The Hadith Qudsi, or sacred hadith, have a particularly important status because
their meaning is entirely from Allah (swt) while the wording is that of the Prophet
Muhammad (s) himself. For each of the eighty hadith presented, the Arabic original
has been printed alongside the English translation, which has earned a reputation
for its scholastic accuracy and readability
The hadith summarize the essential teachings of Islam, concentrating on the following
areas: affirmation of the doctrine of tawhid and understanding Allah (swt) in all
His attributes, the significance of the five pillars of Islam, attainment of virtue,
self-sacrifice for the cause of Allah (swt) and preparation for the day of judgement.
Among the many definitions given by the early scholars to Sacred Hadith is that
of as-Sayyid ash-Sharif al-Jurjani (died in 816 A.H.) in his lexicon At-Tarifat
where he says: "A Sacred Hadith is, as to the meaning, from Allah the Almighty;
as to the wording, it is from the messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah
be upon him). It is that which Allah the Almighty has communicated to His Prophet
through revelation or in dream, and he, peace be upon him, has communicated it in
his own words."
The hadith qudsi are the sayings of the Prophet divinely communicated to him. The
present collection has been compiled from all the available books of hadith. The
forty chosen here are all well authenticated and present many of the doctrinal,
devotional and ethical elements of Islam.
[The Above taken from : An introduction to the subject and select sample texts,
see e.g. Ibrahim Izzuddin and Denis Johnson-Davies: Forty Hadith Qudsi, Beirut,
Damascus, 1980.]
Note:
While the common factor between hadith qudsi and the Qur'an is that both contain
words from Allah which have been revealed to Muhammad, the main points of difference
between Qur'an and hadith qudsi are as follows:
- In the Qur'an the precise wording is from Allah, while in the hadith qudsi the wording
is given by the Prophet Muhammad.
- The Qur'an has been brought to Muhammad only by the Angel Gabriel, while hadith
qudsi may also have been inspired otherwise, such as e.g. in a dream.
- The Qur'an is inimitable and unique, but not so the hadith qudsi.
- The Qur'an 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 sahth, but also others hasan, or even da'if, while there is no doubt at
all about any aya from the Qur'an.
- Another point is that a hadith qudsi cannot be recited in prayer.
