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Fatwa CenterMeaning of Qudsi Hadeeth and differences between it and the Quran
Question
What is the difference between Qudsi Hadeeth and the Quran?
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.
The difference between the Noble Quran and Qudsi Hadeeth (sacred narration) would be clear by mentioning the definition of each of them.
The Quran is the Word of Allaah The Almighty that was revealed to Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, as a miracle and whose recitation is an act of worship.
Qudsi Hadeeth, however, refers to what the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, related on behalf of Allaah The Almighty through his own words. It is neither a miracle nor is its recitation considered an act of worship.
Thus, both the Quran and the Qudsi Hadeeth come from Allaah The Almighty, but the recitation of the Quran is an act of worship without which prayer is invalid. Quran is the greatest miracle with which Allaah The Almighty challenged all His Creatures. Allaah The Almighty Says (what means): {Say, "If mankind and the jinn gathered in order to produce the like of this Quran, they could not produce the like of it, even if they were to each other assistants.} [Quran 17:88]
Among the characteristics of the Quran is that only a person in a state of ritual purity is allowed to touch it.
A Qudsi Hadeeth is derived from the Arabic word that means holiness, exaltation and purification. It refers to what the Prophet 
attributes to Allaah The Almighty as His Words. Scholars had different opinions whether its wording comes from Allaah The Almighty or whether it is only the meaning of the Words of Allaah and the Prophet puts it in his own words. The Hadeeths of the Prophet is added to those two types of revelation and means what the Prophet said to express a meaning revealed to him or explaining the meanings of the Quran. Allaah The Almighty Says (what means): {Nor does he speak from [his own] inclination. It is not but a revelation revealed.} [Quran 53:3-4]
A Qudsi Hadeeth takes the same ruling as the prophetic Hadeeth and contains those that are Saheeh, Hasan, and Dha‘eef. Both are called Hadeeths of the Prophet . Therefore, the difference between the Quran and Qudsi Hadeeth lies in the fact that the Quran was revealed as a miracle and its recitation is an act of worship, but a Qudsi Hadeeth is not. Another difference is that the Quran was transmitted by Tawaatur, but Qudsi Hadeeth was not.
Allaah Knows best.
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