Definition of the Qudsi Hadith and Clarification of the Difference Between It, the Qur'an, and the Prophetic Hadith
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The Shaykh: Praise is to Allah; we praise Him, seek His help, and seek His forgiveness. We seek refuge in Allah from the evils of our own selves and from the badness of our deeds. Whomsoever Allah guides, none can misguide, and whomsoever He leaves to misguide, none can guide. And I bear witness that there is no deity but Allah alone, with no partner, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and His Messenger, [Ali 'Imran 3:102], [An-Nisa 4:1], [Al-Ahzab 33:70-71]. As for what follows:
Indeed, the best of speech is the speech of Allah, and the best of guidance is the guidance of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), and the worst of matters are their innovations, and every innovation is a religious innovation, and every religious innovation is misguidance, and every misguidance is in the Fire.
The author (may Allah have mercy on him) narrated at the end of the previous chapter, through his chain of narration, from Abu Dharr from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) from Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He), who said:. This is a Qudsi Hadith, and you should pay attention to it, for it contains a profound admonition. The Qudsi Hadith means: "Speech from the speech of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) narrates from Allah." That is, Allah (Mighty and Majestic) revealed this Qudsi speech to His Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) just as He revealed to him the Noble Qur'an. The difference between them, meaning between the Qudsi speech and the Noble Qur'an, is from two aspects. The first aspect is that the Qur'an is preserved in a book, which is the Noble Qur'an, and it is an act of worship to recite it, as came in the authentic hadith: .
In addition to that, the Noble Qur'an is miraculous in its style and language. That is, our Lord (Mighty and Majestic) challenged the eloquent Arabs of the pre-Islamic age of ignorance to produce a single verse like it, and they were unable to do so. As for the Qudsi Hadith, although it is divine speech that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) revealed to His Prophet (peace be upon him), it does not possess that miraculous quality. Furthermore, it is not recited as an act of worship. All that is the case is that it is from the speech of Allah, and it is less than the Noble Qur'an in eloquence and miraculous quality. However, the Qudsi Hadith meets the Noble Qur'an in one point, which is that each of them is from the speech of Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He).
Thus, the Qudsi Hadith differs from the ordinary hadith in one aspect. We have established that the Qudsi Hadith is from the speech of Allah, whereas the ordinary hadith is not from the speech of Allah but rather from the speech of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). However, both hadiths also meet in one point. The Qudsi Hadith and the Prophetic Hadith meet in one point and differ in another: they meet in that each of them is revelation from Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He). They differ in another point, which is that the Qudsi Hadith is from the speech of Allah, whereas the Prophetic Hadith is from the speech of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him).
The questioner : Is it that the wording is from the Prophet and the meaning is from Allah, or that both are from Allah?
The Shaykh : This is the difference. This is from the speech of Allah. The Qudsi Hadith is from the speech of Allah.
The questioner : Is it from the speech of Allah?
The Shaykh : It is the speech of Allah. What would be the meaning of "the speech of Allah"? If we said that the wording is from the Prophet, then the Qudsi Hadith and the Prophetic Hadith would be one and the same. But this is the difference. I repeat and say: The Qudsi Hadith meets the Prophetic Hadith in one thing and differs from it in another: the Qudsi Hadith meets the Prophetic Hadith in that each of them is revelation from Allah to His Prophet, so each of them is[Fussilat 41:42]. They differ in that the Qudsi Hadith, in wording and meaning, is the speech of Allah, whereas the Prophetic Hadith has the wording from the Prophet and the meaning from Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He).
So our hadith now is a Qudsi Hadith, meaning: "Allah (Mighty and Majestic) revealed it to His Prophet in its wording and meaning, just as is the case with the Qur'an, where Allah (Mighty and Majestic) revealed it to His Prophet with the wording from Allah and the meaning from Allah." But as we said earlier, the Qudsi Hadith differs from the Noble Qur'an in that the Noble Qur'an is miraculous, and our Lord (Mighty and Majestic) challenged all the eloquent Arabs with it, and they were unable to produce even a single verse from it. As for the Qudsi Hadith, it does not have this specific quality; it does not have this miraculous quality. Furthermore, the Qur'an is an act of worship to recite, as we do constantly and forever. Whoever recites a verse from it gets ten good deeds for every letter, as we mentioned. The Prophetic Hadith does not have this specific quality, although naturally, if a Muslim reads a book on Islamic jurisprudence, he gets reward for that, because he intends to learn the rulings of the Shari'ah. So the Prophetic Hadith also has this reward, but it is not the reward of the Qur'an. Reciting the Qur'an yields good deeds for every letter. So this hadith of ours is a Qudsi Hadith from the speech of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) in wording and meaning, which Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) revealed to His Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).
O you who have believed, fear Allah as He should be feared and do not die except as Muslims [in submission to Him].
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ حَقَّ تُقَاتِهِ وَلَا تَمُوتُنَّ إِلَّا وَأَنْتُمْ مُسْلِمُونَO mankind, fear your Lord, who created you from one soul and created from it its mate and dispersed from both of them many men and women. And fear Allah, through whom you ask one another, and the wombs. Indeed Allah is ever, over you, an Observer.
يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ اتَّقُوا رَبَّكُمُ الَّذِي خَلَقَكُمْ مِنْ نَفْسٍ وَاحِدَةٍ وَخَلَقَ مِنْهَا زَوْجَهَا وَبَثَّ مِنْهُمَا رِجَالًا كَثِيرًا وَنِسَاءً وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ الَّذِي تَسَاءَلُونَ بِهِ وَالْأَرْحَامَ إِنَّ اللَّهَ كَانَ عَلَيْكُمْ رَقِيبًا(70) O you who have believed, fear Allah and speak words of appropriate justice. (71) He will [then] amend for you your deeds and forgive you your sins. And whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger has certainly attained a great attainment.
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَقُولُوا قَوْلًا سَدِيدًا * يُصْلِحْ لَكُمْ أَعْمَالَكُمْ وَيَغْفِرْ لَكُمْ ذُنُوبَكُمْ وَمَنْ يُطِعِ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ فَقَدْ فَازَ فَوْزًا عَظِيمًاIndeed, the best of speech is the speech of Allah, and the best of guidance is the guidance of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), and the worst of matters are their innovations, and every innovation is a religious innovation, and every religious innovation is misguidance, and every misguidance is in the Fire.
The author (may Allah have mercy on him) narrated at the end of the previous chapter, through his chain of narration, from Abu Dharr from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) from Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He), who said:
O My servants
يا عباديWhoever recites the Qur'an, he gets ten good deeds for every letter. I do not say "Alif-Lam-Mim" is one letter, but Alif is a letter, Lam is a letter, and Mim is a letter.
مَن قرأ القرآن فله بكلِّ حرف عشر حسنات ، لا أقول : ألم حرف ، بل ألف حرم ، ولام حرف ، وميم حرفIn addition to that, the Noble Qur'an is miraculous in its style and language. That is, our Lord (Mighty and Majestic) challenged the eloquent Arabs of the pre-Islamic age of ignorance to produce a single verse like it, and they were unable to do so. As for the Qudsi Hadith, although it is divine speech that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) revealed to His Prophet (peace be upon him), it does not possess that miraculous quality. Furthermore, it is not recited as an act of worship. All that is the case is that it is from the speech of Allah, and it is less than the Noble Qur'an in eloquence and miraculous quality. However, the Qudsi Hadith meets the Noble Qur'an in one point, which is that each of them is from the speech of Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He).
Thus, the Qudsi Hadith differs from the ordinary hadith in one aspect. We have established that the Qudsi Hadith is from the speech of Allah, whereas the ordinary hadith is not from the speech of Allah but rather from the speech of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). However, both hadiths also meet in one point. The Qudsi Hadith and the Prophetic Hadith meet in one point and differ in another: they meet in that each of them is revelation from Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He). They differ in another point, which is that the Qudsi Hadith is from the speech of Allah, whereas the Prophetic Hadith is from the speech of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him).
The questioner : Is it that the wording is from the Prophet and the meaning is from Allah, or that both are from Allah?
The Shaykh : This is the difference. This is from the speech of Allah. The Qudsi Hadith is from the speech of Allah.
The questioner : Is it from the speech of Allah?
The Shaykh : It is the speech of Allah. What would be the meaning of "the speech of Allah"? If we said that the wording is from the Prophet, then the Qudsi Hadith and the Prophetic Hadith would be one and the same. But this is the difference. I repeat and say: The Qudsi Hadith meets the Prophetic Hadith in one thing and differs from it in another: the Qudsi Hadith meets the Prophetic Hadith in that each of them is revelation from Allah to His Prophet, so each of them is
Falsehood cannot approach it from before it or from behind it
لَا يَأْتِيهِ الْبَاطِلُ مِنْ بَيْنِ يَدَيْهِ وَلَا مِنْ خَلْفِهِSo our hadith now is a Qudsi Hadith, meaning: "Allah (Mighty and Majestic) revealed it to His Prophet in its wording and meaning, just as is the case with the Qur'an, where Allah (Mighty and Majestic) revealed it to His Prophet with the wording from Allah and the meaning from Allah." But as we said earlier, the Qudsi Hadith differs from the Noble Qur'an in that the Noble Qur'an is miraculous, and our Lord (Mighty and Majestic) challenged all the eloquent Arabs with it, and they were unable to produce even a single verse from it. As for the Qudsi Hadith, it does not have this specific quality; it does not have this miraculous quality. Furthermore, the Qur'an is an act of worship to recite, as we do constantly and forever. Whoever recites a verse from it gets ten good deeds for every letter, as we mentioned. The Prophetic Hadith does not have this specific quality, although naturally, if a Muslim reads a book on Islamic jurisprudence, he gets reward for that, because he intends to learn the rulings of the Shari'ah. So the Prophetic Hadith also has this reward, but it is not the reward of the Qur'an. Reciting the Qur'an yields good deeds for every letter. So this hadith of ours is a Qudsi Hadith from the speech of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) in wording and meaning, which Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) revealed to His Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.