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.
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
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.]
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.
