What is the difference between Hadith Qudsi, Hadith Nabawi and the Qur’an

As regards your question we’d like to state that “the scholars of Hadith have differentiated between two distinct types of Hadith which are termed as al-Hadith an-Nabawi and al-Hadith al-Qudsi. The former (that is, Hadith Nabawi) being restricted to the sayings of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), while the latter (that is, Hadith Qudsi) pertains to the sayings of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) through the medium of Divine inspiration.   

Al-Quds means holy or sacred. The sayings that are termed as al-Qudsi are such that while the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was relating them to his Companions (may Allah be pleased with them), he mentioned that Allah, in effect, had communicated them to him. However, these communications do not form part of the Qur’an.

Such reports are included within the category of al-Hadith al-Qudsi. An example of this type of Hadith is one which had been reported by Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) in which it is mentioned that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said that Allah said:”If My servant likes to meet Me, I will love to meet him.”

While the common factor between al-Hadith al-Qudsi and the Qur’an is that both contain words from Allah which were revealed to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), they are nevertheless distinct from each other as pointed out here under:

1.The Holy Qur’an contains the verbatim words of Allah, while al-Hadith al-Qudsi contains the message of Allah conveyed to the people by the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in his own words.

2. The Holy Qur’an is inimitable and unique, but such is not the case with al-Hadith al-Qudsi. This is so because the latter is not the verbatim word of Allah.

3. The Holy Qur’an is recited in every prayer but al-Hadith al-Qudsi cannot be recited in any prayer.”

The above quotation is excerpted, with slight modifications, from here

Elaborating on the differences between Hadith Qudsi and Hadith Nabawi and between it and the Qur’an, we’d like to cite for you the following:

“A Hadith Qudsi (plural Ahadith Qudsiyyah) is a statement where Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) reports a statement and he refers it directly to Allah. The regular Hadith or what is generally known as a Hadith Nabawi is a Hadith where one of the Companions reports the Prophet’s statements, his deeds, or things that happened in his presence and he approved of them.

There are more than one hundred Ahadith Qudsiyah. They are very beautiful and deal mostly with spiritual and ethical subjects.

Sometimes, people ask questions about the difference between the Qur’an and the Hadith Qudsi. They say that the Qur’an is the world of Allah and Hadith Qudsi also refers to Allah’s words, then how do they differ?

The scholars of Hadith have mentioned five main differences between the Qur’an and the Hadith Qudsi:

1.The Qur’an was revealed to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) verbatim, i.e. its words and meanings are both from Allah. The Hadith Qudsi was not a verbatim revelation, its words are from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).

2.The Qur’an was revealed via Angel Jibreel while Hadith Qudsi may have been inspired by other ways, such as in the form of a dream.

3.The words of the Qur’an are miraculous or inimitable (mu’jizah) while the words of the Hadith Qudsi are not of this nature.

4.The Qur’an is recited in formal prayers (salah) but the Hadith Qudsi cannot be recited in prayers.

5.One is not allowed to touch the Qur’an in the state ofJanabah(post-sexual impurity), while there is no such prohibition for touching the books of Hadith Qudsi.”

Examples Added on 4th October 2016: 

An example of Hadeeth Nabawi is as follows:

Narrated ‘Umar bin Al-Khattab:
I heard Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) saying, “The reward of deeds depends upon the intentions and every person will get the reward according to what he has intended. So whoever emigrated for worldly benefits or for a woman to marry, his emigration was for what he emigrated for.” Find this hadeeth here: http://sunnah.com/bukhari/1

And the example of Hadeeth Qudsi is as follows:

On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said:
Allah (glorified and exalted be He) said: I am so self-sufficient that I am in no need of having an associate. Thus he who does an action for someone else’s sake as well as Mine will have that action renounced by Me to him whom he associated with Me.  (Find 40 Hadeeth Qudsi here: http://sunnah.com/qudsi40 )

Taken from, Ibrahim Izzuddin and Denis Johnson-Davies, Forty Hadith Qudsi, Beirut, Damascus, 1980.

About MuQeet

This is MuQeet. Teacher by profession and writer by passion
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9 Responses to What is the difference between Hadith Qudsi, Hadith Nabawi and the Qur’an

  1. Sadi says:

    Didn’t discus about hadis nabvi

  2. SerpentWings79 says:

    Hadith Nabvi wasnt discussed at all. Not exactly a helpful answer to the question ‘What’s the difference between hadith qudsi and hadith nabvi?’ 👎

    • MuQeet says:

      It is mentioned clearly in the beginning of the post that hadith nabawi is restricted to the sayings of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).
      The answer focuses more on Hadith Qudsi so if you understand what it is, then you will make a distinction with the former (that is Hadith Nabawi)
      Hope this suffices, InshaaAllah.

  3. burhanuddinali says:

    {3} he does not speak from his own desire.
    {4} It is nothing less than a inspiration that is inspired to him

    Sir i want to ask according to this verse of surah al najm the teaching of prophet all are inscribe to him by most Divine and Wise Being then whether it is holy prophets hadith nabawi or qudsi the teaching is from Allah then what is the difference between them if all instructions given by Holy Prophet was inspired by allah

    • MuQeet says:

      Yes, you are right. All teachings are inspired by Allah.
      The difference is in the wordings.
      If you read the post carefully, you can catch the difference, InshaaAllah.

  4. shahnaz says:

    can u provide
    an example for hadith nabavi ??? pls…

    • MuQeet says:

      One example of Hadeeth Nabawi is as follows:

      Narrated ‘Umar bin Al-Khattab:
      I heard Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) saying, “The reward of deeds depends upon the intentions and every person will get the reward according to what he has intended. So whoever emigrated for worldly benefits or for a woman to marry, his emigration was for what he emigrated for.”
      Find this hadeeth here: http://sunnah.com/bukhari/1

      And the example of Hadeeth Qudsi is as follows:

      On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said:
      When Allah decreed the Creation He pledged Himself by writing in His book which is laid down with Him: My mercy prevails over my wrath. It was related by Muslim (also by al-Bukhari, an-Nasa’i and Ibn Majah).
      Find 40 Hadeeth Qudsi here: http://sunnah.com/qudsi40

      Another example is this:
      On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said:
      Allah (glorified and exalted be He) said: I am so self-sufficient that I am in no need of having an associate. Thus he who does an action for someone else’s sake as well as Mine will have that action renounced by Me to him whom he associated with Me

  5. Abdi Adam says:

    I was looking for the differences between Hadith qudusi and Nabawi written in point form which is not there but anyway it is helpful

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