The article, Quran: Definition and Relation to Previous Scriptures, defined the Quran as follows:
The speech of Allah which He sent down upon the last Prophet Muhammad , through the Angel Gabriel; in its precise meaning and precise wording, transmitted to us by numerous persons (tawatur), both verbally and in writing.
The Meaning of hadith
The word hadith means news, report or narration. It is in this general sense that the Quran uses this word. [e.g. Surah 12:101.]
Technically, the word hadith, (pl. ahadith) means in particular the reports (verbal and written) about the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad.
Hadith reports about the Prophet Muhammad are of the following kinds:
– What he said (qawl).
– What he did (fi`l).
– What he (silently) approved (taqrir) in others’ actions.
There are also reports about him, i.e. about what he was like (sifah).
For details on hadith see: A’zami, Muhammad Mustafa: Studies in Hadith Methodology and Literature, Indianapolis, 1977.
Difference between the Quran and Hadith
There is agreement among most Muslim scholars that the contents of the sunnah are also from Allah. Hence they have described it as also being the result of some form of inspiration.
The contents of the sunnah are however expressed through the Prophet’s own words or actions. In the case of the Quran, the Angel Gabriel brought the exact wording and contents to the Prophet, who received this as revelation and then announced it, in the very same manner that he received it.
Imam As-Suyuti’s View
Imam As-Suyuti, [quoting Al-Juini,] illustrated the difference between these two forms in the following manner:
‘The revealed speech of Allah is of two kinds. As to the first kind, Allah says to Gabriel: Tell the Prophet to whom I sent you that Allah tells him to do this and this, and He ordered him something.
So, Gabriel understood what His Lord had told him. Then he descended with this to the Prophet and told him what His Lord had told him, but the expression is not this (same) expression, just as a king says to someone whom he trusts: Tell so-and-so, “The king says to you: strive in his service and gather your army for fighting…” and when the messenger (goes and) says: The king tells you: do not fail in my service, and do not let the army break up, and call for fighting, etc., then he has not lied nor shortened (the message)… ‘
And as to the other kind, Allah says to Gabriel: Read to the Prophet this (piece of) writing, and Gabriel descended with it from Allah, without altering it the least, just as (if) the king writes a written (instruction) and hands it over to his trustworthy (servant) and says (to him): Read it to so-and-so.”
As-Suyuti commented: “The Quran belongs to the second kind, and the first kind is the Sunnah, and from this derives the reporting of the Sunnah according to the meaning unlike the Quran.” [Sabuni, Tibyan, p.52]
So, the difference between Quran and sunnah is that the ahadith from or about the Prophet Muhammad are:
– The words or actions of a human being, and not the speech of God as the Quran is.
– Not necessarily reported in their precise wording, as the Quran is.
– Not necessarily transmitted by tawatur, except in some instances.
Hadith Qudsi
Qudsi means holy, or pure. There are some reports from the Prophet Muhammad where he relates to the people what God has said (says) or did (does), but this information is not part of the Quran.
Scholar define such a report as a hadith qudsi, e.g.: Abu Hurairah reported that Allah’s messenger said: ‘Allah, Mighty and Exalted is He, said: If My servant likes to meet me, I like to meet him, and if he dislikes to meet Me, I dislike to meet him.’
The common factor between hadith qudsi and the Quran is that both contain words from Allah which He revealed to Muhammad. The main points of difference between Quran and hadith qudsi are as follows:
– In the Quran the precise wording is from Allah, while in the hadith qudsi the wording is from the Prophet Muhammad.
– Angel Gabriel brought the Quran to Muhammad, while hadith qudsi may also have been inspired otherwise, such as e.g. in a dream.
– The Quran is inimitable and unique, but not so the hadith qudsi.
– The Quran has been transmitted by numerous persons, (tawatur) but the hadith and hadith qudsi often only by a few or even one individual.
There are hadith qudsi which are sahih, but also others hasan, or even da`if, while there is no doubt at all about any verse from the Quran. Another point is we cannot recite that a hadith qudsi in prayer.
Source: Taken with some modifications from Ulum Al-Quran: An Introduction to the Sciences of the Qurʼān by Ahmad von Denffer
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