaahus-Sittah). The validity of a hadeeth depends solely on its agreement with the Qur'aan and the grading of a hadeeth depends on the reliability of the chain of narrators who reported it. In order to do this, the reporter studied the characters and the life of every single person who were mentioned in the chain of narrators. We notice that utmost care was exercised not only in reporting the exact words, but also sifting through the characters of persons who reported them. If a single person in the chain of narrators is reported to be of doubtful character or unreliable, then the entire hadeeth is either rejected or this fact is noted down and specifically mentioned.
The Imams who undertook this enormous task of compiling and reporting the hadeeths exercised great care in their lifetime effort, because these studies laid the foundation for the guidelines in understanding and practicing Islam in the life of every Muslim.
Hadeeth Qudsi
Qudsi means holy or pure. There are some reports from Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) where he relates to the people starting with a statement "Allah (said) says" or "Allah (did) does", but this information is not part of the Qur'aan. These are called Hadeeth Qudsi. For example: Abu Dharr Al-Ghifari reported, that Allah’s messenger related from his Rubb is that He said: O My slaves, I have forbidden oppression for Myself and have made it forbidden amongst you, so do not oppress one another…O My slaves, all of you are astray except for those I have guided, so seek guidance of Me and I shall guide you. O my slaves, all of you are hungry except for those I have fed, so seek food of Me and I shall feed you... [Reported by Muslim]
The Difference Between Hadeeth Qudsi and the Qur’aan
While the common factor between Hadeeth Qudsi and the Qur'aan is that both contain words from Allah which have been revealed to Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu ‘alaihi wa sallam), the main points of differences are:
1 . In the Qur'aan the precise wording is from Allah, while wording in the Hadeeth Qudsi is given by the Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu ‘alaihi wa sallam);
2 . The Qur'aan has been brought to the Prophet (sallallahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) only by the angel Jibreel (Gabriel), while Hadeeth Qudsi may also have been inspired otherwise, such as e.g. a dream;
3 . The Qur'aan is inimitable and unique, while the Hadeeth Qudsi is not;
4 . Qur'aan has been transmitted by numerous persons (tawaatur), whereas the Hadeeth Qudsi is often only transmitted by a few or sometimes even by one individual. There are also Hadeeth Qudsi which are graded as Saheeh (highest authenticity), or hasan (authentic), or even da’if (weakness in the transmission or text). There is no such doubt about any of the verses of the Qur'aan.
5 . Hadeeth Qudsi cannot be recited in the prayer.
The Qur'aan was recorded at the time of revelation and the verses and chapters were arranged on the instructions of Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) during his lifetime. Every year during the month of Ramadhan the angel Jibreel came to the Prophet (sallallahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) and recited the Qur'aan with him, and during the year the Prophet (sallallahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) died, the angel Jibreel came twice and recited the Qur'aan with him. This was not so in the case of Hadeeth.
All chapters and verses of the Qur'aan were collected and arranged during the caliphate of Abu Bakr (radiallahu ‘anhu). They were written on sheets and bound together as a book during the caliphate of Uthman ( radiallahu ‘anhu) in the same order as shown by the Prophet Mohammad (sallallahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) himself. Additional copies of the Qur'aan were made during this occasion and sent to several Islamic cities. However, the compilation of hadeeth did not start until very much later and by that time, the Qur'aan was already available in the final form of a bound book.
The science of collecting, analyzing, compiling, grading and reporting of hadeeths became a special field of studies after the period of companions (radiallahu ‘anhum). The leading reports are from Al-Bukhari, Muslim, At-Tirmidhi, An-Nasai, Ibn Majah, and Abu Dawood which are known as the six most authentic books (As-Sihaahus-Sittah). The validity of a hadeeth depends solely on its agreement with the Qur'aan and the grading of a hadeeth depends on the reliability of the chain of narrators who reported it. In order to do this, the reporter studied the characters and the life of every single person who were mentioned in the chain of narrators. We notice that utmost care was exercised not only in reporting the exact words, but also sifting through the characters of persons who reported them. If a single person in the chain of narrators is reported to be of doubtful character or unreliable, then the entire hadeeth is either rejected or this fact is noted down and specifically mentioned.
The Imams who undertook this enormous task of compiling and reporting the hadeeths exercised great care in their lifetime effort, because these studies laid the foundation for the guidelines in understanding and practicing Islam in the life of every Muslim.